Advertising biases news

Some people are so greedy for wealth and power, it’s very sad. I have no interest at all in having power over other people, I don’t care about my title or car, and I am not very motivated by money either (because I know it does not buy happiness) – I just want to do creative work and be paid fairly for what I do.

Regarding power, specifically, take a look at this quotation from my favourite philosopher, Bertrand Russell:

Since power over human beings is shown in making them do what they would rather not do, the man who is actuated by love of power is more apt to inflict pain than to permit pleasure … It is this sort of thing which makes the love of power such a dangerous motive.

Bertrand Russell, Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1950

But, back to love of money, today I received a reminder of how much it influences, for example, news reporting, which should always be as impartial as possible.

An insider at News International explained to me how much The Times depends on the income of The Sun, and how much The Sun’s income depends on it running selected and censored news stories which will not upset its advertisers. Sometimes utlitilitarian measures have to be taken, granted, but in the case of The Sun there is no greater good to consider (unless it’s The Times), so this ends up as just pure corruption.

About those adverts, by the way – I can’t think of a single occasion when I have seen one and thought “I must go and get that product”! They either have a distinctly negative effect or are just mildly annoying and totally ignored (because I know they’re obviously biased). I prefer a ‘pull’ approach to marketing, not a ‘push’ one. I know what I want, go and research the area independently and get it.

I would prefer subscription-based news, with assured integrity, not at all supported by advertising or any other vested interests. For this reason I value the BBC above other sources (though it is certainly not perfect and often seems to have its own left-wing and politically correct agenda). In the private sector, Lonely Planet have achieved this with their guidebooks on a small scale. Why could it not be done on a wider scale?