If the lamestream media follow their pattern of obsessed, 24-7 no inhibitions, no judgment sensationalistic coverage of the Minneapolis Bridge collapse, we can expect, as the bodies are pulled from the river, to see them shown, as close up as possible on our TV screens.
If we go back to recall the way the lamestream (mainstream) media covered the Virginia Tech murders, or the Anna Nicole Smith death, we can expect days on end of vast stretches of wasted airwaves. We can expect them to use the same ten second loop of footage over and over and over again-- as they've been doing.
We can expect them to fail to get down to the real issues-- why the system failed to protect the people who were killed. We can be just about certain that idiots like Grover Norquist, the "visionary" braindead philosopher of the anti-tax starve government so it's so small you can drown it in a bathtub movement will not be mentioned as part of the reason U.S. infrastructure is dangerous and falling apart.
Of course, Fox News raises the idea of privatizing bridges. Privatization is the corporatist's dream. Take property that's owned by the people, paid for and improved by the people and give, or sell it at a ridiculous bargain, to some company with insider connections to corrupt government officials-- who will end up with a cush, overpaid job, working for the corporation when the government job ends. Then, charge fees for use of the bridge that massively slow down crossing the bridge and make it unaffordable to many former users.
It is worse than sad, that the mainstream media fail us so predictably. It is an outrage. We can and should do someting about this. The future of media is NOT network television or network news. It will be people powered. The hundreds of millions the mainstream media spend on reporting the news includes incredibly bloated budgets and superstar pay stubs for hacks who do little more than stenographic journalism-- just reporting what politicians say-- failing to ask tough questions, failing to challenge assertions. We see this over and over againg.
Currently, YOUTUBE is used primarily for entertainment and humor. There's no reason why it shouldn't be used as repository for citizen journalism. Other websites can build the internet infrastructure that will allow a "viewer" audience to string together feeds from multiple sources, so it feels like you're watching TV. I wouldn't be surprised if the technology doesn't already exists.
One thing is for sure. The media we now have... sucks. Outside of Keith Olbermann, Democracy Now, some of the progressive talk radio hosts... there is a vast media wasteland. It must end. We need to tell the media-- ENOUGH on the bridge already. Enough of single item news coverage!! Lamestream media heal thy self!!
I hope lamestream media prove I'm wrong about the bloated body images. We'll know soon enough.
