(Op-ed by Peter Children)
It seems the massaging of the public has lessened somewhat since the inception of this site, NorthIowaToday.com. It appears some of the punch has disappeared from the rhetoric knowing there will be a counter assault on what is offered by the Globe. Now it isn’t what is being said, it is more like what is not being said, if you pay attention.
I am not seeing the little “filler” articles sprinkled across the paper mentioning things of little consequence in order to get their favorite candidate’s name out there.
Truthfully I am baffled by all of this; let’s all stop and catch our breath for a moment. In the end, when all the votes have been counted and the winner is announced….just what difference will it make to the Globe-Gazette who wins or loses? The answer of course is none. What difference could it possibly make; are they going to suddenly lose their franchise to publish a paper….no, there is no franchise. It all comes down to ego, to the ability to pick & chose who gets a seat and who does not. It is a child’s game decided who can play and who cannot. For decades, the candidate chosen by the Globe was a shoe in, people were like sheep, they voted for the Globe’s endorsement…now not so much. I like to think it is because people are reading more, learning more, are more in tune to the political games being played.
Look back, remember when Khun announced he was running? The Globe ran it on the front page in color, treated it like a new dynasty was being born. The guy has his own podium for Christ’s sake, just how many people do you know that own a podium? Maybe everyone who has their own tennis court is required to have a podium. The guy announced for Mason City Council, not the presidency of the United States…loosen up already.
When Schickel ran for mayor, the Globe had something in the paper about him almost everyday…he was seen getting his haircut, he was seen buying gas, eating in a café, and each time his picture ran with the story. Whereas his opponent suffered several derogatory stories that were expanded upon to make them appear more serious than the actually were. This was done to invade the subconscious of the voter. The result being that when the time came to pull the lever and vote, your subconscious would automatically flash a signal to your brain that there was something unpleasant about one of the choices and something better about the other.
I think the public is on to those tricks now, or at least more so than they were a few years back. Did you know whenever there was a coup in a country the first thing the invaders took control of were the newspapers and television stations, it is called the propaganda factor spread by ink and airwaves. Do your own thinking, don’t let the local paper pick your council person, pick it yourself….
Peter Children
