The Fourth Estate is Dead, Long Live The Machine
OK, our national media has two basic functions. The media's primary function—the one it won't admit—is managing scandals, not exposing them. It's a sophisticated filtration system that processes raw, disruptive truth into pasteurized product that protects the powerful and preserves the delicate "arrangements" holding everything together. The second-most important function is to deny the first function….
The House Always Wins (Because The House IS The Machine)
By the time you read this, there'll be another scandal, another sport, another player who thought they were smart enough to beat The Machine.
Here's what kills me: everyone acts shocked. Clutching pearls like they just discovered the stripper has daddy issues. Like they didn't see this coming the moment we turned every game into a real-time casino and every athlete into a walking prop bet.
The scandal isn't the scandal. The scandal is that we're surprised.