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The Solari Report – 21 May 2009
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“The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.”
~ Leonardo Da Vinci
How can I know what is really going on?
This is a question that I get asked a lot and one I think about continuously. My understanding of the world around me has been informed by a wealth of access and experience. How do I help other people gain the benefit of such insights as we navigate together through an uncertain world full of ill intentions, misunderstandings and secrets?
Not everyone wants to know what is really going on. Some people want to stay in alignment with the people around them. Some want to please the people who they believe can help them get something or somewhere. Often, that requires embracing cultural mythologies and official stories of events. Some of us find looking at aspects of our situation too unpleasant and not a good use of our time.
As more and more people watch the losses in their retirement savings or experience a loss of income or jobs, the number of people who really want to know what is going on is increasing. The risk of not knowing is rising.
So let’s say you have decided that you do want to know. What’s next?
This Thursday evening, May 21, on the next Solari Report I will be speaking with Alastair Thompson, publisher of Scoop Media in Wellington, New Zealand. We will be discussing the current transformation in global media and how to find and interpret the knowledge that will help you successfully navigate your world. I have published a column in Scoop Media since 2000 and recently became a shareholder. There is no global media effort for whom I have more respect than Alastair and the Scoop team.
Some of the topics we hope to cover include:
1. Scoop’s history and innovations and what they have taught us about what informed readers want.
2. What is the transformation currently under way in global media? How much of this is caused by the Internet? How much by the financial crisis?
3. How do we access a healthy balance of global and local news and see the connection between the two?
4. How do we integrate political news and investment news and relate it to our own time and money?
5. How does censorship work? How can we learn to see manipulation and disinformation and avoid being misled by it?
6. The deeper news – how do we gain an understanding of history as a context for the world we currently navigate? How do we find the deeper risks and opportunities?
7. What does increased manipulation of the markets mean to timely information about what is happening and what we should do about it?
8. Can media bring transparency in a way that makes a difference? How can we support this type of transparency?
Throughout, we will be providing a description of the media and other open and private sources that Alastair and I use.
I will also be covering current developments in Money and Markets. In our Let’s Go To the Movies I will review the media classic Network.
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(1) Not everyone wants to know what is really going on. (2) Some people want to stay in alignment with the people around them. (2) Some want to please the people who they believe can help them get something or somewhere. (3) Often, that requires embracing cultural mythologies and official stories of events. (4) Some of us find looking at aspects of our situation too unpleasant and not a good use of our time.
Catherine: One request for the future (posts).
Please “elaborate” more on this quoted above…
How things regarding this above are changing or not in the US?
Why are things like this…
That is, not just focus on “media” but in the ideas of the persons in a given society…
Why suposedly , sistems based on freedom of thought and personal independence are creating sub standard citizens “who align” with people around them, or think that they can benefict from being aligned,etc…
May I suggest the following additional questions for Alastair….
1. In a world where the establishment seeks “Total Information Dominance,” what specific techniques does Alastair utilize to mitigate this information monopoly, and what confidence level should his readers have that the information that he is providing appropriately navigates this dominance?
2. Does Alastair think that he made any mistakes during the development of Scoop, such as trusting disinformation sources or publishing information which he later learned was deliberately inaccurate or inappropriately framed? If so, what lessons has his learned from this and is he willing to cite examples?