Bottom feeders of tyranny: Lazy journalist and propaganda Medias

When we Ethiopians treat adult journalists that act as toddlers in a dipper it isn’t their fault but, ours. The havoc they cause on society in the service of tyranny is because we treat them as an adult; it is inexcusable. Expecting toddlers with crayon to keep the house clean is like expecting tyranny not to lie; it is complete madness.

by Teshome Debalke

The conventional wisdom-Woyane dictatorship is the worst thing that happened to the people of Ethiopia isn’t true. It is

 the bottom feeders; opportunists, double thinkers and the willing ignorant that sustain Woyane that are worst. They are the natural habitat of tyranny; obstructing the struggle to end brutal and corrupt rule.

It is the norm in Africa where a military junta or insurgency group of one kind or another like Woyane to take over governments and turns into brutal and corrupt regimes. Our Ethiopia under Woyane is not different, in fact, looking at the magnitude of brutality and corruption, the data shows Ethiopia is on the top of the worst and bottom of the best index.  We haven’t even seen a fraction of the whole story yet.

Among natural habitat of Woyane dictatorship are those that claim to be journalist and Media outlets. Some obviously are part of the official propaganda outfits run by cadres carrying Citizenship of the free world. Since enough is said about these bottom feeders no need to waste more time. Like anything that comes and go with tyranny they will disappear when Woyane is no more.

But, the opportunist, the double thinkers and the willing ignorant journalists and Media outlets peddling for Woyane are an obstruction to freedom and the struggle for democracy. Instead of seeking the truth to help institute democratic rule once and for all; they always take the low road to mislead, withhold or skirt the truth as their standard operation. In the process, they prolong the life of tyranny thus, the misery of the people.

Journalism and Media is a serious business. Just because one can scrub or cut and paste something or put up a website to peddle their interest or pushes propaganda dose not make them journalists or Media. The task of journalist seeking the truth in the public interest calls for integrity; to put the public interest above anything else, courage; to confront tyrants and criminals to put them where they belong and professionalism; to win public trust. The profession demands defending the public interest at all cost.

The third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) said it best.

“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter.”

What he meant was a government, even an elected one as the US without the free press is noting but tyranny in the making. Frankly, in Ethiopian case, we don’t need a government, especially a government like Woyane. Knowing Ethiopians, we can do fine with the free press alone.

In contrast, the best bottom feeder journalists can do is only Woyane’s propaganda rubbish that serves them in is good enough for the rest of the people.  Talk about living on borrowed time.

The U.S. humorist, writer, and lecturer Mark Twain (1835-1910) wrote:

“There are only two forces that can carry light to all the corners of the globe… the sun in the heavens and the Associated Press down here”.

He was referring to the first American News Agency founded in May of 1846 organized as a New York not-for-profit corporation. Associated Press (AP) operates 243 news bureaus, and serves at least 120 countries, with an international staff located all over the world, according to Wikipedia.

What Twain meant was, without the free press we are all walking zombies in the darkness under the mercy of tyranny; not knowing what is happening to us and where we are going.  Almost 150 years later since these two Western icons made history Ethiopians are still in darkness, thanks for the bottom feeder journalists pandering for Woyane tyranny; that, unfortunately showed up in the era of the Information Revolution. What do our contemporary bottom feeders that call themselves journalist or Media outlets do; cheer on the worst tyranny that run the only Media in the country in the 21^st century. They show no integrity, courage or professionalism peddling for small time tyrant. The saddest thing of all is they enjoy the freedom afforded to them with 1000s of Media choices in the free societies they live what they deny their fellow compatriot at home. Talk about living in a bubble.

You see, when journalists and Media outlets in the free world strive to seek the truth at all cost, our bottom feeder journalist celebrate the rubbish coming for tyranny that pushes propaganda to make us believe Woyane is an elected regime by 99.64 %. Talk about adults in a dipper.

At the mean time, those brave journalists that spoke out end up in jail or exiled for telling the truth; Woyane is noting more than a modern day ethnic terror network that is corrupt to its hilt. Talk about al-Qaida in East Africa,

Our main problem is not Woyane but bottom feeders, the opportunist and double thinkers that are in the business of skirting the truth on behalf of tyranny. As an instrument of tyranny in the free world they are letting the truth teller; like Eskinder Nega rote in the dungeon of Woyane while they are decomposing in a pile of rubbish coming out of the propaganda mills of Woyane.

