Still, that is only a part of the function of journalism in the German Democratic Republic. Its primary mission is to build the enthusiasm of its readers, listeners and viewers for the noble cause of socialism, and to explain to them the laws of historical development in our day. More than that, as the Politbüro of the ZK of the SED said in its decision on press matters of 29 April 1959, the task is “not only to influence and change thoughts, but simultaneously actions in every area of the socialist transformation. . . Each editorial staff should therefore strive to initiate its own actions in the political economic and cultural spheres.”Or to paraphrase what I heard one AP manager, who looked too young to know better about the lies people tell themselves, say on a cigarette break: “I’m here to make a difference, not just report the news. I want to transform society”.
Behind the Façades in France: What expats and the mainstream media (French and American alike) fail to notice (or fail to tell you) about French attitudes, principles, values, and official positions…
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
MSNBC Explained
In 1960, East German propagandist Albert Norden came as close as one can to describe the motives of the un-free press, whose many noble-sounded stated motives sound an awful lot like the noble-sounded stated motives of the left-leaning press in the United States and western Europe:
