Citizens Prerogative Podcast Closed Caption Transcript
S3 E48 Big Media's Disruptive Product

12:54:53 In times like these, being a citizen is a big job. Thank you for joining us to celebrate the virtues of self rule, and debate the state of our republic.
12:55:03 Welcome to the citizens prerogative podcast. This is the voice of your nerdy host Michael biscuit Telly and we are blessed with the co host whose passion for our republic precedes him everywhere he goes, Raymond along Junior by camera.
12:55:18 I media, just by saying so.
12:55:24 This is episode number 48. We are in season three. And if it survives the title of this episode will be big media's disruptive product.
12:55:39 know puns all fun all day long.
12:55:45 Until we talk about this subject, this subject, this topic.
12:55:49 What a mess.
12:55:55 Media. What a mess.
12:55:55 I'm going to run through some of our bullets here, try not to make it too much of a diatribe but this is what we get. Right. And I think we've made some points we're probably going to harp on them again and we'll, we'll still engine to some new territory.
12:56:11 But will we get this is what we get with profit motivated niches and confirmation bias zones.
12:56:20 Fact free information networks infotainment networks, 24, hour news cycle, about speculation about things that have yet to happen. Like, I've never seen so much junk.
12:56:37 And actually I don't even see a lot of it anymore because I filter it out and we'll talk more about that too.
12:56:45 With the pervasiveness of reality TV right they saw a good product, and they just went wild with it, and I think that I saw the inception of reality TV which is really cool and totally worth one stations time and an hour of my life a week, but not what
12:57:03 it is that it's just everywhere, they're trying to recreate that energy right there you're there you're part of this real life situation. Even with some of its purely false.
12:57:18 Yeah, exactly. I mean if we just break down the two parts first bullet around the profit motive and then confirmation bias.
12:57:27 The profit motive, you know, you get this rinse and repeat industrialization, increasing efficiency product out of anything we industrialize, and the larger something is the more industrialized the product is, you know, the processes to produce that product
12:57:45 that's the, that's kind of where the profit motive tends to drive things.
12:57:50 We see it in Hollywood, we see it with films we see it with sequels and redos and yada yada yada. Why, because, well, we have data that tells us this is profit.
12:58:04 This was profitable at one point in time, let's just bring it back now let's just make that money again let's rinse it off and repeat it.
12:58:07 We see that with the stories with the headlines we see it with the cable news cycles, with the personalities the topics they choose to drone on and on and on and on about when things are actually happening in the world.
12:58:20 When news really is happening, it doesn't take troops on the border of Ukraine, and Chinese ships cutting off, you know internet cables to Taiwan. To get to the headlines to override them talking about each other and themselves in their ideas and the
12:58:39 potential futures, rather than telling reporting on what is going on.
12:58:46 It's so much cheaper.
12:58:49 It's so much cheaper, more efficient, right, to rinse and repeat. and like you said right why even bother.
12:58:57 Why even bother. Like, I can just fabricate things, who's I anybody in the media sphere, it seems these days can kind of come up with their own thing because so many of them are just entertainers, they're not actually reporters are journalists.
12:59:16 Right.
12:59:15 They can tell whatever story they want. So, and we don't know we don't have any labels there's no food labels. There's no media, right, maybe protected by the courts the courts have spoken and said that some, some outlets can 10 can put a little disclaimer
12:59:32 that says their opinion, or they can argue that no one in their right mind would believe this but that's the problem with mental health. It's rampant.
12:59:40 It's a challenge for us all to get over. It's a daily struggle is to make sure you're aligned with some lens set lens to what's going on in the world.
12:59:54 Yeah, getting caught up in all of this super crazy high energy emotions.
13:00:01 And then there's the confirmation bias side of that so I'd say.
13:00:06 This is so nuanced and I don't think it's almost not even worth talking about when we have such blatant junk food on the airwaves but you know there are some people who will watch things and they may see the same stories that may have been circulated
13:00:22 offline on the airwaves but it's been spawn respond respawn. We've, I mean this is what we used to think lying look like maybe back in the heydays of journalism, you know, But now we call it spin.
13:00:39 And then there's whole channels as 24 seven and some people only watch it and so that's when we get into this confirmation bias so we're, and we're only watching the things that we think are true.
13:00:51 We agree with.
