The Subordination of the Exalted Ones
In the realm of modern journalism, criticisms towards mainstream bourgeois media have been mounting, particularly in portraying controversial issues such as domestic and foreign policy, militarization, and police violence.
Olivier David, an author and journalist, has been a vocal critic in this regard. His 2022 publication, "No Success Story," and the upcoming 2024 essay collection "Of the Nameless Crowd," delve into these issues.
The tendencies towards bias, corporatism, and spectacle in bourgeois media can distort public understanding and opinion. Mainstream media often serve corporate or elite interests, leading to selective framing of issues to support the status quo, suppress dissenting voices, and marginalize radical or critical perspectives.
Media coverage can involve misinformation or oversimplified portrayals, promoting narratives that protect ruling class interests while ignoring deeper systemic factors or alternative viewpoints, especially in complex matters like militarization or policy debates.
According to cultural theorist Douglas Kellner, media culture is dominated by spectacle—sensationalized, emotionally charged presentations that distort reality to entertain and distract rather than inform critically. This spectacle mode can trivialize or distort serious issues such as police violence or war, reducing public capacity for informed democratic engagement.
Examples of biased reporting include biased coverage of migrant protests or international conflicts, which can mislead public opinion and entrench particular political narratives while ignoring others.
These tendencies cultivate a public discourse that is often fragmented, polarized, or misinformed, thereby reinforcing dominant ideologies and limiting critical popular understanding and mobilization on issues like militarization or state violence.
By framing controversial issues through the lens of corporate interests and spectacle, mainstream media can dampen accountability pressures on political and institutional powers, preserving existing power structures.
In a historical context, the jester at court in feudalism held the sole mandate for criticizing the king or lord using humor. Today, parts of bourgeois journalism, especially public broadcasters, mainly address hot topics such as militarization, police violence, and class hatred in comedy formats, reflecting a similar dynamic.
However, it's worth noting that certain slogans are not punishable despite police prohibition, indicating some room for dissenting voices.
Moreover, the United Nations has been criticizing Germany for years for its repressive police work, and wealth inequality in Germany is among the highest in the EU comparison. Germany is also slipping in terms of press freedom.
The judiciary and executive in Germany have suffered more frequent legal and moral defeats, and many people affected by poverty cannot afford a full meal a day. The intellectual impoverishment in bourgeois society is a clear indication of the failure of bourgeois worldviews.
The defeats of the bourgeoisie create space for a narrative of the many, suggesting a potential shift in the future of journalism and public discourse.
[1] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0047676718817988 [2] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1474748418777435 [3] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1474748418776168 [4] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1474748418776170
- Olivier David's upcoming publication, "Of the Nameless Crowd," endeavors to delve into the biases and distortions in mainstream media, particularly in domains like health-and-wellness, mental-health, and general-news, where corporate interests and spectacle can oversimplify or misrepresent complex issues.
- Criticisms of mainstream media have extended to their coverage of war-and-conflicts and policy-and-legislation, with concerns that misinformation or selective framing can fail to present a comprehensive picture, protect ruling class interests, and suppress alternative viewpoints.
- Migration, as a contentious issue, is another area where accusations of biased reporting arise, with fears that such coverage can mislead public opinion, entrench particular narratives, and ignore others, thereby influencing public discourse and policy.
- In the realm of crime-and-justice, the tendencies towards bias, spectacle, and corporate interests can lead to distorted representations of police violence, abuse of power, and the justice system, all of which are crucial areas for informed public engagement and democratic action.
- The jester at court in feudalism, although held as the sole mandate for criticizing the king or lord, provided humor-laden commentary, echoing the trends in modern journalism where controversial issues like militarization, police violence, and class hatred are often addressed in comedic formats, reflecting a persisting dynamic between power structures and dissenting voices.
