Coporate Media: The Proper Nomenclature
The term “Mainstream Media” is used in reference to those media outlets which are available in the traditional (read pre-Internet) forms and have widespread, near ubiquitous distribution. Those forms of media being newspapers, radio, and television. The outlets using these media presumably reported all of the important information in a completely neutral, unbiased manner.
This is totally false.
There have been numerous writings on the truth of how these media outlets operate, not the least of which being Curtis Yarvin’s (AKA Mencius Moldbug) take on them being part of what he terms “the cathedral.” If you still believe that these outlets are in any way neutral, unbiased, or objective, please do some more reading, or I’m afraid I have nothing to offer you and that you are totally lost.
In the age of the Internet (and especially now in the age of Social Media), not only have more and varied media outlets risen, they have also helped to shine a light on the operation of those previously oligarchical media outlets. These new outlets are often referred to as the “New Media,” but for now, I want to take exception with the term “Mainstream Media.”
As Michael Malice often (and rightfully) points out, there is nothing “mainstream” about the so-called “Mainstream Media.” They do not reflect the perspective of a majority of people, and even if they did, it would only be due to the fact that they implanted that perspective to begin with (which is exactly how they operate, but that’s a topic for another time). If one needs evidence for this, they need only look at the rise of Donald Trump as a political figure and at his championing of the term “Fake News.” That terminology struck a chord with a great many people.
Another term some use for this set of media outlets is “Legacy Media.” This is also an incorrect term as this implies that we as a society have in some way moved beyond reliance on their productions and that they have, in some manner, mostly or fully lost their grip on the shaping of the prevailing narrative of “the news.” I’ll leave it to the reader to prove these media outlets still have sway over the prevailing narrative (hint: talk to someone who isn’t chronically online).
So, it’s not Mainstream Media. It’s not Legacy Media. So what should we call them?
Corporate Media.
It must be Corporate Media because this term should be aimed at the corporations who guide the media outlets which are operating as messaging apparatus for the oligarchical elites.
These Corporate Media organizations have moved fully into the same realm as the “New Media,” as they are already on YouTube, X/Twitter, Instagram, any and all platforms which have regular engagement and high rates. They’re already spreading the Corporate Media Message on these newer platforms, and they have the funding to fully understand how to leverage these platforms. They also often try to prop up newer “New Media” outlets as their proxies to spread the Corporate Media Message without having to degrade the reputation of the old brands (think The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, etc.).
All companies are beholden to their funding. This is a good thing, but it is a fact that one should be constantly vigilant about. It affects not only the Corporate Media organizations. It affects all news organizations. As such, one must be aware of what narrative any particular outlet is attempting to promulgate because, make no mistake, they are all attempting to promulgate some narrative.
So, what’s the point of all of this? The point is that words have meanings, and meanings can align people. I believe fully that the Corporate Media is a group which is outright hostile and antagonistic toward any individual who wants to be free to think and live how they best see fit. I believe the Corporate Media is a weapon being used against good, and I believe that the more we ignore the Corporate Media the more its power and control wanes until a point which it is, hopefully, extinguished. I realize that such a goal is probably unrealistic, but it moves us in the direction of good which is worth striving for.