"tommyknocker" wrote in message
...

It seems that the "new media" is all about the "digital consumer"
getting exactly what he or she wants and nothing else. The downside to
this is that one can filter out (or have filtered out for them) all the
information one does not want to hear, so one's worldview is shaped
according to one's preconceived notions. This makes the digital consumer
think that everybody agrees with them, or that the only people who
matter are the people who agree with them.

I agree with you, but I don't think that aspect of human nature has changed
since the SWBC boom in the 1960s. Since TV at least, SWLing has not been
overly popular in the U.S. I doubt that many people formed political
opinions based on what they heard on the SW bands. Those who did probably
still seek out alternative sources for new on the Internet or elsewhere.

The Richard Clarke book is a case in point. Although it is selling well, it
is not changing many peoples' minds about the role of the government before
and after 9/11. People who were inclined to think the government failed find
support in the book, but people who think the government is doing a fine job
don't believe it.

I do miss the old days, though. There was nothing so enervating as listening
to R. Tirana, when Albania hated everybody. And the jazz on R. Moscow was
superb. You know what kinds of Americans they were trying to entice. I also
miss the CW on the marine bands; "reading the mail" was a pleasant
diversion, and you could pretend you were on a rocking ship somewhere far
away.

"PM"