History Main / OldMediaAreEvil

Meta note: [[AcceptableTargets a lot of Tropers have a lot of problems with old media figures, and often for good reason]]. That said, there are numerous pages on this Wiki devoted to chronicling the foibles of newspapers, TV, radio, etc. See: CowboyBebopAtHisComputer, NewMediaAreEvil, TheNewRockAndRoll, among others. So Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease.

* "Where the Wild Wind Blows" is a song by Music/IronMaiden based on the graphic novel of the same name, about an elderly couple obsessed with the end of the world based on what they see on television.

* In the world of ''TabletopGame/InNomine'', television is literally an invention of the devil, or at least of Nybaas, the Demon Prince of The Media, who manipulates print and broadcast (especially broadcast) to make or destroy trends and personalities at will. However, while Nybbas has a presence on the Internet, it's not truly under his control to the same degree... a fact that frustrates him mightily.

* A theme used in ''VideoGame/Persona4''. A television called The Midnight Channel leads to a series of murders which the heroes must solve. The idea that television is bad when it comes to gossip, predatory journalism and spreading rumors is discussed by several {{Non Player Character}}s and major characters.

[[folder:Film]]

[[quoteright:300: [[VideoGame/IronBrigade https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/farnsworth_1853.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[StartOfDarkness He called it "Television". Why walk, when you can let the world come to you...]]]]

!!Examples:

There is also a bit of an idea that older media institutions, due to being run by large centralized organizations, are prone to being taken over by corrupt and/or tyrannical governments and used as propaganda mills, while the internet still has a bit of a "rebel" feel to many people.

But this relationship is sometimes too complicated for a full and accurate portrayal in fiction. And thus we have the polar opposite of NewMediaAreEvil. Many works portray old media institutions (newspapers, radio, TV networks) as ignorant, malicious or both. The classic example of this trope is the stodgy old white guy railing against bloggers, webcomics, and anyone not under the influence of the brainwashing satellites owned by LouisCypher, S. Atan, and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Rupert]] [[UsefulNotes/RupertMurdoch Murdoch]]. Expect "get off my lawn"-type comments to come up rather frequently.

But this relationship is sometimes too complicated for a full and accurate portrayal in fiction. And thus we have the polar opposite of NewMediaAreEvil. Many works portray old media institutions (newspapers, radio, TV networks) as ignorant, malicious or both. The classic example of this trope is the stodgy old white guy railing against bloggers, webcomics, and anyone not under the influence of the brainwashing satellites owned by LouisCypher, S. Atan, and UsefulNotes/RupertMurdoch. Expect "get off my lawn"-type comments to come up rather frequently.

Meta note: [[AcceptableTargets a lot of Tropers have a lot of problems with old media figures, and often for good reason]]. That said, there are numerous pages on this Wiki devoted to chronicling the foibles of newspapers, TV, radio, etc. See: CowboyBebopAtHisComputer, NewMediaAreEvil, TheNewRockAndRoll, among others. So NoRealLifeExamplesPlease.

Meta note: [[AcceptableTargets a lot of Tropers have a lot of problems with old media figures, and often for good reason]]. That said, there are numerous pages on this Wiki devoted to chronicling the foibles of newspapers, TV, radio, etc. See: CowboyBebopAtHisComputer, NewMediaAreEvil, TheNewRockAndRoll, among others.

[[folder:Real Life]]

Very true and consistently proven on a regular basis. Most media agencies are designed for a profit and this only sell what would make said profit regardless of truth.

Please put sources and accurate examples here.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/CitizenKane'' is one of the earliest criticisms of Old Media in the form that it exists today. Note that Kane himself is a thinly veiled version of William Randolph Hearst -- the spiritual godfather of Ted Turner and UsefulNotes/RupertMurdoch. Keep in mind that Welles did slip in some delicious multi-level irony with the quote, "Don't believe [[Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds everything]] you hear on [[NewMediaAreEvil the radio]]!"
* ''Film/TheRing'' uses this heavily. An old videotape spreads an unending curse. Bonus points go to the Western Film version, which discuss it.
-->'''Richard Morgan:''' What is it with reporters? You take one person's tragedy and force the world to experience it... spread it like a sickness.
* The villain of ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' is a poorly disguised version of Robert Maxwell, evident at the end when M says they'll make his death look like he committed suicide on his yacht, which is how Maxwell may have died (he either killed himself or had an accident, but he allegedly- and with some evidence- may have been killed by foreign intelligence agents- Mossad in this case-, just as Carver is killed by Film/JamesBond). Carver is worse than any of them, of course, since he brings the world to the brink of war for ratings and has numerous people- including his own wife- tortured and killed, par the course for a Bond villain.
* ''Franchise/RoboCop'', [[Film/RoboCop1987 the first movie]] at least, has several fake advertisements, among them various house hold products and a board game consisting of war up to and including thermonuclear (with realistic special effects build in). The way the advertisements are done border on outright brainwashing.
* ''Film/MeetJohnDoe'' has the cynical character that is newspaper owner D.B. Norton, who's only interested in political power. [[spoiler:He even turns his newspaper against the man he'd previously supported ''in the middle of a political rally'' indicating he'd had plans for if his patsy went off-script.]]
[[/folder]]