THE FUTURE OF MONEY Bernard A. Lietaer - library.uniteddiversity ...

inform or report on what happens, but rather to shape public opinion
in accordance with the agendas of the prevailing corporate powers.
As the last Prime Minister of the UK observed, because the corporate
world was also controlling the content of the media it was able to
neutralise any compensating power that the media might otherwise
have provided. As a result 'Virtually everywhere the mass media
provide people primarily with commercial messages ... It is hard to
discover in most of today's news media the kind of information that
would help citizens of democratic societies to reach well-informed
political decisions ... The media have been called "Weapons of Mass
Distraction".
Advertising Everywhere
Advertising is ubiquitous, to the point of being the cultural
expression of our times. We have become accustomed to being
bombarded with ads as we watch a TV programme or even movies
and videos. Here are some other spaces mat used to be ad-free but
will not remain so:
· Giant labels on clothing transform their wearers into free
billboard walkers.
· Fruit Label Company, based in California, has started placing ads
on fruit: me video-release of Jurassic Park will be accompanied by
little ad labels on 12 million Granny Smith and Fuji apples in
supermarkets across America. The possibilities are endless: labelling
lemons with 'if you don't want a lemon, buy a Ford', or fresh
tomatoes with Campbell Soup stickers.
· Another promising new advertising medium is the beach, where
for $25,000 per month a message is inscribed every day in gigantic
lettering in the sand. Credit is given for rainy days because 'fewer
people will be exposed to the ad',