The Media: Cutting Through The Illusion with Norman Solomon

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"I buy therefore I am," has become the modern day, American axiom. Many of us have come to believe that acquisition and ownership will guarantee us a better place on the societal ladder, and this belief has become tightly woven into the fabric of our national consciousness. How did this happen? Is there a relationship between our rampant materialism and the amount of television we watch? How can we protect ourselves from media seduction? In this candid dialogue, Solomon, nationally syndicated columnist on media and politics and founder of the Institute for Public Accuracy, speaks eloquently about the seductive power of the media and how it shapes our understanding of the world, and our response to critical world events. "At its best, television invokes compassion and the common humanity we all share. At its worst, it is a vehicle for policy driven propaganda, which tells us that the font of wisdom is located in Washington, D.C., and the best way to respond is to defer to those that know best." He urges the American public to always be willing to ask the deeper questions and to be more skeptical in a constructive way. (hosted by Michael Toms)

Bio

Norman Solomon is the author of several books including:

• The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media (Common Courage Press 1999)
• The Trouble With Dilbert: How Corporate Culture Gets the Last Laugh (Common Courage Press 1997)
• Through the Media Looking Glass, co-authored with Jeff Cohen (Common Courage Press 1995) 

Topics Explored in This Dialogue

• How the government controls what we see and hear on network news
• Discover how the American flag was used as a "bait and switch" to rally support for military action in Afghanistan
• How the media helps to distract us from what is important and relevant
• Learn how the Pentagon deals with the public relations problem of waging war