do you think mainstream media has to much control over what people think?

Answer 1

the truth is often altered by media, so how can we still trust it? people react to what they see on Tv and read in the morning papers and if some news are catchy and attract attention (a murder, for example), they think "hey, this guy is now a celebrity. i'll kill my neighbour and i'll be too on the 5 o' clock news".
Answer : Yes, mainstream media DOES have control over what people think. But there are some smart enough to avoid going with the flow ;)

Answer 2

Control, maybe not control but certainly significant influence.

If you consider what percent of the population uses TV as its primary source of "news" then there must be no question that the influence from the talking heads is huge. Brainwashing is really nothing more than supporting peoples fears then repeating them a million times until that is all the public can believe.

A few examples would what the news did to the AMerican during Viet Nam, every evening they broadcast body counts, and particularly focused on American dead, they did seven days a week and played on our fears about our sons dying there, and it worked, it completely shifted our belief about doing the right thing for our country. It also really helped Congress become a much stronger entity. Iraq is a very similar thing, it has happened again.

Hate Bush is a George Soros driven media event, the TV has taken the message and beat it hard for over six years, and it has been effective, just look here, the rabid intense irrational hatred of one man, Brainwashing works and is very effective.

Congress, the Democrats and the Socialists all know this very well, which is why you are seeing them try to resurrect the Fairness Doctrine, they do not want ANY competition for the brainwashing and will suspend our constitutional rights to accomplish that goal. You have to wonder at which point AMericans say ehll no, that is the last time and civil insurrections begin. It is much closer than people can imagine.

With the internet today there is an almost unstoppable free flow of information, but again socialists in congress are doing what they can, such as having bloggers have to register as lobbyists, I mean really which crooked congressman am I lobbying right now, ehll if they all left tomorrow that would be fine with me, anarchy is much preferred to communism.

Just sit back and watch, write this down somewhere, Congress and the Socialists will try to restrict freedom of the speech sometime in the next four years, it might be internet restrictions, television, fairness doctrine whatever, they are going to take a decisive step in taking away the constitution and our freedom to see how we react. They believe we will continue to sit idly by and do nothing, I mean seriously why would they not believe it when they have people convinced to continue to re-elect them for life.

Answer 3

Easy to answer! Just pick up several different papers...in regards to the same "Story" and read how each of them differ in their "take" on the Story? I think you'll get the picture! Also...how many people have you ever ran into-who have said: "They wouldn't write it in the Paper's,if it wasn't true"??? Now you've got the bigger picture! I use to think there was a time...when you could walk up to someone and say: You look like an Idiot? Now you can walk up and say: You are an Idiot! Believe only half of what you see,and nothing of what you hear!!!

Answer 4

Nobody has control over what you think. They may control what news you see and what opinion you here, but, we all have minds to decide how we think. You just need to have an open mind and review articles that have your interest from more than one source of media. Otherwords, check out the whole story before YOU decide how you think.

Answer 5

no, but i do think that too many people allow the mainstream media to tell them what they should think. it's not the media. it's the people who sit in front of their tv/behind their newspapers and that done, falsely believe they are resultantly qualified to run the nation based upon what has just been spoon fed to them.

Answer 6

No, you are the only person who controls what you think. The main stream media is biased to the left. You can get rebalanced by listening to conservative radio talk shows: Quinn and Rose in the morning, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh. I believe they tell it like it is, to include pointing out the left wing liberal bias.

Answer 7

Absolutely. The media runs the world.
Not all of us think for ourselves, that's the problem. If they only gave out the journalism five w's - who, what, when, where, why - people would have to think for themselves. But they don't, not by a long shot.

Answer 8

Yes I do. I'm sure of it in fact.

They should do a lot more investigative non-partisan reporting and questioning and a lot less editorializing.
Tell us more about what people and leaders actually DO and less about what they say they THINK....or what the media thinks they say.

It seems they are 95% editorial since Bush took office.

Answer 9

I think people are too lazy or too stupid to actually research an issue, it's far too easy to just believe what you hear on the news.

Answer 10

yes, it seems when the media gets on a feeding frenzy, so do internet folk anyway. front page news get front page talk even here on YA