This Week: The 2006 Nygaard Notes Year in Review

Another Year of Nygaard Notes!

Since I am going out to the East Coast to visit family next week, this will be the last issue of Nygaard Notes for 2006. As I do every year, I reserve the last issue for a look back at what has been in the pages of Nygaard Notes over the past 12 months. To be perfectly honest, this tradition started out when Nygaard Notes was on a strict weekly deadline, and I was looking for an "easy" issue to put out, really kind-of a labor-saving device as much as anything. I'm relatively certain that this is a large part of the reason why all media are filled with this sort of pseudo-nostalgic garbage this time of year.

But it turns out that the Nygaard Notes Year in Review is not garbage! Why not? Well, I have come to believe that there are actually three good reasons for doing such a review. The first is that it gives new readers an idea of "what you have missed." I always urge new subscribers to stick around for 6-8 issues, at least, to get a sense of the range of subjects that Nygaard Notes covers, and the range of sources that are called upon.

Long-time readers know that the Notes is sometimes theoretical, and sometimes down-to-earth. Sometimes the sources are corporate media, sometimes anything but. Sometimes I will simply report on things that few have heard about, other times I will analyze things that are widely reported, or widely mis-reported. Sometimes I look at the daily news and ask "Why?" and sometimes I ask "Why not?" Since I never know from week to week what will be in these pages, it seems reasonable to think that readers of the Notes don't know, either. So, a review is a way of telling new folks, "This is the kind of things you're in for, if you stick around."

Secondly, it's good for me to step back and look to see what I've been focusing on. Many times readers will let me know about things that I have neglected or missed entirely, and that's good. It's also good for me to see for myself what seems to be occupying my mind, and thus the minds of Notes readers. The process of deciding what to talk about—and what NOT to talk about—has become the most difficult thing about doing this newsletter, to tell the truth. This annual review helps with that process.

Finally, I know that not every subscriber reads every word of every issue (yes, sad but true!). So my thinking is that a little list like this may just remind you of the fact that you are missing a lot if you don't read every issue!

So, as always, the Nygaard Notes Year in Review has shown itself to be good for new readers, good for old readers, and good for the writer. It's a Win/Win/Win! That's why I keep doing it, y'see. So, without further ado, here is...

The Nygaard Notes 2006 Year in Review

Thank you to all who contributed to making it possible for me to produce 40 issues of Nygaard Notes in the year 2006! Here is a partial listing of what was in them:

JANUARY saw the final installment of a six-part series—six parts!?—that I called "The What, Who, Where, When, How, and Why of Propaganda." What? I talked about the Two Levels of Propaganda. Who? I talked about the difference between the PRODUCTION of Propaganda and its DISTRIBUTION. Where? I basically said "Everywhere," and illustrated it in the "When" section. Well, then, When? I described the "Six Red Flags" that tell you when you are in the presence of Propaganda. How? I described how the nature of the for-profit media industry basically guarantees that the mass media will unconsciously reinforce the dominant ideology—that is, the Deep Propaganda upon which the more obvious Overt Propaganda relies. (And how this happens without any conspiracy, or even individual intention!) I also talked about "The Three Key Concepts of Propaganda," those being Emotions, Symbols, and Association.

Finally, Why Propaganda? First I talked about the overall "why," then I gave Six Specific Reasons why Propaganda is so pervasive in this culture at this time. At the end of the series, I gave some ideas about what to DO about what I call the "scourge of Propaganda." As a sort of bonus, I spelled out an analogy between cancer and Propaganda, likening it to a sort of "delusion disease."

That was a lengthy series, indeed.

Later in JANUARY, I talked about the election of Evo Morales in Bolivia and how it was reported in the U.S. I also talked about the U.S. budget process, Chilean Social Security, and the launching of plutonium into outer space, among other things.

In FEBRUARY I gave an update on the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals at the five-year point, and I summarized a surprising report that told us that the efforts of various international peacekeeping efforts appear to have been amazingly successful, resulting in an 80% decline in civil conflicts around the world in the past 15 years. I also summarized some "unreported" reports on income in the U.S., child poverty, and executive compensation. In issue #320 I offered a word on "virtual product placement" on TV. At the end of February I analyzed one week of news coverage of Iraq, sort of a case study on how to do media analysis.

In MARCH the focus was Iraq and U.S. crimes there. I explained, in some detail, "Why Reporting From Iraq is So Bad," I gave some numbers about the human suffering involved, and I offered some sources that people could seek out for more information on that country. March was the month I introduced a new semi-regular feature called "Off The Front Page," which is yet another aspect of "media literacy" that Nygaard Notes readers get to absorb from these pages. By making it an ongoing feature, I said, maybe it will help you to resist the tendency to internalize the values and priorities of the large corporations that we call "the media," and instead get more clear on your own values.

APRIL brought about the Spring 2006 Nygaard Notes Pledge Drive (which was a big success, by the way). In this Pledge Drive I listed, in a piece called "What Nygaard Reads," some of the sources I use to put together the Notes—a long list! In issue #327 I ran one of the most popular pieces of the year, judging by the letters I got. That was the piece called "Nygaard Notes: Imagination and Vision." In it, I talked about some of the "prizes" we get from working toward a vision, instead of just reacting to the things we DON'T like. In that piece I reminded people that "There is another prize to be had, and we can have it long before we see any changes in systems or institutions. That is the prize of living a life of striving and building, a life of looking at positive possibilities. That's a good way to live, and I think it is a big part of how I can write about ‘all this stuff' without getting depressed."

