Senator Bernie Sanders’ disdain for corporate media is well-known, but few could have expected that he would call out MSNBC’s ownership during an interview run by the news station.
As you can view above, the presidential contender has never been as blunt as he was with Rachel Maddow, the host of “The Rachel Maddow Show,” last Friday night. During the interview which was taped in Burlington, Vermont, he told the host:
“The American people are sick and tired of establishment politics and economics, and by the way, a little bit tired of corporate media as well.”
When she pressed Sanders’ for more details on how, exactly, he would change the media if he were president, he stated:
“We have got to think of ways the Democratic party, for a start, starts funding the equivalent of Fox television.”
Of course, relays The Huffington Post, MSNBC is regarded as a Democratic version of Fox News because of the perceived sympathies of many of its political talk shows.
Sanders made it clear that “pressure has got to be put on the media” to cover policy issues like income inequality and poverty more heavily. In effect, stations would be forced to switch their focus from sensational campaign movements and the state of political horse races to issues that actually matter.
However, he noted that the change in corporate media would be difficult as corporate ownership makes it harder for news outlets to cover issues in a way that conflicts with the interests of a few executives.
“MSNBC is owned by who?” Sanders asked.
“Comcast, our overlords,” Maddow responded with a chuckle.
“All right, Comcast is not one of the most popular corporations in America, right?” Sanders said.
“And I think the American people are going to have to say to NBC and ABC and CBS and CNN, ‘You know what, forget the political gossip. Politics is not a soap opera. Talk about the real damn issues facing this country.’”
The exchange may have been awkward for Maddow (who joked about possibly losing her job after the interview), but Sanders brought to attention a very important fact. 90% of the bulk of America’s mainline media is controlled by a mere six corporations. This, of course, means that unless one is consciously avoiding corporate-owned media sources, then the majority of their news is chosen from a small pool of corporate sources, all of which play important roles in delivering propaganda, social programming and perpetual crisis narratives to the public.
Because televisions are in most peoples’ homes nowadays, they are an excellent medium in which a small group of very powerful – and very wealthy – people can promote ideas of consumerism, hyper-sexualization of youth, the glorification of war, government surveillance, obedience, and ignorance. In fact, through reality shows (which warp reality as they are ‘staged’ and don’t support mainstream narratives) and movies that advertise through subliminal messaging, such is already being done.
Undoubtedly, Bernie Sanders is aware of this. However, it’s his clear objection to MSNBC’s corporate ownership that won’t earn him favor among the elite. At least, his honesty and brash way of calling out unjust truths have earned him support from the American people – specifically Millennials.
What are your thoughts? Please comment below and share this news!
This article (Bernie Sanders Calls Out MSNBC’s Corporate Ownership – During An Interview With MSNBC) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TrueActivist.com
