The Tyranny of Modern Mass Media

    Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.  That is an old saying that could be  justly applied to the modern mass media.  While its vivid images of everyday life are can be found in every television at the instant of transmission, to do a historical search of this living history is nearly impossible.  Televisions' mass media images and videos are not stored in university libraries, and hence are not readily accessible to the general public--even when the television station happens to be a public corporation owned by the government as is the Corporación de PR para la Difusión Pública (WIPR).  Its archives are deeply hidden, outside of the public eye and access.  To obtain these images, at least here in Puerto Rico, you need to pay either to purchase this data directly from the television station or through third party intermediaries who charge an exorbitant amount of money.  Worse yet, given its closed nature, special access is given only to individuals who will faithfully comply with the company's directives; otherwise, "bad behavior" will mean that access is immediately shut off, and thereby guaranteed a control of the secondary uses as is historical research.  Television in Puerto Rico (and elsewhere) has developed a culture that is particularly undemocratic.  This situation stands in sharp contrast to another from of local information: newspapers.  While newspapers are also private corporate entities, one can readily go to any library to obtain a copy of any newspaper ever since it was first published.   One need not ask special permission to obtain a particular piece of information given that it is all available.   One need not pay outrageous sums to get copy of a simple 1 page newstory.   Newspaper culture is particularly democratic.  Why prominent media analysts, who proclaim themselves to be 'liberal', have not vociferously complained about this state of affairs is beyond me.  Worse yet, why twentieth century historians have not complained is even more troubling. Are the democratic underpinnings of access to information, forged during a century of world wars against abject tyranny, being washed away by the very generation that benefitted from it?