13:00:53 And the facts are there's multiple sides to every story so if you're only.
13:00:58 You're only taking it from one source you're only looking at one side of the story.
13:01:02 I don't know how you're going to think you know what's going on or have any sense of the facts.
13:01:09 But that's another story. And this whole thing isn't anything to do with facts or information.
13:01:15 Watch your be where the where the energy vampires. This channel will suck your life, and may kill you. I think that's the label. They need to have.
13:01:25 Oh you're thinking like, like smoking right the powerful smoking industry eventually had a disclaimer on their pack, it'd be for the show comes on, like, hey Just you watch and then this may kill you.
13:01:38 And then then it goes into the show.
13:01:42 That's exactly right.
13:01:44 It's so bad I am laughing but
13:01:50 I'm trying to add some levity into this. No, there's no love it when when they when they try to make you you know basically make us look at each other hate one another and make us look at as less than human but I want.
13:02:04 I think people should understand that these news organizations don't think of us as human they don't think they don't, they put this news like you said earlier, they're entertainers right.
13:02:14 They don't care that what they're putting out in the they don't believe what they're saying they know it's wrong, but they're putting it out there, and they think of us as ill informed and it's our fault that we're falling into the trap of the system.
13:02:27 Meanwhile, they have multimillion dollar salaries, so they're above any reproach they won't feel the pain that everyday Americans will from the, from Bennett, basically the carnage their entertainment, creates.
13:02:44 They are pain to deliver a product.
13:02:48 And they do it. And you're right.
13:02:52 Those of us who eat the poison and die from the poison I guess all. It's on us. I liked your cigarette example.
13:03:02 I mean, I think we know with cigarettes we found out.
13:03:06 There's a little bit more to the story than my personal choice.
13:03:10 It was kind of addictive. Right. We found some additives some chemicals released into the cigarettes and so it wasn't just a matter of well you're just a sucker because you make the choice to buy the cigarettes is, you probably got addicted from secondhand
13:03:28 smoking while your parents were addicted, and then you and your families smoking so then you smoke. Right.
13:03:34 And the media ecosystem is the exact same.
13:03:38 It's the same exact same thing it's like you grow up around certain things and so it kind of glom on to you that's the environment you're indoctrinated into whether or not it's good for you and then you're addicted to it.
13:03:54 Without maybe even knowing. Some people know they're addicted and they keep going back right.
13:04:01 So anybody you know clearly place blame in that sense because that's exactly right, they go to work, they produce a product, they go home, people at Philip Morris went to work, they produced a product, they went home.
13:04:14 Everyone got paid.
13:04:20 Same kind of media factory. And in this case, instead of nicotine.
13:04:28 Instead of using tobacco.
13:04:38 Here they use cable news channels, as the cigarette, as the tobacco, the nicotine they lace it with his fear and anger and anger and misinformation, like carcinogens like misinformation I, there was an, there wasn't there was a.
13:04:50 Our Fox episode that showed the worst places to live in America, and they actually were showing a map from the report, but the report also showed the best places to live in America.
13:05:00 So they were showing the map of the best places to live in America portion, but talking about the worst places to live. And of course, it showed it showed San Diego which showed the coast, it showed New York is terrible places to live.
13:05:14 If you only looked at the visual, but if you go to the actual source of the research, it's just simple anecdotal carcinogens I feel just like cigarettes, little fuel they drop in their right to stoke the fire to make people feel like they've made the
13:05:28 right decision in judging the city's.
13:05:51 Right. And they have full control of the assembly line of the product that they're manufacturing, so they can make whatever they want and it's entertainment so the facts don't have to be there.
13:05:50 The only thing they have to potentially protect themselves is some kind of liable suit, which they seem to do pretty well because it's just free speech.
13:06:01 At least most of the time.
13:06:10 So, this idea that fear, fear and anger are laced in their products, and it's important for us, we try to again take a step back be strategic be systemic in our thinking and our approaches to things because you never know who, who the devil is going to
13:06:29 be on a given day. Okay, I don't care what the product the brand, whatever it is, it's more important to know the telltale signs and the symbols the rules the indicators.
13:06:41 So regardless of what packaging it comes in, regardless of what type of product it is you have you have the ability, you've developed some skill or sense as to understand how to assess it for yourself.
13:06:57 The quality of the thing, right, should you ingest it should you let those ideas in your mind. Should you alter the way you think based on them.
