Top German journalist admits news agenda set by government

So here we have a retired German broadcast company head admitting live during a radio broadcast that the German government tells them what to, and what not to report. His company (ZDF) was recently forced into an embarrassing public apology when it became obvious that they were avoiding reporting violence connected with refugees.

It seems he's attempting to pass some of the blame off onto the German government by claiming his, as well as other broadcast companys, were specifically told not to report these instances. He even goes as far to say they were instructed to report news "to Ms. Merkel's liking" and that "one is not allowed to say anything negative about the refugees."
www.breitbart.com...

I just don't understand how people don't see how this goes on in almost every major country. A lot of people I talk to think that the US and other developed countries are somehow immune to corruption of the media. Even when faced with examples like this they will chalk it up to a one-time isolated event. Let me know what you think ATS.

a reply to: Quantumgamer1776
I have absolutely no doubt that this is the case especially considering the global Hollyweird Kardashian crowd can't see the forest through the trees.....Facebook, twitter and YouTube is a testament to the acute propaganda relentlessly blanketing society in a bed of political correctness where feelings trump facts and vocal nationalists are terrorists.

Propaganda - hide your scum

a reply to: Quantumgamer1776

This has been ongoing around the world for decades if not longer! You did not know this?

USA does the exact same thing, so does England and Russia.....

All governments control ALL media including newspapers for reasons of national security, blah blah blah.....whatever reason they want to give.

Governments feeds us what they want us to know.

Believe nothing you hear and a third of what you read and you will be closer to the truth than most people.

it's interesting to me how we all envision an invading force armed with guns tanks and bombs.
But in reality they don't need any of that, just the censorship that is enforced either by the politicians that control the media or the so called social justice warriors that attack or flat out ostracize people for trying to have a debate that ultimately focuses around making sure a group of people (like the victims of the Cologne attack) are vindicated or kept safe from further attacks.

That the MSM in any country is bought out and is told what to say is an old story.
The moment you have a noticeable platform to speak from, someone is going to try to tell you exactly what to say. And for the most part it's rich people making sure they continue to be rich and above scrutiny.
But the idea that now normal people are doing it to each other...that's an ill i was not prepared for.

a reply to: Quantumgamer1776

Definitely doesn't surprise me in the least. I'm sure the U.S. does the same thing.

Growing up, I remember watching 60 minutes investigative journalism. I remember watching Sam Donaldson asking the tough questions during presidential news conferences. I remember the investigative reporting by Woodward and Bernstein involving the Watergate break-in. I remember reading Jack Anderson a Syndicated Columnist and investigative reporter in our Sunday paper.

Where has it all gone? Investigative Journalism is dead! Where was all the investigative journalism surrounding 911 or the real reason why we invaded Iraq? Glenn Greenwald and Ben Swann are the only investigative reporters I'm aware of who have any kind of backbone who are willing to venture into the danger zone. There's no longer a free press.

“We have the problem that – now I’m mainly talking about the public [state] media – we have a closeness to the government. Not only because commentary is mainly in line with the grand coalition (CSU, CDU, and SPD), with the spectrum of opinion, but also because we are completely taken in by the agenda laid down by the political class.”

Anything new?
For real, this is nothing new to us in germany, i mean, we´re not all the same, some of us don´t watch TV the whole day and learn only from the BILD "newspaper". Or not all of us work "25hrs a day" without questioning anything. We are aware of the mass media agenda, because we are not blind or deaf.
Anybody here knows about the ZDF and political interactions.
And we all are forced to pay for that propaganda by former called GEZ. It´s a tax which isn´t called tax. If you don´t pay it, you may have to face jailtime for the money you "owe" them. Even if you don´t own a TV or a radio. But it might be that you maybe will use one, in future, so you have to pay for it. Minority Report?

There is another problem here in germany with the media, the journalists, the most of them are member of the "Atlantikbrücke".
Atlantik-Brücke e.V. ~ Home
When i opened it right now, i saw Henry Kissinger quoted:

“Government relations are always, or usually, conducted with a specific goal in mind. Institutions like Atlantik-Brücke permit one to meet in a less constrained manner and deal with long-range objectives. It is not a substitute for government relations, but it can be an important supplement. ”
Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State, 1973-1977

Just saying...

It´s "funny", when i switch the wikipedia(i know, i know...) page from "deutsch"
Atlantik-Brücke
to english
Atlantik-Brücke
anything that could sound negative is gone, like critics or the part: American Council on Germany & Council on Foreign Relations...

Here is a little list of some known "independent" german journalists that "only report uninfluenced news to the german public":
German "journalists"/Atlantikbrücke

It´s almost all of the most prominent "journalists" of germany, even the "leftists".

So we have two big problems here in germany with the mass media. It´s not only that it would represent german government opinion, it´s spreading the point of view of the US government, we are completely owned by the US gov since the fall of that lunatic austrian mass murderer and his german nazi gang, some decades back ago.

Not because the US government(!!!) loves us, but because of geopolitical reasons. First it was the first Cold War, then, after the "Entnazifizierung"(sure... xD ) and US influenced reeducation we became useful for other things, like hosting US atomic weapons, as a spy center for whatever US authorities like the NSA for example, and what else.

I only wanted to say that there is not one government on earth that wouldn´t use the mass media to spread it´s point of view, to make people think what the government wants "it´s" people to think. But in germany it isn´t even our own "government" that uses mass media propaganda to brainwash people.

And the most of the germans are aware of the situation, since a long time. But what should we people do?
At this point the movie They Live comes in my mind. Some "hackers" that use the mass media to spread the truth till all the antennas and transmitters are destroyed. To wake the last remote controlled people up...

Just dreaming...

Have to leave another one here when it comes to media and journalism:

John Swinton on the independence of the press

"There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history, in America, as an independent press. You know it and I know it.

There is not one of you who dares to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job. If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone.

The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it, and what folly is this toasting an independent press?

We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes."

John Swinton on the independence of the press

Woo hoo!

Finally some evidence the good membership of ATS cannot ignore!

Are you reading? You know who you are... ASK WHY IT IS NEWS NOT WHAT IS NEWS!!

This topic is so frustrating to me because so many people wax crap about what is in the news like it is important and they live their life by it. Yet it is so obviously a tool to amend our thoughts!