Editor’s note: Last Thursday, WorldNetDaily Editor Joseph Farah criticized filmmaker Michael Moore for comments attributed to him in an interview on Murmurs.com. He responded with a letter. Today, Farah continues the dialogue.
Dear Michael:
First of all, thank you for taking the time to respond, albeit abruptly, to my column.
You suggest, though don’t unequivocally state, that you were misquoted by the “rock zine site” Murmurs.com. I have e-mailed the creator of that site for comment and await his response. You say I was somehow dishonest in excerpting those alleged quotations from you calling for more government involvement in the media.
I don’t see it that way. In fact, I attributed the quotes to Murmurs.com with a hotlink to the original article.
On one point, however, we have some grounds for agreement. You say: “A few corporations in this country control our media and it has damned us to ignorance and greedy consumerism.”
It is a shame, as I stated in my own column, that fewer voices dominate the national dialogue. And I concur that this reality is, in part, due to chain ownership of the national press and electronic media. This is a trend I have dedicated my professional life to fighting. I dropped out of the “establishment press” largely because of this destructive pattern.
But your solution is more government involvement in media. That is no solution at all – but, rather, a prescription for disaster.
Why is it that you intuitively understand a major corporation will exert influence over the content of its publications and broadcasts but you cannot see that governments do the same thing with publications and broadcasts they fund?
You may find you like the reporting of the BBC, PBS and CBC. But please don’t suggest those sources of news and information are without biases, without agendas, without interference.
People reliant on information provided through the largesse and good intentions of government are, by definition, people enslaved and controlled. Even if such a system works well for a time, there is always the threat that a new regime will use and abuse its authority – leaving the people without any alternative sources of information.
Profit is not the problem, as you suggest. In fact, corporate media monopolization, which you and I agree is a huge problem, is a result largely of government interference in the free marketplace – not a result of government restraint.
For example, estate taxes have taken a huge toll on family-owned newspapers. When a founder dies, all too often, the surviving family members are forced by the tax burden to sell off properties to major conglomerates. It has happened in major market after major market. And that’s one of the principal reasons we have so few competing newspapers left.
As I pointed out in my original column as well, big corporations like Disney and Time-Warner play ball with the government. They seek favors from government and will do whatever is necessary – whatever is expedient – to maximize profits. That’s called fascism, Mike. And I thought you opposed it – at least in principle.
You say I know you well enough to know you oppose all control by government of any media. I guess I don’t. Your own words betray that statement. Do you honestly have illusions that the British government does not control the BBC? Do you think that London cannot and does not exert its authority over the British Broadcasting Corporation when it deems appropriate? Is the BBC your ultimate paradigm of free expression?
You suggest that WorldNetDaily might be intimidated by its advertisers – corporations such as Hughes. Obviously you have not been reading us very long. You dare me to take on Hughes and General Motors.
Well, Mike, I suggest you do a search on our site for the following terms: “Farah General Motors” and “Farah Hughes.” You might be surprised what you find. I have been one of the harshest of critics of both of these entities and, I’m certain, many other corporate sponsors of WorldNetDaily. This will shock you, Mike, but we don’t even pay attention to who is advertising. We don’t need Hughes or General Motors or DirectTV. We figure they need us.
And that’s what a free press for a free people is all about. No government grants. No government intrusion. No government interference.
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