The News as Entertainment

The vast majority of major news media outlets are controlled by giant media conglomerates, all of which have significant holdings in the entertainment industry. Consider the major 24 hour news networks: CNN is controlled by Time Warner, which also owns Warner Entertainment, HBO and Turner Broadcasting; Fox News is controlled by Murdoch's News Corp, which also controls Fox Broadcasting Company and MySpace; and, finally, MSNBC is controlled by Microsoft, which also has controlling interests in NBC and Universal Pictures. As a result, there appears to be a blurring of lines between the news and entertainment as there seems to be a trend in major media corporations to seek to increase profits by making the news "entertaining"—engaging to the man on the street or the public at large.

I am the first to endorse the popularization of media so that the news is no longer the exclusive domain of specialists and journalistic professionals but is, rather, accessible to the unskilled, untutored masses. However, access to information is one thing, but entertainment is something entirely different.

The news media are not supposed to be entertainment. The free press is one of the pillars of democracy—one of the key institutions of any democratic society. You do not tune into the 24 hour news networks to view biased and opinionated pundits at each others' throats, editorializing and spinning reality to the point of absurdity (as in CNN's legendary, though now defunct, news show, Crossfire), just as you don't see a doctor for polite conversation. Rather, you tune in for immediate access to a reliable source of factual information, just as you visit a doctor for a scientific, medical analysis of your health and the facts pertaining thereunto.

Without ready access to unbiased sources of factual information, what results is the proliferation of propaganda—biased opinion and half-truths, which are, ultimately, misleading and disastrous in the long run. In my opinion, this absence of reliable, authentic, credible sources of factual information in modern society is the major contributor to widespread chaos. Without unbiased, reliable, credible news media outlets, democracy itself is compromised, ultimately, resulting in the proliferation of biased propaganda organizations posing as news media outlets.

Recent developments in the economy have made it evident that when a corporation becomes a monopolistic fixture or institution, they can potentially hold society hostage to their needs, because they are then "too big to fail." In the case of the oligarchy of the giant media corporations, are they, in effect, any different from, say, Pravda, the notorious propaganda arm of the Soviet Kremlin?

I believe that "new media" news sources hold the potential to balance out the "biased propaganda" often perpetuated by major news outlets. As smaller news organizations focusing on new media gain credibility, gradually achieve institutional status and begin to employ a professional journalistic and editorial staff, they can, potentially, save democracy by becoming sources of credible, unbiased, factual information and news. The challenge that faces new media news sources is to achieve a level of credibility that equals or surpasses that of major news institutions. However, considering how the credibility of these mainstream news organizations has already been compromised, thanks to their own questionable practices, such as an overindulgence in biased punditry and their apparent inability to perform as reliable sources of factual information, this should not be too difficult for new media startups to achieve, assuming that some, at least, place value on integrity, credibility and standards, choosing to follow the high road. Ultimately, one is judged by one's actions, whatever the pundits may say, and if new media startups consistently deliver high quality, reliable and unbiased news, they could well supplant the most firmly entrenched of mainstream news organizations.

Horizon Cybermedia was founded on the basis of a quote by John F. Kennedy:

We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.

Though we are a small startup, we stand firmly behind our mission statement:

To be a positive voice in the media space; to put artistic integrity above mercenary interests; to make a truthful, meaningful artistic statement.

And though we are not a giant news organization but, rather, a tiny media startup focussing on artistic content, we believe in quality, standards and integrity above all else. Do continue to check out our regularly updated media content, including a new film on the Wine Country, recently completed and soon to be released on our website, http://www.explorationtheseries.com. Check back soon for further updates.

Wishing you the very best,

Uday Gunjikar,
Founder and CEO,
Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.

Microsoft: the Name Says it All!

There is a recent Microsoft television commercial that is truly terrifying, in my mind. A cute little seven-year-old girl uses her digital camera to take pictures in her room, then uses Windows Vista (arguably the world's crappiest operating system) to upload and composite her pictures. Then she smiles and says, gleefully, "I'm a PC and I'm only seven years old!"