After the Pledge Drive, but also in APRIL, I reprinted a piece of mine that appeared in my local corporate newspaper, the Star Tribune. It was called "‘Minnesota Guy' Opposes Gay Marriage Amendment." Lots of feedback on that one, as well...

In MAY I wrote up a summary of a major report from the Project for Excellence in Journalism called "The State of The News Media 2006." There was a lot in that report, but my favorite quote from it is the one where the authors say that "heading into 2006, there was more worry that the publicly traded corporation may not be positioned to address the problems of journalism to the satisfaction of society." Right-O!

Also in MAY I ran a series called "How Ideas Affect Policy," which went to four parts and spilled into JUNE. That series also stimulated a lot of letters, as it talked about Bird Flu, vaccines, philosophy and ideology, human nature, patents and copyrights. It's also where I summarized Dean Baker's amazing alternative to patents and copyrights: The Artistic Freedom Voucher. (See if you can get your Senator or Representative to propose legislation along these lines.)

Other JUNE subjects included Nukes, Opinion Polls, and the importance of the media's use of the words "may" and possible." In that month I offered a whole bunch of tidbits about the daily news, with some of the best headlines of the year, I think! Like: "Sunglasses Get Apology, Press Remains in the Dark;" "Don't Trust Alex Trebek;" and "Reporters Reluctant to Criticize the Military."

JULY had me talking, again, about Western Hemisphere Enemy #2: Venezuela (Cuba is #1, of course), in an article headlined "We're OK, They're Not OK." I also talked that month about Somalia, Palestine, Iran, and how the U.S. subverts democracy all over the place.

In a piece called "Lebanon: Root Causes and Unconventional Thinking," I explained what I call DSS Thinking and MCD Thinking, and how much better I think MCD thinking works. If you don't remember, "DSS" stands for Dualistic, Simplistic, and Static. "MCD" thinking is Multi-faceted, Complex, and Dynamic. I explained this in some detail, and used the example of media reporting on Israel's aggression against Lebanon to illustrate. In issue #339, in "Thinking About Wars, and So Forth," I expanded the example to show how DSS thinking leads to other wars: the War on Drugs, the War Against Terror (The WAT?!), the War on Illegal Immigration, the War on Cancer, the War on Crime, and the War in Iraq.

AUGUST, you say? Well, that was the month I explained why the "enemy" of the U.S. occupying forces in Iraq is not an "insurgency," but rather a "resistance." Nit-picking? I argued that these sorts of word choices have "a profound effect on our understanding of what is actually going on in that country." That is, it's Propaganda, and dangerous Propaganda, at that.

Later in AUGUST I devoted a whole issue to explaining "Instant Runoff Voting." We now have this system in Minneapolis, and I explained why it's a good thing and how it works elsewhere and how it will work here.

In SEPTEMBER (it started on August 31st, actually) I ran my longest series to date: "Media and Propaganda, How It Happens." This was a sort-of summary of some of the main points I make when I lecture or teach classes on media. It spelled out the basics, like "What IS the Media?," and "What Does a Journalist Do?," and "The ABCs of Propaganda," and "Hidden Propaganda: Where Is It Hiding?," and "A Non-Conspiracy Theory," and "Profits and Class." It wasn't until October 6th that I ran the final installment, "Summing It All Up." I thought the series might be too long, but people really liked it. I even got some requests to use parts of it in some college classes.

The Autumn version of the Nygaard Notes Pledge Drive came around in OCTOBER, when I explained "What Makes Nygaard Notes Unique (and Worthy of Your Support)?" Part of it, I said, is that "more importantly than affecting WHAT you know, Nygaard Notes is always trying to affect HOW you know." That's a big difference," I said, and explained how I do that. In "Fighting ‘Delusion Disease' With Nygaard Notes; An Essay on Freeing Our Minds," I returned to the analogy between cancer and Propaganda that I made in January, offering "three basic ways to deal with any rampant disease." They are Treatment, Inoculation, and System Change, and I explained how those work in regard to Propaganda.

In OCTOBER and into NOVEMBER I ran a lengthy "Gallimaufry of ‘Quotes' of the Week. (a gallimaufry is "a hodgepodge; jumble; confused medley," as I explained.) That was fun. Just before the U.S. elections I ran "Election 2006: A Word About Voting," where I encouraged people to think about voting in a strategic way. November also brought you "News of the Weird" (presented in the Nygaard Notes style, not the style you see in your daily papers). Later in the month I talked about the ongoing wave of layoffs in the corporate media and what it means for an informed population.

And, finally, earlier this month I returned to the subject of the recent U.S. elections in the piece "A Note About the Recent Elections, Democrats, Etc." I predicted on December 8th that the recent elections wouldn't change U.S. foreign policy much, and recent headlines are making that crystal clear, methinks. Just last week I talked about the recent immigration raids around the country at Swift meatpacking plants, and discussed the recent re-election of the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. I also made a rare attempt to comment on popular entertainment culture, ripping on Mel Gibson's new blockbuster movie "Apocalypto." I called my piece "White Christians to the Rescue!," so you can figure out what I think of ol' Mel's politics.