13:07:06 Right. No different than should you eat that thing over there. Do you trust who cooked it, or who made it for you. I mean no difference in the food you put in your body or the other chemicals that you'll ingest for various reasons.
13:07:19 These thoughts are in the same for your mind, right, it's, it's food, or it's fodder.
13:07:28 It either helps you grow, or it's or it's junk food, it doesn't help.
13:07:33 Burns you out.
13:07:35 need a balanced diet for your brain.
13:07:53 This is really interesting that you said it as well, because people are obsessed about putting a mask on their face and taking a vaccine, because they don't understand what's in it yet, we eat, we consume from shelves, you know products like, I don't
13:07:59 know products that should be refrigerated, but you can pick it up off the shelf and eat it, you should really ask yourself, you know what's in that product to make it last this long on a shelf with no refrigeration normally this product, it will spoil
13:08:13 right so there's so much it's been happening to our environment. I think that's the worry right so media is that same cognitive dissonance, if, if we started stepping back and looking what was in our food, and our nutrition value, we might start looking
13:08:28 at what's in our news as well. So that's why the news isn't going to talk to you about that. They're not going to give you any, any ways to get to the bottom of what's really going on there they're going to give you your opinion, and that's where we are
13:08:42 now is this odd state where we said it earlier Mike it feeds you right turn on the TV, and then it just feeds you like literally force feeds you whatever they had on their agenda and whatever they think the economy wants
13:08:58 to exactly right. turn on that TV, and it's like a waterfall.
13:09:03 Gosh of pollution into your mind. In some cases, I mean, Obviously I'm being dramatic, in my way. But, yeah, in, in there it's just, it will include a link to this article there's.
13:09:15 I'm not entirely sure how reputable Psychology Today is here I am in the confirmation bias so and because I liked this article because it, it says what I was looking for something.
13:09:25 I had read something about this before about the addictive qualities of anger and in fear and things like that and so when you think about not only is it not nutritious.
13:09:35 It's designed to keep you coming back for more unsafe she ate it, like you said, re, no questions answered all more questions, every time you come back.
13:09:45 you're just hungrier.
13:09:47 Every time you leave.
13:09:50 It's not just not, it's not just that you're not getting what you need and you're going back because you're still hungry. But there's something in it, they've released it with with anger with fear.
13:10:01 and in this article talks about the neurological physiological responses we have right to fear in our minds and our survival instinct inside of us we are kind of hone towards certain things because we want to avoid dying in the wild.
13:10:20 And so, yeah, fear, anger, Stokes that area.
13:10:24 One of the other one. There's another emotion that. That tickles that area as well. It's all just, oh it's our mistakes.
13:10:34 We tend to remember our mistakes our mistakes stick with us much longer we reflect on them more often than our successes and simply because it's the mistakes that are going to risk your life.
13:10:48 So evolutionarily speaking our memory puts bigger way on our mistakes as well so fear, making you feel regret for the mistake has been made, you know things are those nature's it begs the question I have to jump in and just say like it begs the question
13:11:04 that you know if we are animals as we all believe. Not everyone but then then that means that the basic idea of of critical thinking starts with is that item is that Barry that I'm going to eat poisonous, or is it safe.
13:11:21 And the last time I ate, I had that Barry, I have to imagine and understand that I had it before, and I had a reaction so was that the basis for cognitive.
13:11:34 The going above the lizard brain right that region of just trying to denote, what happened the last time you ate a berry.
13:11:45 you know some of this stuff really goes back to some pretty basic.
13:11:49 Evolutionary fundamentals and which is why they work so well, they're so pervasive they go straight to your basic programming, you know, pass windows into dos pass your Mac OS into your Unix
13:12:07 beyond your gooey.
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13:14:01 We studied this, we came across that idea that the human neurology rewards that anger, and it makes complete sense to me as I continue down my little animal rabbit hole here I know we're talking about media.
13:14:18 But, but media, frankly, the leaders and the heads of media probably look at us as these primitive little animals, because that's what they're leveraging, but you do think about anger and where it comes from its original state.
13:14:30 And so much of in the ecosystem, you know, throughout nature you see intimidation, mostly mostly as the way things are settled, you don't see actual death and nature right that's inefficient.
