Oakland Speaker Series: Why the News Media Does Not Tell The Truth?

2 nights ago I went to the Oakland Speaker Series for the first time. I listened to Fareed Zakaria speak who has been described as the most influential foreign policy advisor of his generation. It was very interesting to hear Fareed say that we live in some of the most prosperous times even with all of the current economic turmoil. He cited the lack of military competition amongst world super powers and the growth of capitalism and economic prosperity around the globe. He also said the amount of worldwide terrorism and death due to war has fallen over the last decade.

Then he made a point I never expected to hear from a CNN analyst embedded in a media centric culture. He first asked the question, so why are we all so scared? He then answered it by saying the news media now has channels dedicated to 24 hour coverage. He stated how they have the responsibility to fill all of the hours with content. Thus, we are constantly being bombarded with narratives that are not grounded in our personal realities. He used the weather channel as an example and joked about how you turn it on and they start talking about a storm in some faraway place that has no influence on your current situation. Yet, we sympathize with it and it affects our mood or the story we are living in.

Financial Ambition has long spoken about the false realities that the modern news media perpetuates and how it negatively effects our everyday actions. We have made these statements so that our readers and clients will not let the media influence their actions and decisions. We have witnessed that those led by the media’s narratives drift without strategic relevance for their own situations. When people accept the media’s narratives as their background thinking, it often causes action when observation or assessment would be more appropriate, or stagnation when action is imperative.

It was inspiring to hear a news media veteran illustrate and validate the media’s real purpose. Many people expect the media to tell the truth, when actually the media’s purpose is to draw in advertising dollars. So the next time you watch the news or read one of the many periodicals think about where the story is coming from. Are you listening to truth and reality or are you witnessing a story that has been manifested to trigger you to continue watching?

On a side note, I found that the Oakland Speaker Series is one of the best values in the Bay Area. For a small fee (on their web site the Oakland speaker series can be seen for $304 for 8 different events) you get access to some of the most influential speakers of our time. Some of the past speakers have been: Carly Fiorina, Robert Redford, Colin Powell, Tom Brokaw, Neil Armstrong and Alice Walker. I highly recommend it.