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“One Transmitter, a Million Receivers”
by jake Thursday, Jul 23 2015, 1:55pm
international / prose / post

The title carries the single most important aspect/principle of mass media propaganda.

I was recently introduced to a Slovene fifth columnist who had worked for allied forces to effect the fragmentation of former Yugoslavia, which like besieged Greece today, was one of the few leftist governments still active in Europe, so it had to go, notwithstanding Yugoslavia’s critical geostrategic location, which the west wished to capture.

The person to whom I was introduced was a mass media specialist trained and sent back to his provincial homeland, Slovenia, the first breakaway province, to assist Germany and the USA in the plan to destroy Yugoslavia as an integrated sovereign nation. His assignment was to ensure that the ‘right’ message reached the masses when subversive western forces created chaos and destroyed communications infrastructures.

It is critical he said that when uncertainty and chaos prevails the public is harnessed as soon as possible and led, otherwise it would never allow itself to be overrun by external or foreign forces. I am a native speaker with technical expertise in running radio stations, so I was deployed accordingly. I do not know who coined, “the one transmitter, a million receivers” phrase/slogan, but it couldn’t be more accurate as it applies to all forms of mass media. Take television for example, which appears to be a broad based content medium, whereas it is as linear as radio if managed correctly. What do mean, I inquired, as television incorporates audio, visual and textual mediums?

Well, take a television news report today featuring Greece’s parliament voting on the second surrender demands by the EU banking establishment, you will note the reporting that Tsipras faced political opposition yet won over the parliament to a YES vote, but that was not the primary message regarding Greece’s current dilemma. The Greek people are furious and must be placated to avoid social unrest and possible revolt; the media would never dwell on that aspect though it must refer to it indirectly and fleetingly, always watch for the focus in any reporting. The ‘yes’ parliamentary victory was followed by interviews, however, those interviewed were carefully selected to deliver a scripted message in favour of the banking forces that have in reality destroyed Greece, everyone interviewed stated that the Greek people wished to remain in the Eurozone (the excuse) and therefore the ‘yes’ vote only reflected that wish (the lie) as the truth is 61% of Greeks refused the harsh measures currently being passed through the parliament. The singular message was transmitted, perhaps subliminally, via the interviews not the report in general. That is how the ‘one transmitter’ principle applies in television though you wouldn’t appreciate it at face value.

So even in times where media infrastructure has not been destroyed or limited, a singular message is nevertheless able to be transmitted via the secondary layer discourse which is usually the dominant discourse.

People are left confused and disempowered as a result, and so the campaign to destroy the Greek government and appropriate everything of value in the nation is running smoothly thanks to a well-tailored media campaign.

Had the Syriza hierarchy spent more time developing media strategies rather than obsessing with ‘democracy/politics,’ EU bankers would have had a far more difficult situation to deal with but the novice government was completely overwhelmed by seasoned players from western/northern Europe, who couldn’t give a damn about politics or economics, their game is power and acquisition, pure and simple.

For all the educated specialists in Syriza not one was a media/propaganda specialist and it is that oversight which will cost them dearly in the end. They could have easily harnessed the population and then the bankers would have had a real very dangerous struggle on their hands, especially in consideration of the fact that the Eurozone is fraying at the seams.

With that my colleague and his media savvy friend had to take their leave to attend a meeting, but not before I managed to get an assurance of another interview.