Personally, I think that Microsoft Corporation should be prosecuted for child abuse for making this TV spot—exposing an innocent pre-teen to crappy Windows technology at that impressionable age is almost guaranteed to traumatize the poor little kid for life!

On a serious note, though, Microsoft needs to change their tagline to something more like:

Microsoft: Our Tentacles are in Everything

or

Microsoft: The World's Scariest Software Corporation

It is truly ridiculous that a software and media corporation could get that wealthy and powerful through an almost monopolistic market proliferation of sub-standard products!

Horizon Cybermedia, on the other hand, is committed to quality and the highest standards in our media ventures—we are about respecting the customer's intelligence and honoring their desire for high quality, substantive media content. Check us out at http://www.explorationtheseries.com and stay tuned for more exciting media content to come, including a cinematic tour of the Wine Country of Sonoma, CA.

Wishing you the very best,

Uday Gunjikar,
Founder and CEO,
Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.

Media Distortion

Shakespeare described the function of art as:

"To hold, as t'were, the mirror up to nature."

But what if that mirror turned out to be a carnival fun-house mirror, so that the reflection was so distorted as to be unrecognizable? And what if it wasn't art we were talking about but, rather, the mainstream media and journalism? And what if this hypothetical scenario was based in reality? Surely, that would be truly scary.

The noted (and notorious) American painter and filmmaker, Andy Warhol, once observed, somewhat prophetically, that the day would soon arrive when:

"Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes."

What he neglected to prophesy or mention, however, was that one's 15 minutes of fame could potentially turn into 15 years of relentless distortions, misrepresentations, insinuations, innuendo and even outright lies, all fueled by an out-of-control media for whom nothing is sacred, nothing is off-limits or out of bounds and anything goes.

Irresponsible journalism is nothing new, dating back, at least, to the days of the hugely influential rival newspaper magnates William Randoph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Hearst, of course, was the inspiration behind Orson Welles' film Citizen Kane and his news war with Pulitzer brought about the phenomenon of "yellow journalism."

More recently, with the advent of 24 hour news networks, the propensity to sensationalize news stories to panic-inducing, hysterical levels has almost become something of a national pastime. Indeed, it has reached laughable levels, as parodied by news satirist Jon Stewart's The Daily Show and its offshoot, The Colbert Report. Recently, in fact, Jon Stewart's deliberately contrived, publicity-seeking confrontation with CNBC financial analyst Jim Cramer even made the news—a hilarious turn of self-parodying events, where the deliberate parody of sensationalistic distortions by the mainstream media itself becomes newsworthy, as deemed by that same mainstream media.

The truth is that we live in an unfortunate society in which media distortions are so prevalent and widespread that it is possible for interested, even malicious, parties to take a few innocent words, misquoted and out of context, then subject them to such profound distortion, misrepresentation, exaggeration and hyperbole as to render innocent parties as somehow profoundly sinister or demoniacal. The media thrives on panic, sensationalism and mass hysteria because there is no surer means of selling newsprint or gaining ad revenue.

But besides the obvious mercenary interests, there are, sometimes, other factors at work to undermine the credibility of the mainstream media: subtle agents that do not escape even the most credible and well-respected of news sources and the best trained of journalists. These are factors like cultural bias or an unspoken socio-political agenda, equally affecting both left-wing and right-wing news sources, so much so that true journalistic objectivity seems to be almost impossible to achieve. Having grown up in India, I am only too often aware of the subtle distortions and misrepresentations in the media, especially pertaining to international news coverage of events in India. A classic example is the recent media coverage of the terrorist attacks in the city of Mumbai—the impression created by news footage and the commentary of journalists appears to be that the nation of India as a whole is an unstable, violent part of the world, prone to unpredictable outbreaks of violence and terror. The reality, however, is that the city of Mumbai is a stable, progressive, urban metropolis that was unfortunately subjected to an isolated traumatic experience provoked by foreign extremist and terrorist elements and the nation of India, as a whole, is a developing society that has made tremendous progress in socio-economic reform in recent times.

