Media wars

Essentially, American and British media are now instruments of an international oligarchy. Most media reach is in the hands of a few. But those few still think about like robber barons of yore, continually pushing to expand their reach and protect their positions.

They are, though, having a tough time with the internet, which is cutting into their ad revenues. Still, it is probable that big investors in internet powerhouses such as Google, Yahoo, AOL and so on are elbowing their way to the table of the oligarchs.

Clearly, one of the things the oligarchs do is agree as to what news is not to be disseminated. They may do this with encrypted phone calls or perhaps with a wink and a nod. Those who are not under the control of these oligarchs find that they are pressured to play along and ignore news that has been put on the oligarchy's spike list, such as objective reporting of 9/11 coverups.

So what does the oligarchy do when confronted with the phenomenon of Znewz1? Sure there are plenty of other blogs and websites that question the system. But Znewz1 is run be a former newspaperman who knows the ways of the news business. This reporter has contributed to the New York Times and worked for other major newspapers.

What really bothers the oligarchy is competition!

These guys stay awake nights trying to figure out how to squelch competition.

Now Znewz1 doesn't provide any direct economic competition. But competition for credibility does affect economic standing (as I can well attest).

I conjecture that big media jealousy and anti-competitive policies have a lot to do with the continual interference with Znewz1 and the ongoing campaign to limit Paul Conant's work from gaining visibility on the net. You may remember how media biggies have cozied up to the White House in a cloying bid to get legislation that would leave them even less competition.

This said, we must also praise those reporters and editors who do what they can to overcome the oligarchic yoke.