Letters From Facebook Jail: Day 13

Corporate Media Vs. Citizen Journalism

If Mainstream Corporate Journalists and Internet Citizen Journalists were each a collective entity, they would sound something like this:

Mainstream Corporate Journalist: I am a journalist.

Internet Citizen Journalist: I'm just trying to point out facts.

MCJ: I work for a corporation.

ICJ: I work for myself.

MCJ: If I don’t earn a profit for my employers, I will be fired.

ICJ: I will likely never make a penny for my efforts.

MCJ: My money comes from corporate sponsors that include the pharmaceutical industry, the fossil fuel industry, and even military contractors.

ICJ: If I am lucky and do my job well, I will have supporters that throw a few bucks at me on Patreon.

MCJ: The more I speak for the powerful, the more successful I will be.

ICJ: The more I speak truth to power, the more successful I will be.

MCJ: I supported the Iraq War.

ICJ: I opposed the Iraq War.

MCJ I got up on television and said you were basically a traitor to your country if you opposed the Iraq War.(Joe Scarborough)

ICJ: Nevertheless, I went out on a street corner holding a sign opposing the Iraq war while rednecks in a pickup truck with a huge American flag swore at us and threatened us with violence.

MCJ: I said there was no doubt there were WMDs in Iraq.

ICJ: I didn’t believe it.

MCJ: I now refer to the Iraq War as a mistake.

ICJ: I now refer to the Iraq War as a crime.

MCJ: I hope that you will forget that I once supported the war so that I can maintain my appearance of having integrity.

ICJ: I hope you will remember that I opposed the war, thus proving my integrity.

MCJ: I work hard at my job in the hopes that one day I will get paid like Rachel Maddow or Sean Hannity.

ICJ: I work hard at my job in the hopes of saving the planet from environmental destruction and nuclear war.

MCJ: I have access to Robert Mueller and Mike Pompeo and am able to ask questions of them and get their responses.

ICJ: I point out how Robert Mueller is a liar and Mike Pompeo is an admitted liar and whatever they say should not be trusted.

MCJ: I have been making people aware of the protests in China.

ICJ: I have been making people aware of the protests in The United States. And Lebanon and Iraq and Equador and Chile and Columbia and Greece and France and…

MCJ: I have been ignoring Bernie Sanders and slandering Tulsi Gabbard.

ICJ: I have been pointing out this bias.

MCJ: I have been saying that Medicare For All is unaffordable.

ICJ: I’ve been saying that it is less expensive and covers more than our current system.

MCJ: I tell people they have to settle for the lesser of two evils.

ICJ: I’ve been telling people they have within them the power to change things for the better.

MCJ: I promoted Trump as a celebrity before he got involved in politics.

ICJ: I’ve never liked Trump.

MCJ: I show images of poor people in countries that are being sanctioned for disobeying Washington.

ICJ: I show pictures of homeless people living in tent cities in The United States.

MCJ: I sometimes mention climate change and ask what we can do about it without effecting our economy.

ICJ: I often mention climate change and say we won’t have an economy in a few years if we don’t do anything about it.

ICJ: I speak for the planet and say we must protect it.

MCJ: I speak for the fossil fuel industry and the automotive industry and say we need to power our economy.

ICJ: I speak for journalists and say nobody should go to jail for revealing the truth.

MCJ: I say Julian Assange isn’t a real journalist like Rachel Maddow and deserves to rot in prison.

ICJ: I say people need to put aside partisan politics and find ways to work together.

MCJ: I say Republicans are the enemy or the Democrats are the enemy, depending on whether I am working for FOX News or MSNBC.

ICJ: I frequently reference Martin Luther King Jr. and other important thinkers and leaders of history.

MCJ: I frequently reference Kanye West and other celebrities.

ICJ: I’m worried about the influence of money in American politics.

MCJ: I’m worried about the influence a picture of Jesus arm-wrestling the devil has on American politics.

ICJ: I want you to care about safe drinking water for Flint Michigan and elsewhere.

MCJ: I’m interested in letting you know which bottled water is best.

ICJ: I seek to enlighten you.

MCJ: I seek to entertain and titillate you.

ICJ: I want you to feel connected, so that you trust yourself.

MCJ: I want you to feel alienated, so that you trust the television.

ICJ: I want you to feel hopeful.

MCJ: I want you to feel fearful.

ICJ: I want you as a comrade.

MCJ: I want you as a loyal viewer.

ICJ: My voice is being censored.

MCJ: MY VOICE IS BEING AMPLIFIED.

Like my writing? Please follow me on Twitter, sign up for my newsletter, or check me out on Amazon.