There has been much discussion about the reality of the Post-Truth media world. However, much remains to be discussed.

The term Clickbait is one of them. It basically means an online content whose main purpose is to attract the attention of visitors and to encourage them to click on a link of a particular web page. Lamestream Media is another such term. Some Leftist thinkers coined the pejorative term Mainstream Media (MSM) in the 20th Century. In the 21st Century, the Right-Wing thinkers have introduced the term Lamestream Media (LSM) or large media houses which usually spread lies under the pretense of telling the unbiased truth. Some believe that LSM are actually very legitimate news organisations, but are often accused of bias as they embarrass and point out the hypocrisy and idiocy of many Tea Baggers and fake Conservatives.

In his latest publication ‘News and How to Use It’, Alan Charles Rusbridger – the British journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian – has discussed all these not-so-common terminologies of the world of news. These terminologies include AI, Bots, Climate Crisis, Fake News, Trolls and many more. Rusbridger believes that familiarity with these terms is important especially for journalists and news-minded people. He has singled out those who do not write or think in English. People have started using all these terms in media-related discussions. Terminological translation, too, requires proper familiarity with these words or concepts. Here lies the importance of the book penned by Rusbridger. The author has arranged his contents through an A to Z list, like a dictionary.

If one has to cope with the times in a fake news-ridden world, then the person would certainly face a huge vocabulary crisis. Rusbridger has rightly said that if the reader can find some way in the jungle of words, then it is possible to empower her/him a lot. “Nothing in life works without facts. A society that is not sure what is true cannot function. Without facts there can be no Government or Law. Science is ignored. Trust evaporates,” he added. The author stressed: “People everywhere feel ever more alienated from – and mistrustful of – news and those who make it. We no longer seem to know who or what to believe. We are living through a crisis of information chaos”.

It may be noted that Algerian-born French Structuralist and Marxist Philosopher Louis Pierre Althusser (October 16, 1918 – October 22, 1990) used to consider media or media outlets as Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA) or methods through which the ruling (or dominant) class try to achieve its objectives without using force or repression. In other words, the media have always played an important socio-political role.

In his 1982 publication Marxism’s Althusser, Tony Bennett wrote: “In Althusserian theory, mass media texts ‘interpellate the subject’ whereas many current media theorists argue that the subject projects meaning onto the media texts. For the notion of a struggle over meaning, one must turn to Volosinov and Gramsci.” He further said: “Althusser’s influence has been held responsible by some critics for leading some of his followers into purely formalist readings of the signifying systems of mass media forms, neglecting their modes of production and reception. However, Althusser is the central conduit through which developments in structuralism and semiotics have both entered into and lastingly altered Marxist approaches to the media.“

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin

Contact: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das