Independent media is essential for transparency

A major goal of this blog is to advocate for increase transparency. For most part, And although not always explicitly state, the directive tends to be primarily focused on economically valuable information along the lines of intellectual property - patents, copyright, proprietary information, etc. But a recent piece by Robert Reich about how Trump controls/manipulates the media should remind all of us of the importance of transparency at the level of power brokers. By controlling the media, Trump aims to control the narrative of his actions and decisions. How he is perceived and the support/opposition he garners is determined by his 'story'. By controlling the media, he controls the story regardless of its veracity. Independent media may not provide the entirety of 'truth' but it will be more than a controlled media. Thus independent media is essential to increasing information transparency.