Another example of an unfortunately distorted misrepresentation of the metropolitan city of Mumbai, India in recent popular culture is the Academy Award winning film, Slumdog Millionaire. While this film is true to a certain segment of Indian society, it pretty much ignores the large segment of the city of Mumbai that is, on the whole, urbane, progressive, respectable and well-educated. Focussing on the seamy underbelly of the city in a directorial style that is seemingly inspired by Terry Gilliam, with its innovative use of camera angles and perspective-distorting shots, it creates the false impression that the city of Mumbai is a massive garbage dump, largely omitting and neglecting any representation of the vibrant arts and cultural scene, the scenic landmarks and pretty much every respectable, attractive region of the city (with a few exceptions). It would be much like making a film in New York or Los Angeles shot exclusively in the most run-down, poverty-stricken neighborhoods of these thriving metropolises, so as to create the false impression that these neighborhoods or segments of society characterize the city as a whole. Not that this approach is invalid in the arts, but this is typical of the kind of distortion that the mainstream media engages in almost casually and only too often.

One of the reasons I started Horizon Cybermedia and the film series Exploration with Uday Gunjikar was to present the other side of the picture or story—the often overlooked and neglected facts—the honest truth and reality, as seen by me and as captured by my lens and presentation skills. Hopefully, Horizon Cybermedia will contribute to presenting a more complete, honest, accurate picture of the world at large, as opposed to the sensationalistic distorted image rendered by giant mainstream media conglomerates. Please feel free to check out the latest episodes in the ongoing film series at the website http://www.explorationtheseries.com and stay tuned for more engaging, honest and truthful media content to come.

Wishing you the very best,

Uday Gunjikar,
Founder and CEO,
Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.

Saving Lives: A Retrospective

In the summer of 1991, I took a summer job as Head Lifeguard and Swim Instructor at a summer camp in Hendersonville, NC (near Asheville). My duties there were varied, ranging from leading the team of lifeguards, to personally giving swimming lessons to campgoers of all ages, to supporting the other camp counselors and accompanying them on overnight hikes and so forth.

One of my achievements at the camp that is, for me, the most memorable, was the opportunity that I had to rescue a life. It was an African-American kid, a skinny little youth, probably 10-15 years old, who, when it was time for him to give his swimming evaluation, began sputtering and coughing, then went under. Without a moment's hesitation, I dove off the pier and into the water, which was probably about 12-15 feet deep at that spot, clothes and all, and pulled him to safety.

The point I want to make here is that when it came to rescuing his life, the last thing on my mind, as Head Lifeguard, was his race or the color of his skin. I had undergone lifeguard and WSI training and was, at the time, Red-Cross certified as a lifeguard and WSI. I responded to my training and did what I had to in order to rescue a drowning victim. I even made special arrangements, subsequently, for one of the lifeguards to give the kid exclusive swimming lessons for the duration of his stay at the summer camp.

My experience as Head Lifeguard taught me a great deal—I was responsible for the lives and well-being of campgoers of all ages at an exclusive Southern summer camp and you can be sure that I took this responsibility very, very seriously. I am proud to say that in spite of one incident involving a water snake in the lake, and several groups of unruly teenagers causing trouble as usual, we never had anything close to a casualty or injury in the duration of my stint as Head Lifeguard.

I was in charge of a team of 5-6 lifeguards and we were responsible for a large lakefront that had been partitioned for swimmers of varying skill levels, plus a section that was restricted for canoeing and boating. And as long as I was in charge of the waterfront, safety was paramount in my mind. I did not have the luxury to even think in discriminatory or biased terms—for me, every life was important because on the waterfront, as Head Lifeguard, I was responsible and accountable for the well-being of every campgoer in my charge.

It was a massive responsibility to bear, and a life-changing experience for me, to be sure. It taught me some invaluable lessons in leadership and enabled me to grow as a human being. It taught me crucial values of selflessness, courage and the lesson that when lives are on the line, one doesn't have the luxury of a margin of error—there is no room for failure under such circumstances.

These are some experiences that I felt I had the need to share with others—for no other reason, perhaps, than to validate and justify my own existence in some way!

