The Media - a poem by Mike Wilson

The media controls our life,
Directs our thoughts, explores the strife
Of little things that don’t deserve
To be expanded with such verve.

The general public does its best
To sift the news and leave the rest
Inconsequentially to those
Whose income is from talk back shows.

We watch the programmes on TV
Like ACA and ABC
And wonder how they can survive
Exploring peoples troubles live.

They squeeze the utmost from the show,
The tragedies that we should know,
Of human suffering and despair,
Pathos and drama fill the air.

The show concludes with cheery chat
But you‘re upset, you kick the cat.
How can they play emotions so
Then have the gall to end the show?

The matter really is you see
That Today Tonight and ABC
Have found a way to make a buck
Exploiting those down on their luck.

The TV news can also make
A minor fray into a quake
Of epic size and moment ,then
Reverse it and go back again.

The poor old public never knows
Who tugs the ring that’s through their nose.
They’re fed the news with just a hint
That all is truth and light in print.

We see the policeman in the frame
Abusing some unfortunate dame.
We are not told, at least not loud,
That she is from the ‘Rent a Crowd’

The cameras click the presses run
We see the action as it’s done.
It fills the TV screen each night,
The journo’s think it’s dynamite.

Alas in truth it isn’t much,
A rented crowd, some toughs and such
Who gather round to make a noise
Which ends up sold by paper boys.

The people have a right to know
The truth and that it will be so.
Not facts embellished by the yard
Because the media think it’s hard

To sell their wares as they appear
Quite unattractive year by year.
Give us the means to be selective
Not half the truth that’s re-directed.

The people who control the press
Can easily create a mess
For politicians starting out
And wondering what to shout about.

A man elected by his peers
Is supposed to serve for years,
Doing his constituents proud
By voicing his opinions loud.

If he appears to be a leader
The papers want him for their reader,
But he must do as he is told
Or paper headlines scream and scold.

So it becomes a fight, the roughest
To see who can survive the toughest.
But in the end it can be seen
The deadly papers rule serene.

The media controls our lives,
Our politics, the cars we drive.
We must be careful in our reading-
Not let the papers do spoon feeding.

Read the papers once a day
And throw the trashy ones away.
Educate ourselves to think;
Refuse to follow gossips stink.

Base all our judgements on the truth
And give more credence to our youth.
Theirs is the future for this land,
Let’s hope they make the media grand