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Here’s the truth…the U.S. media, like the U.S. government and its collection of 3 letter agencies are corrupt, dishonest and deeply troubled institutions.I’m not talking corrupt in such a way that it accepts bribes, but in a systemic sense.They both fail to do what they claim to do…what they should be doing…and what they are expected to do.The news media and the government are entwined in a vicious circle of mutual manipulation…myth-making…and self-interest.Here’s how it works…Journalists need crises to dramatize news which in turn attracts eyeballs, drives ad sales and rewards them with oversized paychecks…and government officials need to appear to be responding to crises and require media face time to be perceived as heroes out to save their constituencies.Far too frequently…the crises are not really crises but joint, elaborate fabrications.The media and the government have sold their souls and become so intertwined in a symbiotic web of lies that the news media are unable to tell the public what is true and the government is unable to govern effectively.In the long run, if they continue to operate in the manner just described (which they will)…there is reason for concern with the survival of both institutions.When the system does fall…when the eyeballs, ad sales and big paychecks go away…the blame will be explained away as technological shifts — toward mobile devices and on-demand consumption.This is another lie.The online media has already shown their hand…and they too are driven by manipulation…deception…myth-making…and self-interest.