Horizon Cybermedia, meanwhile, is dedicated to the same sense of life-preserving values and high standards that have been inculcated in me since my youth. I hope to continue to produce media content of the highest quality and highest ethical standards. Please do check out our website at http://www.explorationtheseries.com and stay tuned for more exciting content to come in the future, including the next film in the series, Exploration with Uday Gunjikar.

Wishing you the very best,

Uday Gunjikar,
Founder and CEO,
Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.

The Financial Meltdown: A Crisis of Faith?

So here we are, trapped in what appears to be a financial crisis of a global scale. Most of us are incapable of comprehending the causes, effects and scope of this crisis and we feel paralyzed by fear and incomprehension. We look to the government for help—but the government can only do so much. In the end, the crisis is our problem—the problem of everyone affected by it. It is up to us to deal with it—at least that's what I believe.

So let's try to get a handle on what the problem is. In my opinion, the first step towards addressing any problem is getting a clear understanding of what it is. Expert opinion tends to be so specialized that it can be more confusing and irrelevant than useful or helpful. What you need is a clear, holistic perspective on the problem in order to be able to address and solve it.

What are the facts? Firstly, most of us don't really understand what's going on other than our day-to-day experience of what's happening around us—apparent panic on the faces of the talking heads on TV, most of whom don't seem to understand what's going on themselves, let alone try to make any of us understand; job layoffs in the thousands and rising unemployment; the loss of a steady paycheck, and so on. But those are the facts as they relate to our individual experience of the problem—for those directly affected by the crisis, at least. In order to get a useful understanding of a problem of this apparent magnitude, you have to go back to the basics—you have to go beyond the soundbites and the inane, empty political rhetoric, most of which is more deceptive than helpful, to get a comprehensive, holistic appreciation of what it's all about.

Basically, what we're talking about is the failure of our entire commercial system—a system of trade that hinges on the exchange of goods and services. Historically, this "system" began as the barter system—the literal exchange of one commodity for another at the "marketplace." Ironically, the way things are headed, we might well be on the road to returning to the barter system, which might not be so bad, but that's another story.

What does the barter system hinge upon? Basically, in the ancient world, much as in modern society, different individuals or groups each had different occupations, each geared towards survival. Some people farmed the land while others hunted or maintained livestock. As time went on, people realized that by exchanging goods at a marketplace, they could collectively improve each others' quality of life. Thus, farmers could exchange grain, fruits and vegetables for meat and dairy products, thereby improving the quality of their diet and lifestyle, while hunters and ranchers could exchange meat and dairy products for grain, fruits and vegetables, thereby diversifying their diet and achieving a better quality of life.

As time went on, the marketplace continued to evolve. A wider range of products and services began to appear in the market, produced by specialized tradesmen and entrepreneurs, in the expectation of meeting a market demand. What fueled this evolutionary process was, fundamentally, a belief in the marketplace—which reduces to the belief that through the system of trade, i.e. the exchange of goods and services, one could achieve a better quality of life or standard of living. This is a fundamentally materialistic worldview, but one that is at the basis of the evolution of the marketplace.

As history progressed, the marketplace continued to evolve until it attained the mind-boggling level of technological complexity and specialization where it stands today. As it increased in complexity, so it became subject to various economic forces associated with demand and supply—market trends, technological advancement, styles, fashions, advertising, etc.

But in spite of its almost incomprehensible level of complexity, the marketplace is fundamentally still about the exchange of goods and services—and it is fueled by the collective desire to improve one's quality of life by trading in the marketplace. It's not just about survival—if it was, then we would still all be hunters, gatherers and farmers. It is about the desire to achieve a higher standard of living through the trade of specialized goods and services.

So, in a sense, the success of the marketplace depends on our collective materialism, in our belief that the quality of our lives can be improved by buying and selling commodities. When we experience a disillusionment in the ability of material commodities to improve the quality of our lives, other than by providing us momentary gratification, that is when the marketplace begins to falter and fail.

