With Ferguson, even more people are discovering what I learned as a nineteen-year-old escorting mainstream media for the US military: that is, the media almost never reports what really happened, but rather some sexed-up, nearly fact-free version of events that reproduces the prejudices and obsessions of their audiences.

The truth really doesn’t matter. Gaining as much attention and thus the most eyeballs and ad clicks is what matters.

You think the media is working for you?

No, they are not and never were. They are working for the people who pay them, i.e., the one-percenter white male over-50s who run the media in reality.

As in most of life in late capitalism, if you follow the money you know right where to look.