BillHustonBlog: Why is our media system so broken?

Why is our media system so broken?

The answer is very complex. I could write a book on this.
If you want my honest answer/guess in a concise way....

First you have to understand that

Corporate Capitalism is a machine which has been created by humans. The sole function of this machine is to concentrate wealth into the hands of those who already have wealth.
Every profit-making venture works by "Enclosure" of a Common good, which is a resource which is either desirable, or necessary for life. This involves putting a fence around it with a lock to keep the people OUT, then leasing or selling the good to the people. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enclosure. Our corporate-commercial for-profit media work just like this.
Capitalism, with it's rules of unrestrained and perpetual growth, cannot co-exist with any other competing system. It must utterly destroy and silence all competing systems.
Capitalism/Property cannot coexist with Democracy, because Democracy is based on egalitarianism (equal rights for all). Capitalism/Property in a fundamental way, requires Class disparity between the owner (with all the rights) and the dispossessed (without rights).
Democracy cannot function without an informed population about the truth of our reality.

Once you understand these things, everything begins to make sense.

This is why the corporations have seized control of mass media.
This is why nearly all the nationally syndicated radio commentators are radical-right wingers (pro-corporate, pro capitalism, pro-war, anti-environment, anti-peace, anti-life)
This is why you can't get a radio show or TV show on a local station during prime time, *even if you have the money to pay*!!!
This is why the big cable companies and telcos want to KILL public access, and keep the people away from the microphone at all costs.
This is why there is a merger between "Journalism" and Public Relations, both in the academy, and also with a revolving employment door.
This is why the corporations have "enclosed" our system of elections and lawmaking.
etc etc etc.

I'm made a couple of diagrams to try to map out the complex relationships involving our present media system, and a vision of how it should work (ideally):

Present Media system: