Another Edition of Past as Prologue

Via Boing Boing, where Dan Gillmor is hanging out for the next week, Thorstein Veblen writes in 1915 about the state of the "new media" of the early 20th century. The quotes speak for themselves:

The highest product of this development is the class of American newspapers called "independent." These in particular -- and they are followed at no great interval by the rest -- edit all items of news comment or gossip with a view to what the news ought to be and what opinions ought to be expressed on passing events.

See if this sounds familiar:

The first duty of an editor is to gauge the sentiments of his readers and then tell them what they like to believe. By this means he maintains or increases the circulation. His second duty is to see that nothing is said in the news items or editorials which may discountenance any claims or announcements made by his advertisers, discredit their standing or good faith, or expose any weakness or deception in any business venture that is or may become a valuable advertiser. By this means he increases the advertising value of his circulation. The net result is that both the news columns and the editorial columns are commonly meretricious in a high degree.

And, a little bit for the participatory media crowd that stay perpetually upset at the legacy media referenced above:

Systematic insincerity on the part of the ostensible purveyors of information and leaders of opinion may be deplored by persons who stickle for truth and pin their hopes of social salvation on the spread of accurate information.

Rank that right up there with good old Lord Northcliffe -- another turn of the 20th century media raconteur -- "News is what somebody, somewhere want to supress; all the rest is advertising."