or bother with most film. i blogged in a similar vein recently. democrats who don't understand how bad the media really is need to be taken out and whipped vigorously while watching path to 911.

An old debate among journalists and broadcasters comes to mind. Does the content of the media drive the public, or does the public drive the content of the media?
Having gone on to earn a doctorate and study human behavior in the process, it's clearly not simply the media or the public driving the content. But I will put far more weight on the public determining what’s in the media.
The media, first and foremost, is driven by the chase for elusive profit and the rating system is still king. If the media conglomerates were taken apart, one must ask, what would change?
One would hope that any number of news stories that had been killed by executive producers for being, potentially, "too upsetting" to the public or "insufficiently respectful" of our elected officials would be reduced. Would a whole new set of programs emerge replacing "Oprah" or "Lost"? What would really change?
Having embraced this debate many, many years ago, I decided to put my efforts into the field of education after having focused on a career in the media for many years. Students need to be trained to engage in critical thinking beginning in preschool -- "How can we tell which apple will taste better?" -- and the training must become more focused where some fifth graders are ready for the question, "What are the facial expressions and hand movements that suggest that someone we see on TV may be lying?"
Creating a nation of critical thinkers is the key. Where they go, the media will follow. That's how it has been all along, The uneducated, given a choice, are quite likely to choose, once again, freedom for Barabbas.

Channing
Ventura CA USA