Curtain Pulled on Media Cartel in New Film

Published: Thu, 03/07/13

Curtain Pulled on Media Cartel in New Film

Debbie Lewis, [email protected]

Columbia, MO, March 7, 2013 -  "Who controls our media?"  Speculation abounds as, clearly, our population knows the media cannot be fully trusted.  The polls reveal the distaste our population has for the mainstream media.  Yet, who does control our information?  Peddling Influence, the latest expose' by independent filmmakers William Lewis and Gary Franchi, exposes this as it answers such age-old questions as:

  •     Do we have a truly "Free Press?"
  •     What is the source of the information reported to the public?
  •     How does our media choose its "experts"?
  •     Does advertising play a roll in what media decides is newsworthy?  
  •     Will our media use crises to push the government agenda?  
  •     Who uses our media to control public opinion?  

    Peddling Influence covers even more.  What about information that affects the decisions we make every day?  Edward Bernays, the Father of Public Relations and author of the book Propaganda wrote, "We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never met."  And that could not be more true.  Whether it's advertisers, government officials or public relations experts using any and all means necessary to peddle their products, ideas or notions, our minds are fair game, and believe me, the game is rigged!

    "Advertisers spent an estimated $410 per man, woman and child in our country in 2011...billions of dollars are spent every year on advertising alone.  With that kind of clout, who controls the minds of the public?" asks Lewis.  "Maybe we should ask former award-winning CNN Reporter Amber Lyon or investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald about how advertising dollars affect what's reported?"

    While the phrase "knowledge is power" comes to mind, the information we receive is our only way to make choices, but if the information we get is shaped for consumption, are we able to make educated decisions in our best interest?  "If we can't trust our media, how can we trust the information?  If we can't trust the information, how are we to make proper decisions?  It's simple, we can't.  But there are alternatives," states Franchi, alluding to the solution portion of the film.

    Junior Senator Al Franken may have said it best, "The biases the media has are much bigger than conservative or liberal.  They're about getting ratings, about making money, about doing stories that are easy to cover."  Peddling Influence illustrates how our media is manipulated and, in some cases, why.  You've wondered about our media, now get your answers!

    To watch the NEW TRAILER and to acquire your copy of Peddling Influence,
    visit http://NNN.is/Peddling_Influence

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