So what's the solution? To become more materialistic and ignore the widespread fraud and corruption that has destabilized the marketplace by undermining its credibility on a massive scale? Should we continue to engage in the collective belief (or delusion) that the quality of our lives can, in fact, be improved by acquiring trendy new commodities? Maybe it's only for the best that the marketplace does fail, and we awaken to the reality that materialism is a delusion and that there are more important things in life, like faith and friendships! Of course, the problem with that approach is that thousands of lives will be destroyed as people lose their jobs and are reduced to poverty.

Maybe the only real solution is for someone or something to restore our confidence in the viability of the marketplace, so that greedy, materialistic entrepreneurs can once again feel the need to invest in it and give people jobs. And poor people can once again begin to earn money and spend it in the ongoing delusion that shiny new commodities can actually improve the quality of their lives, other than superficially!

So perhaps what is at the core of the current widespread economic failure is a general sense of disillusionment in the viability of material gratification itself—maybe what people are feeling is a deep spiritual hunger that no market commodity can gratify. Maybe that's a good thing in the long run—a trend that will save our souls rather than save the market! Maybe what we're seeing is a movement away from crass materialism and towards faith and spirituality! If so, then it is a good thing for humanity, even if it is devastating to the market!

Horizon Cybermedia is committed to treading the delicate balance between materialism and spirituality. We believe that the human soul needs nourishment that no market commodity can satisfy. However, at the same time, we depend on the marketplace for our own commodities to be viable! Such is the dilemma that confronts us—but we remain committed to quality and high standards even in the face of economic pressures.

Meanwhile, we invite you to check out our website at ExplorationTheSeries.com and our ongoing film series, Exploration with Uday Gunjikar. Stay tuned for the next episode in the series coming soon and currently in the editing room—a tour of the Wine Country of Sonoma County, CA.

Wishing you the very best,

Uday Gunjikar,
Founder and CEO,
Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.

State of Fear: A Review

Not long ago, on November 4, 2008, the celebrated writer Michael Crichton, author of such novels as Jurassic Park and Timeline, passed away unexpectedly in what can only be described as uncanny circumstances. His sudden, "unanticipated" demise of cancer at the age of 66 curiously echoes the fate of one of the main characters in his penultimate novel, State of Fear—the millionaire philanthropist, George Morton. An ardent supporter of environmental causes, Morton succumbs to a mysterious car accident near the beginning of the novel. (SPOILER ALERT!) It turns out, however, that Morton has only faked his death, which is more than can be said of the unfortunate fate of the author who created him. (END SPOILER)

The novel depicts Morton succumbing to a bout of apparent insanity just prior to his “death”—plagued by mysterious, inarticulate fears concerning the environmental organization he funds through his charitable donations. In a somewhat romanticized turn of the fictional events of the novel, the environmental organization, the National Environmental Resource Fund (NERF) happens to be affiliated with an environmental terrorist organization (ELF or the Environmental Liberation Front) whose object is to create manufactured environmental catastrophes on a global scale using esoteric, cutting-edge “environmental technology,” in an attempt to promote its environmental agenda and achieve its fund-raising goals.

While this admittedly far-fetched page-turner plot is guaranteed to offend the sensibilities of passionate environmentalist liberals everywhere, some of the themes this novel addresses are worth discussing seriously because they are so profoundly relevant to the condition of our present-day society. The truth is that the novel, State of Fear, is guaranteed to be offensive to liberal sensibilities because it goes out of its way to critique and parody the liberal position. Some of the characters in the novel, such as the television actor Ted Bradley, an arrogant boor motivated by a romanticized idealism that is completely misinformed and out of touch with the grim realities of the issues he deals with in his well-intentioned, if self-absorbed, attempts at environmental spokesmanship, are outright caricatures and ruthless parodies of Hollywood liberal elites. In fact, Crichton's completely unsympathetic and laughable rendition of this character and the horrifying fate he meets with in the end—(SPOILER ALERT!) being devoured by cannibals on a tropical island (END SPOILER)—lends credence to the possibility that the author's demise might well have occurred under suspicious circumstances.

