People are waking up. As a society, we are starting to see the corruption that is taking place all around us. 

And we are mad about it. 

It affects all of us in a very real way. And it is far far worse than we'd ever imagined. 

The most troubling revelation for me is just how complicit the news media has become. 

The News-Corporation Problem

It is no secret that television and newspapers have been consolidating. As few as six corporations now control 90 percent of what we watch, read, and listen to in this country. They hold the keys. 

Source 1 - Infographic  Source 2 - 2009 Study 

This corporate-owned media seems to engage in coordinated blackouts of important topics and coordinated scripting of political topics. 

Let me be clear: this is exactly what we should expect when diversified corporations own the news media. 

Corporations exist for one reason; to make money for the shareholders. That is not an opinion. That is the agreed upon concept of the corporation. 

Shareholders are an amorphous blob. Many thousands. But they are technically the owner of the company. 

So how do thousands of "owners" exert their collective will? Through intermediaries of course. Usually through a board of directors and a company President and/or CEO. 

And it is absolutely possible that those shareholders can unite behind a set of ethics and operate that company in an ethical way. 

It is entirely possible. But experience says that it is quite rare. Most corporations have shareholders that don't have the time or the energy or even the will to do such a thing. These shareholders simply fire off the default instructions: MAKE ME MONEY. And the only time these shareholders get organized is when their intermediaries violate that one single objective. To make more money. 

I'm reminded of a quote from Tommy Lee Jones' "Q" in Men in Black. 

Will Smith: (referring to government knowledge of aliens) But why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it. 

Tommy Lee Jones: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it. 

Corporations have deep incentives to curry favor with politicians and to exchange favors with one another. 

And this is especially true when it is in the interest of the establishment. "The establishment" is when six companies control 90% of the media. The establishment is a group of people who have risen to the top in the current system. And 99 times out of 100, they are against any change at all. Glenn Greenwald explores this phenomenon in his epic discussion of Brexit and the media meltdown. (warning: LONG) 

Should we expect anything different? Of course they don’t want change.  Put yourself in their shoes for a moment.

If you are a successful member of the establishment, from your perspective, change is dangerous. Change can lead to your downfall. The status quo is why you are where you are. If you rose to the top in this system, why risk that on changing it? 

So these six companies, and many besides, conspire to control the narrative and promote the status quo. To crush any movements for actual change. And it makes me sick. 

I heavily suggest this short video narrated by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now. It animates a summary of Noam Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent and aired on Al Jazeera. It's REALLY good.

But all is not lost. Life finds a way. 

The good news is that truly independent and trustworthy news is suddenly available. On-demand. 24 hours a day. And it’s right on your computer screen. Or, in my case, my smart TV screen. 

The YouTube Solution

The proper way to YouTube involves subscribing to content creators and watching new videos as they come out. 

Eventually you will be able to watch your YouTube like a television channel, with video after video of content you like from producers you trust. 

And that is especially important when it comes to news. Because, as we already discussed, the mainstream news is worthless. It is manipulative drivel. And it is heavily censored by big money and special interests, including the political parties themselves. 

If you want to escape the mainstream echo chamber, you'll need to subscribe to people that agree with your ideology.  

To… wait. what? You want me to create another echo chamber?! 

Well yes. Kind of. You see, nobody wants to be surrounded by strangers. You'll want to feel at home with the opinions on your TV station, and that means finding people who mostly see the world like you do. There's nothing wrong with that. 

But you'll also want to find some content creators whose views differ with your own. The key factor is honesty. Do they sincerely believe what they are saying? Are they citing sources that I can go check? Do I TRUST them? 

You're trying to escape the dishonest mainstream media. Don't jump out of the pot and into the frying pan with yet another propagandist liar. Find news sources who won’t waste your time with lies and fabrication and hyperbole. 

Seek and you will find. You don’t require my help to find great content. In fact, it's part of the fun of YouTube to hunt down your own news anchors for your own TV station. 

But if you want a tip, then read below. These three channels are full of probing material about government actions. They are quite good at citing their sources, and they all three beat me as early-adopters to Steemit. 

The Corbett Report

@corbettreport 

https://www.youtube.com/user/corbettreport

Currently 202k subscribers. 

Starting to speak out way back in 2007, James Corbett is one of the smartest guys around. He has amassed over 40 million views on Youtube and is an unparalleled expert in US government conspiracies. His 5 minute 9/11 video is a great way to wet your appetite before jumping in. 

And if you want to go deeper on 9/11 in particular, then I suggest you check out his presentation about Donald Rumsfeld: 

This interview about the MLK assassination is also worth checking out. Hint: it was the government. 

WeAreChange

@lukewearechange 

Currently 466k Subscribers 

Luke is building a media empire right now with his honest, shoot from the hip style. His weekly breakdown of the news, called “What Really Happened," is usually about ten minutes long and will give you the skinny on what is really going on that they won't say on TV. 

Also, he has been going to these antifa counter-protests and trying to get firsthand footage of what is happening. He shot the moldy-locks video where that alt right guy punched the antifa rioter. 

-obligatory personal note: I don’t like either side in this antifa/alt-right debate. Alt-right is just another form of tribalism, antifa is tribalism minus dialogue. Both are primitive ways to relate to your fellow man. But I’m a free speech man. When free speech is threatened, you know which side I’ll be on. Because of that I hope antifa gets forever punched when they go stir trouble with the alt-right. And I don’t believe that violent people get to hide behind their gender either. 

PressForTruth

@pressfortruth 

Currently 103k subscribers 

Dan Dicks has a charming Canadian accent and his biggest sponsors are local cannabis growers. This guy is legit and will say what no one else will. I like how short he keeps his videos. 

His most popular video is a documentary he made: footage from a conference about 9/11 that was filled to the brim with trustworthy and respected researchers. The results of their research are astounding and compelling.  

If you want to learn about 9/11, first you should watch Corbett’s 5 minute masterpiece, and then you should watch this: 

Press for Truth actually convinced me to join Steemit with this excellent video. 

Bonus Channel:

Truthstream Media 

Currently 167k Subscribers 

This channel is a guilty pleasure of mine. They really speculate quite a bit on this channel, and that makes the topics more “wild” than some you’ll find on the above. But their speculation is always based in fact and built on logic. Bottom line, check them out. As YouTube rising stars, this couple from near Austin TX is producing a ton of content, have a new series on Amazon Prime, and just got a serious endorsement from Corbett. They're worth checking out. And definitely start with this JFK assassination video that is both educational and horrifying.