Read a Pacific Northwest, liberal perspective on world, national, and local politics. From majestic Redmond, Washington - the Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog.

Monday, June 04, 2007

LIVE from Town Hall: Gore describes the consequences of the rise of television

Al is now talking about the powerful consequences that television has had on our society and on democracy. The rise of television has brought about the rise of a meshing of journalism and entertainment, Gore said.

"Who we are, as citizens of this country, depends not just what we learn at school, or what our parents teach us. It depends on how we communicate with one another. Whether we trust one another."

"We can look as far as we can see, but we have to be honest with ourselves. We have to disenthrall ourselves and shed the delusions that people force upon us."

"We have to attend to the cracks in the foundation of our democracy. In order to solve the climate crisis, we've got to be honest."

Gore pointed out that good journalism can easily fall by the wayside if the owners of media outlets are more interested in making money than the public good.

"There are now gatekeepers to the public square. You can't get in. You have to buy 30 second advertisements."

"All of the sudden, the ideals of the public interest are now considered by the ideology of the current administration to be a myth."

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