A while back in a "rant" thread I made a stink about a somewhat anonymous "feel good" campaign sponsored by a mining/media conglomerate. Just at those moments when I feel I am too cynical I conclude that I am not cynical enough....

Tonight, at the end of a local TV news show (CBS affiliate) I slowly took notice of a thirty-second spot to the effect "this is what he does do his opponents....Saddam Must Go! ...Make Real Peace Possible!"

Then the logo of the local conservative talk radio outlet (Rush, et al) -- KVI 570 -- came up on the screen along with "This message brought to you by".

This, I think, is unprecedented. To be sure, I looked up the parent company of KVI and it is Fisher Communications owner of multiple TV/radio outlets in the west including the Seattle ABC affiliate, KOMO.

As I said in an e-mail to Fisher, I think this is beyond the pale. How am I supposed to consider their news outlets trustworthy?

OK, perhaps this isn't unprecedented. I expect that during WWII network news outlets routinely pumped the patriotic party line. This is a very different case, though.

The Media-Industrial Complex.