One of the themes, among many, that the novel addresses is the dangers associated with well-intentioned ignorance. To make his point, the author describes the history of Yellowstone National Park. After making a well-researched case that seriously calls into question the scientific basis of the phenomenon of global warming, the author describes how misguided, though well-meaning, conservationist efforts and interventionist policies by park managers in the maintenance of the natural preserve over the years have had a catastrophic effect on the park's ecosystem. In the words of Kenner, a scientist and one of the novel's main characters:

“So what you have,” Kenner said, “is a history of ignorant, incompetent, and disastrously intrusive intervention, followed by attempts to repair the intervention, followed by attempts to repair the damage caused by the repairs, as dramatic as any oil spill or toxic dump. Except in this case there is no evil corporation or fossil fuel economy to blame. This disaster was caused by environmentalists charged with protecting the wilderness, who made one dreadful mistake after another—and along the way, proved how little they understood the environment they intended to protect.”

In another critical sequence in the novel, Crichton describes an encounter between Peter Evans, the lawyer protagonist of the novel, and Professor Norman Hoffman, a crackpot scientist with some radical ideas. His thesis is that the world of human ideas, subject to trends and fashions, obeys an ecology of its own, not unlike the ecology of the natural world. He suggests that some ideas can continue to be accepted by society at large long after they have been scientifically disproved, and claims that the concept of a “balance of nature” is one such idea. Hoffman then describes his research at USC into global media trends, claiming that after Fall, 1989, there was a major shift in the way the media covered the news. Citing statistics on the use of vocabulary by media sources, Hoffman suggests that the trend in the media appears to have been “a heightened emphasis on fear, worry, danger, uncertainty, panic.” Hoffman points out that November 9, 1989 marked the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet Empire—the end of the Cold War. He suggests that a “sovereign state” seeks to exercise social control over its citizenry through fear and intimidation. The fall of Communism created, what he calls, a “vacuum of fear.” In order to fill this vacuum, the threat of environmental catastrophes appears to have come to the surface. Hoffman continues:

“Of course, now we have radical fundamentalism and post-9/11 terrorism to make us afraid, and those are certainly real reasons for fear, but that is not my point. My point is, there is always a cause for fear. The cause may change over time, but the fear is always with us. Before terrorism we feared the toxic environment. Before that we had the Communist menace. The point is, although the specific cause of our fear may change, we are never without the fear itself. Fear pervades our society in all its aspects. Perpetually.”

Hoffman then cites President Eisenhower's famous speech warning of the dangers of the excesses of the military-industrial complex. However, he claims that:

“. . . the military-industrial complex is no longer the primary driver of society. In reality, for the last fifteen years we have been under the control of an entirely new complex, far more powerful and far more pervasive. I call it the politico-legal-media complex. The PLM. And it is dedicated to promoting fear in the populace—under the guise of promoting safety.”

He adds:

“. . . the PLM is powerful and stable, precisely because it unites so many institutions of society. Politicans need fears to control the population. Lawyers need dangers to litigate, and make money. The media need scare stories to capture an audience. Together, these three estates are so compelling that they can go about their business even if the scare is totally groundless. If it has no basis in fact at all.”

Hoffman then suggests:

“I'm telling you, this is the way modern society works—by the constant creation of fear. And there is no countervailing force. There is no system of checks and balances, no restraint on the perpetual promotion of fear after fear after fear . . .”

Hoffman then continues his rant against social evils, which appears to become increasingly eccentric. And while Crichton subtly undermines these ideas by having them voiced by an apparently paranoid character, I cannot help but acknowledge their appeal and the power they have to address some of the common experiences of modern life. It's hard to say how much validity they have, but these ideas are, at least, worth considering.

These and other original ideas are some of the reasons that I find this controversial novel to be an engaging read. It is a pity that Crichton was denied the opportunity to follow it up with many more. May he rest in peace!

Horizon Cybermedia, meanwhile, hopes to continue the innovative tradition of Michael Crichton's novels, by producing media content that calls into question the things that most of us take for granted. Currently in production is a series of short films about the Wine Country of Sonoma, CA, continuing the Exploration series of films. Stay tuned for these films to be released soon at our website http://www.explorationtheseries.com.

Wishing you the very best,

Uday Gunjikar,
Founder and CEO,
Horizon Cybermedia, Inc.