"I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell."- Harry S. Truman
The veteran broadcast journalist Bill Moyers spoke on January 13, 2007 before 3,500 at the opening of the National Conference on Media Reform in Memphis. He announced his return to the airwaves and outlined his vision of media reform. "As ownership gets more and more concentrated, fewer and fewer independent sources of information have survived in the marketplace; and those few significant alternatives that do survive, such as PBS and NPR, are under growing financial and political pressure to reduce critical news content and to shift their focus in a mainstream direction, which means being more attentive to establishment views than to the bleak realities of powerlessness that shape the lives of ordinary people."
It is so refreshing to hear an articulate speaker discussing issues with current and historical quotes. Occasional, stumbles but clear and thoughtful ideas that speak directly to a major concern of mine. In my ongoing fantasy regarding which bumper sticker I would put on my car. (see my previous post on the subject ) I am thinking of a new one: WE -THE PEOPLE- ARE THE DECIDERS In other news:
Current pontiff Pope Benedict XVI has criticized video games that "exalt violence and portray anti-social behaviour" and may be targeted at teenagers, as part of a new public message themed around the 41st World Communications Day. from Gamasutra.
I am very interested in the Art and Technology of Gaming, but in an area where I don't find myself as much of a papist, I have to agree. This cultural phenomenon has been hijacked by the darkest part of the sub-concious. I have this unusual interest in game technology, because I can see the potential of this technology to revolutionize art and culture. It is mired in the very profit motives that are destroying our media as Bill Moyer's so ablely has pointed out.