To illustrate how bottom feeders and opportunist journalist behave, the Diaspora clowns in the free world come in handy. With no restriction to exercise their freedom of press to speak  the truth they choose to skirt it and ignored the important issue of democracy, freedom of speech, corruption, and whole other issues of public interest. Knowingly; out of self interest or fear and unknowingly out of ignorance or laziness, they let the Woyane ethnic junta get away with murder; failing to do the basics of journalism-searching for the truth. If they aren’t the-living-dead of the lowest order by choice we don’t know what they could be.

Some looks and sounds professional enough to confuse the unsuspecting; putting out irrelevant issues to divert attention. Other throws in few things here and there to claim they are real. Most cut and paste Woyane propaganda straight from the sources. But, when it come to freedom and democracy at home country and the cadres corruption and intrusion in our community they are no where to be found. Even when it comes to Media freedom that directly concerns them, they are mute. What is more revolting is their occasional flirtation with Woyane’s propaganda and stop short of going deeper to investigate on the burning issue of the subject they raised. Whether their fear not to ‘rattle the sneak’ out of its cage or compromised to skirt the truth for their own benefit, they avoid talking about the Woyane’s intricate crimes against a whole nation.

Medias operating in the Free World have no excuse not to tell the truth but noting but the truth. The three things that interfere in bottom feeders’ judgment from seeking the truth are Fear, Ignorance and SELF interest.

Fear

Fear of tyranny or the power to be is one of the lam excuses not to seek and telling the truth in public interest. Though, the tyranny is known to retaliate, most fear come form not losing what is already gained in the business of tyranny.

Despite retaliation from the goons of tyranny many brave journalist and Media outlets expose the regime by telling the truth in the public interest. Attempt to silence them with treats and character assassination didn’t deter them from doing their professional duty.

When it comes to bottom feeders and opportunist journalist and their Media outlets, the primary drive to ignore or skirt the truth is not the public interest, but whatever they can gain with no risk to them. In other words, fear of tyranny rendered them useless journalist or Media outlets to the public but valuable tool to tyranny.

Ignorance

The ignorant are many cutting and pasting the propaganda of Woyane as truth. Some go beyond and site the regime as resalable information. Others are lazy to tell the difference one from another.

Ignorance of the reality on the ground or the role of journalism and Media can’t be reasons not to speak out or seek the truth. Journalism and the Media profession demands ignorance isn’t a defense for lazy Journalist to enter the profession and do noting in the public interest. If they couldn’t perform their professional duty they might as well look for other line of work than being disgrace for the profession and tool of tyranny.

Self interest

Self interest is where most of the bottom feeder and opportunist journalist and Media outlets enter the profession. It could be political, social or economic. Whatever the interest may be, it automatically disqualifies them as untrustworthy journalist or Media outlet. In short, they are simply tabloid or propaganda outlets.

Self interest disarms journalists into hired hands of tyranny or whoever compensated them to peddle. Therefore, instead of seeking the truth they become the enemy of the truth that doesn’t conform to their interest or what they compensated for. Thus, they turn in to the guardian of tyranny or and their interest.  Since seeking the truth requires confronting lawless political, social and business figures they can’t serve two conflicting interest at the same time.

The famous lam line used by bottom feeders and opportunist journalist and Media outlets lately is ‘balance reporting’; snatched out of the free world’s journalistic ethics. The strategy is to counter real journalists and Media outlets in pampering tyranny into legitimate entity.  The tragedy of cut-and-paste knowledge of our contemporary bottom feeders posed as journalist and Media outlets is everything must fit the desire end of tyranny and the interest of its surrogates against the public interest.

These kinds of dangerous journalists are worst than tyranny itself; influencing the mind and heart of the young to nowhere. After all, tyranny should have no place in the mind and heart of anyone. Only bottom feeders and opportunist journalist think so when they come to its rescue.

Tyranny have no leg to stand on, only bottom feeders and opportunist serve it as a crutch to make it look like it is standing on its own. Take the crutch away; it is as dead as it always was.

Independent journalist and Media outlets must go after the bottom feeding and opportunistic journalists and Media outlets with the same zeal and tenacity as they do with the institution of tyranny.  After all, revolution must be uprooting everything tyranny from the bottom up for healthy society to come.