Another angle of attack on the MSM might possibly be the control they exert over visual media, as we saw over the missing SOTU near-frame photos. The control over available news photos and video released to the public sees is extreme and often used to shape an editorial narrative. This message control happens invisibly and independently, often separate from news outlets themselves. The content is gate-kept at the highest levels, as well as further down the line.

For instance, few realize that during the Obama administration even the MSM media was effectively excluded from photographing Obama in all but the most scripted public events. This exclusion was actually extended to the MSM outlets and wires themselves, to great consternation. The White House Press Photographers Association tried to raise an outcry at the time, but they were effectively shut out by Obama and his chief photographer Pete Sousa. The media, of course, shared little of this outcry, as it would have shown a light on their weakness in advocating for access, and willingness to essentially ignore their role as the Fourth Estate.

Virtually every candid photo of Obama anyone remembers was taken by Sousa, who was basically acting the role of a govt. PR photographer, providing selected content to the wires and outlets.

If you listen to various interviews, you realize he is an uncritical true believer, not a journalist in any traditional sense. (Here's one from NPR: https:// www.npr.org/2017/11/07/562341917/photographer-pete-souza-reflects-on-8-years-and-1-9-million-photos-of-obama)

These uncritical and photos were handed out to the MSM, as the only content often available for the entire 8-years. This greatly shaped public perception of the administration, bracketing their own narrative control with the MSM. People tend to place a lot of belief in what they "see". As we've seen here, what we see is often held back behind an impenetrable firewall by private news companies and wires.

Considering how many relatively unknown photo editors, producers and line journalists also appear to resemble the Mockingbird model, you can imagine this effect on public perception.

Santiago Lyon, former Director of Photography for AP, published this on Facebook today:

"So my friends at World Press Photo have invited former WH official photographer Pete Souza to make a keynote speech at their Amsterdam photojournalism awards festival in April.

This troubles me deeply.

While Mr. Souza is undoubtedly a fine photographer with a very compelling and well-loved subject - the Obama presidency - some of his images came at the expense of independent media access - and all his work for the White House falls squarely into the category of government propaganda.

Of course, his photography also forms part of the photographic and historic record of a unique and pioneering President.

He’s also promoting his new book of photos of the Obama presidency.

I have written and spoken extensively about the media access issue - http:// www.nytimes.com/…/obamas-orwellian-image-control.html and http:// time.com/4650956/photojournalism-post-truth/ - and was, with others, at the forefront of efforts to enhance media access to the Obama White House, sadly without much success. But that doesn’t make the issue any less relevant and certainly has not dampened my energy.

In an era of diminished access, limited press freedom, real danger to journalists and increasing dismissal of journalism by world leaders as “fake news”, this issue is globally more relevant than ever.

What concerns me very much is that people will somehow conflate Mr. Souza's work with photojournalism, which it is decidedly not, in my view.

In an email exchange with WPP’s Lars Boering and David Campbell we agreed to disagree on the merits of inviting Mr. Souza.

That said, I do hope that World Press Photo will see fit to clearly and precisely make the distinction between Mr. Souza’s work and independent photojournalism while introducing him.

It often amazes me how people sometimes forget to check and contrast the sources of their information.

It’s too easy to be seduced by these wonderful images of a popular President without understanding how they were made and perhaps more importantly - to what end.

Media literacy and critical thinking are as important as ever."