Perhaps nothing elicits more disagreement and debate among Marxists and other left activists than a discussion about the media. There is no doubt that the mass media is omnipresent, mediating every aspect of our lives. How one relates to and interprets the world is largely colored by how the media informs us. On the eve of the release of the Leveson report, we publish this Marxist analysis of the media from a correspondent in the USA.

The effects of the capitalist crisis are being felt at every level of society. As reported in a Time
magazine article in April, this also includes the preservation of
historical sites. As the cash-strapped European states race to cut
public spending and slash budgets, the historical achievements of
mankind crumble under paltry allotments for cultural preservation.

Whilst chatting with students at Worcester University, I was presented
with a flyer for a production of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
that night in the university, an opportunity not to miss. However my
expectation of a theatrical interpretation of this socialist classic by
just two actors was very low but this was blown away as soon as the
performance began.