13:14:42 A lot of the males if you will or the whatever species, they actually just intimidate each other, they bought they bought they pop up. They screen loudly they make noises they dance.
13:14:53 And if you think about it that intimidation and anger might be rooted and you know it's kind of it's a beautiful thing at the same time but dangerous but if you think about in nature, those moments where they fight for a mate and that's the essence of
13:15:08 living for all of us, right. And when you protect your, your family or your child or you, you get in front of that situation. It's going to be a necessary emotion in all of us in nature.
13:15:20 But it's been harnessed it's been hijacked, and it's time for all of us to get a get our hands around
13:15:31 to really call Good call out grey.
13:15:33 I mean, again, it's just some fundamental things that they're hijacking and using, you know, using ourselves against us really the end of the day, and they get paid
13:15:51 to do it so
13:15:54 let's switch gears a little bit here.
13:15:56 We're going to ease into call to action.
13:16:00 You know, this whole thing makes me. It's one of the very few times I would consider myself thinking to look good old days or at least you know one little one little snippet.
13:16:11 I don't want to return to all of history. But there was a point in time I remember growing up.
13:16:19 When you knew you were reading a tabloid by it's cover.
13:16:25 Now it just seems like there's a blend of tabloid mixed into everything under every cover, you know, and someone, all of us one anyone needs to be skilled up, and vigilant to be able to sift through it.
13:16:41 We've talked about sifting and several of our previous episodes probably when we're talking about media, just because of this very issue the fact that there may be facts maybe truths maybe useful information or wisdom, or, sorry I I don't want to accuse
13:16:57 the media have ever producing any wisdom I can't recall. Since I can't side source. I'm going to strike wisdom from the record. I don't think that's ever recommended there.
13:17:08 There's some things that we can do right as individuals, I mean will express some thankfulness that Yoan newsman some of these, these places that may not have the most reputable nature, at least at the start.
13:17:26 I don't know if they'll convert themselves into anything good.
13:17:29 In any case, they're they're running into some headwinds to distribution. So, that's some indicator, but we still have the problem that this is a very market driven profit motivated thing right so whoever sells whatever sell sex or lies, is what makes
13:17:47 the money so that's, we have to be cautious we have to implement our own controls for our own life use our free will, if you're religious or agency if you're not, we need to to muster that call it forth, and really choose what we're going to let it, we
13:18:04 really need to seek out and select information for ourselves, and we need to have some sources that we trust and believe in.
13:18:12 And I know we've talked about some of these action items in the past as well.
13:18:18 But it's worth reiterating and I think it's more important now than ever.
13:18:22 I'll just articulate one example from my life.
13:18:29 My.
13:18:28 Long story short, my cable internet it's expensive so I just get cable with my internet, rather than internet by itself.
13:18:36 And I get a DVR service, free, I never really used DVR didn't want it just came came with the thing. Then he realized, wow, this is actually perfect, because now, I've just I've consciously taking a step back and decided what news program, do I actually
13:18:52 want to see, and I only want an hour of it maps, and I've gone out and I've selected the programming from local TV stations or otherwise.
13:19:02 And now I only watch it off of my DVR, I don't put on the TV, I grew up with the TV on a news channel all day all night or something, or some channel right the TV was like always on or something on the background and I didn't realize like I do now how
13:19:16 much. Sometimes those ideas are polluting the environment.
13:19:21 You can't just like you said, re, leave it on and let the stream the flow, you know just invade your entire environment and then it's invading your thinking.
13:19:32 Before you know it, so it's important to like have a dose, turn it on, turn it off. Get in, get out. That's how I treat Facebook gotta get in, but get out are going to have a lifeline.
13:19:40 I can tell it's beautiful. It's beautiful because I, I mean, this is a push for cable.
13:19:48 But if they'll sponsor us great, but cable I might actually get cable because it makes a lot of sense now I'm already paying for the internet, why not get the cable service and use the DVR, the DVR which would have an obvious benefit, so I'm definitely
13:20:04 looking at, at that. I would also put in there that you should treat it like the food guide pyramid and I don't know if we've covered this in previous episodes, but putting you're putting your media you know you should have your your your father, which
13:20:18 is these major organizations with motivations, and you have that and you could kind of put it in its base where it belongs, but then you have those very refined trusted resources, right at the top of the pyramid, that you care about that you know are
13:20:35 giving you the good information, and we really hope will land up there at the top.
