Media — reliable or arrant liar ?
Noam Chomsky is putting it bluntly when stating that Western corporate media is „manufacturing consent“ in order to stabilise and retain the interests of some dominant elite groups and for that, aren’t independent at all. This has always been some kind of controversial subject — on the one hand these reflections seem to make sense and aren’t far-fetched, on the other hand statements like these still got those negative connotations for a wide range of people, and assumptions like „conspiracy theory“ won’t be long in coming.
Recently, I came across a clip of an episode of the German satire show „Die Anstalt“. The show is known for blunt and unmistakable criticism of politics, lobbies and, seemingly, media as well. In this clip, the two cabaret artists show up in how far some of the leading German media groups are involved in and connected to transatlantic interest groups. Most of the leading journalists of Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Bild and others are members or even chairmen of those NATO lobby-groups and are therefore „bound“ to advocate and represent the opinions and actions of those groups, even in their function as a journalist. Journalists should be there to independently and openly test and criticise governmental institutions again and again — But how is that going to happen if they themselves are part of them?
The show raises a serious and justified issue, what becomes even more clear by the fact that two of the exposed media moguls were charging ZDF for transmitting this episode. How much can we really trust the leading media?
However, the charge was dismissed, and the point that is striking in this whole story is the fact that „Die Anstalt“ itself is a product of the media, as well. The TV-channel ZDF is under public law and responsible for this critical content. So somehow, besides all elitist, lobbyist media-work, there must be still a tiny place for some subversive, self-reflecting content, as well. Sometimes, and with increasing frequency, in the form of a satirical show.
