Was that Medium a ‘Message,’ or ‘Massage?”

There is a lot going on this morning. We talked about running the Weather Report for this week but have decided to wait until tomorrow. That may enable us to see if we will continue to fund the activities of our Government. By law it will run out of money tomorrow. We will wait and see if something will be done today. What exactly will occur is largely unknown even to those responsible for doing whatever it will be.

Our collective understanding is reflected in the content of our various sources of data. There is at least one strange certainty across the streams: no one has read the complete legislation or understands the full consequences of the matter at hand.

We have talked about the information streams at play in the UKR. They reflect some info warfare trends that are deliberative and entirely evolutionary. The ones for which there is planning are impressive. Harnessing the information streams to emphasize strengths or conceal weaknesses. “Body counts.” Add to that the ability to target specific areas or paths of information in exquisite detail and you have a wildly enhanced mission area.

The other stream is evolutionary as this new age is unfolding. It is hardly new. Forty years ago, media theorist Marshall McLuhan saw the potential for what was coming in papers published in 1968 and 1973. The most famous of his titles included the admonition that “the medium is the message.” His observation then was succinct: “Augmentation leads to amputation.”

His analysis incorporated the impact of older social transformations. The arrival of the automobile meant that activities like ambulation- walking around- were minimized by mechanized transportation. He used drama in his all sorts of stuff that is happening around the old rules, since the flow of information is a pervasive and penetrating reality. Technologic advances and their impact on life in the moment have always riled up the senior population, since it violates old patterns of behavior. But the one we are experiencing now is actually imposing changes in behavior. It sounds dramatic because it is. The depth of this technical social change is extraordinary.

Parts of the mismatch of our judicial system and constitutional values stem directly from their capability for violation. Revelations on the FTX crypto mega-grift is part of the new connectedness and the means by which money can be moved outside the old brick and mortar system. The Pandemic imposed a sudden and radical change in many old norms. The number of public scandals regarding financial practice is sufficient to justify inquiry. Significant irregularities appear to have become routine appears to be part of a new social network.

So, that is the background noise carried in the distinct information streams. There are several issues that are having impact in the foreground. The top three issues for a majority of voters (74% this week) are logical: the economy, our borders and rising crime. The problems in the economy edge above concern about immigration and border security. With the spike in crime and violence, those issues poll the greatest concern. Competing with these are startling social developments constructed in messaging narratives. None of them rank as high as the top three but attract enormous interest for their partisans.

Accordingly, these features have become part of an information war in progress. Here at Big Pink, we follow the information circus with interest. Not as a partisan matter but one to monitor to determine a best course through turbulent times. There were a couple blips in the media through the course of the day about some story in Chicago. It wasn’t until late in the day we saw what it was. Which is exactly a demonstration of how the medium of transmission has changed in popular parlance from “message” to something else. A mental “massage” as the old joke put it.

The Mayor of Chicago enjoys a profile so energetic in dance and acapella song that it has become a catchphrase. Aside from her public performances, there is something more in her messaging. The Mayor has imposed censorship on the Windy City.

The change in our social world includes a chaotic unfolding of developments that include things happening by intent and associated inadvertent developments. Crime is up in major cities across the country. There is a case to be made that it is a result of deliberate changes in the judicial system. Those include movements to modify bail release for those detained for criminal conduct, minimization of police funding and publicity about specific incidents. The last of these is a potential liability and has caused a reluctance for some cities to report consequences. There are real political issues inherent in accurate reporting in a worsening situation.

One technical approach to information management is being tried now. The Windy City media is in an uproar over the city’s decision for the city to move away from traditional police scanners to an encrypted radio frequency. The new system’s digital law enforcement information will inaccessible to the public, and to journalists who formerly could monitor police activity.

We understand arguments for more secure law enforcement comms. It is a valid, in the evolutionary context, since criminal cartels may have their own SIGINT capabilities. But there is the matter of intent. It turns out that the media practice since the beginning of the radio age have listened in to police radio for tips on items of reporting interest. Their argument is “public safety.” City officials say a thirty-minute delay won’t impede coverage of worthy items. The media says otherwise.

Here is a sample of the practical effect of the new policy. We follow the information storm in regular manner and there was a story of interest in the Windy City last week. There was a shooting incident at a Chicago courthouse with an associated police district station. More than 40 shots were fired in a daylight attack. The perpetrator escaped. There was no word on follow-up. Had there not been a squawk from the local media this story would have disappeared.
Media organizations were concerned at missing a story of interest. They joined to state the issue from their perspective. In a joint letter, local print and broadcast outlets said: “The public did not see, hear or read about the crime as it was happening because of the new system.”

We have a general interest in the safety of our urban areas since we now live in one. We do not bring a partisan animus to the discussion. Our interest is only to determine what is actually happening. But evolving technology is undermining the system by which our institutions and their organizations work to explain themselves and retain power. We are in a period of dramatic change in which all public rights are being revised by the impact of technology.

The Bill of Rights is now festooned with work-arounds outside the framework specified in the founding document. The 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 10th Amendments have been modified without discussion of what content is being modified. There is more coming and it will play out in a time of global conflict.
–       Vic
Copyright 2022 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com