“In the US, voters cast ballots for individual candidates who are not bound to any party program except rhetorically, and not always then. Some Republicans are more liberal than some Democrats, some libertarians are more radical than some socialists, and many local candidates run without any party identification. No American citizen can vote intelligently without knowledge of the ideas, political background, and commitments of each individual candidate.” IdeasRunningPoliticalIndividualPartyCitizensRepublicanCommitmentProgramVoteDemocratBoundsCastsLibertarianBackgroundsLocalsRadicalCandidatesVotersBallotsIdentificationAmerican Citizens Author:Ben Bagdikian
“By now, the corporations that dominate our media, like alcoholic fat cats, treat this situation as theirs by right... Their concept of a diversity of views is the full range of politics and social values from center to far right. The American audience, having been exposed to a narrowing range of ideas over the decades, often assumes that what they see and hear in the major media is all there is. It is no way to maintain a lively marketplace of ideas, which is to say it is no way to maintain a democracy.” WayIdeasValuesSocialViewsSituationAudienceDemocracyMediaDiversityMajorsConceptsCatTreatsAssumingDecadesFatsRangeCorporationsExposedAlcoholicsMarketplaceLivelySocial Values Author:Ben Bagdikian