13:20:43 Indeed.
13:20:45 Now that's great. I like that idea of food pyramid because now we can do an infographic, which should graphic.
13:20:54 Yeah, everybody let's all do this let's do whatever we can. I mean my scenario is just one example I know a lot of people subscribe to new services I get them access to articles on behind paywalls and stuff so as we come across, things like that that
13:21:09 are helpful to tell people figure out where to shop for information, get a handle on your media faucet, so that we can all be in control of our consumption, we have to enforce limits on ourselves it's just like eating right, what we, What we let into
13:21:27 our minds, what we let into our bodies. Same concept, we, we should be in control of that and it's up to each of us to protect ourselves.
13:21:36 So, please look away, turn it off, turn it out, take a break, going to put that on a T shirt.
13:21:45 That's good and. And while you're there. If you find the ones you like. Make sure you support independent media because the large, the big challenge is that the corporations are there they're funding their sources and they're out there just fine.
13:21:58 They don't need any help, but if you find a media source you appreciate and they're accurate and they're independent, they may rely on our support as citizens so make sure you vote with your dollars.
13:22:15 Indeed. Yeah, we're in the small media small business. Yes, Let's do it.
13:22:24 artisanal stuff. Also to choose to be open to information you may not agree with we all have to get out of our confirmation bias so. Okay. Anything that confirms your bias treated kind of like junk food.
13:22:36 If you want to if you have to be addicted to anger, if you can't figure out how to get addicted to anger.
13:22:48 Just give yourself a little dose here and there but don't live in the world of anger, it's going to shorten your life. Same thing with fear, all those all those emotions I bring you down.
13:22:52 Be cautious about what you let into your life that's Stokes those, especially if it's not people you love.
13:23:01 So being for be open to information you don't agree with get out of these bias zones.
13:23:10 It doesn't mean you have to change your position the way you think. But strategically, it makes sense to understand all counter arguments so that you can have a better sense of the whole landscape.
13:23:18 You know, if you are a great military officer trying to win a war, you certainly want to be able to think like your enemy. This isn't a war, we're not enemies, but the same concepts and principles apply, we should understand the perspectives from every
13:23:32 angle, especially in a democratic society or pluralistic society where we're coming from different perspectives, and we're trying to find common ground up.
13:23:40 So, we, we all need to be open to things we may not agree with. Period.
13:23:57 Last but not least, for the calls to action, choose your time and your content with care. I know it sounds like we're harping on this but it is, it's your choice.
13:24:08 How you want to spend your time on earth, and hopefully you don't want to spend the whole time, angry, and or possibly ignorant if you don't have a diverse diet for your sources of information.
13:24:21 So pick sources that give you multiple perspectives, covering any given topic.
13:24:26 So they can act as plot points and triangulating the relative truth. Among the stories. Just because one reporter wrote the story doesn't make it the truth.
13:24:36 It's a verb.
13:24:39 We've talked about that in past episodes to aim to build a metaphorical salad, seeking a balanced diet a diversified portfolio of information sources if your financial think diversified portfolio, your food oriented, you want, you know, mostly greens
13:24:55 not too much, lots of vegetables and maybe some meat here and there, little bit.
13:25:03 Keep track of your reputable sources, they're worth a subscription just like Ray said they're worth spending money on nowadays because who knows where your cable dollars or other dollars are going to.
13:25:14 So just be on picking a new site or a magazine check out some of the new curated services.
13:25:20 Here we're mentioning incl INKL, although that one comes through from Australia so you're going to get a foreign transaction fee if it's not in your capital one credit card
13:25:32 data. And then there would be clear, we're not sponsored by Capital One but also we are open to sponsorships for her. So let's see here. And, and there are other banks go look at your fighting for it, you may have a credit union another awesome company
13:25:57 doesn't charge you foreign transaction fees. Yay,
13:25:59 think we're good to close.
13:26:04 All right, that's gonna wrap up our calls to action. Short and sweet. Trying to keep it under 30 minutes for all you out there.
13:26:14 We have been your host, thank you to Mr. Raymond long Jr.
13:26:18 Thank you Mr Pisco Tally. I just like to point out that you're old enough that you finally say that back in your day.
13:26:34 Oh, wow. And just just a number. Someday I'll understand.
13:26:42 This has been something it's for sure.
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