Those the own, manage, and profit from the media business need us to be mindless rubes who consume whatever it is they are trying to sell us - a product, a service, an idea, a candidate, a belief, request for donation, or call to action.
This monologue from the 1976 movie, 'Network', reminds us that media is a tool of influence and manipulation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HQTNZRmJdgRemember what he says the next time you watch the tube.
