A sober look at the evening news as a consciousness marketing department

Remember when television used to sell us commercials between programs?

A new car model.
Coffee with an aroma no one can actually identify.
Shampoo that’s “scientifically tested.”
Dog food with a name more upscale than the nicknames I give my own mother.

And today?

The ads are no longer between the shows.
They’re inside the show.
And they’re no longer about what to eat or wear –
they’re about what to think.

Turn on the news, and before you even notice, you’re inside a show.
A consciousness spectacle.
A docu-soap opera with recurring characters:

The “concerned” Chief of Staff.
The “alarmed” legal advisor.
The journalist whose voice sounds like a hospital nurse on a slow Thursday afternoon.

And the recurring message?

“Don’t worry – we’ll think for you.”

News? No. It’s a Catalog.

Yes, a catalog.
Not IKEA – a catalog of opinions.

Television doesn’t ask what you think.
It asks: which of the two options we’ve already pre-selected would you like to choose from?

Do you want liberal democracy – or total state collapse?

Are you for the sacred judicial system – or for anarchic flames in the streets?

Are you on the side of the “consensus” – or are you medieval darkness?

It’s like asking a child:
“Do you want broccoli-flavored ice cream, or to read a book with no pictures?”

You’re not choosing anymore.
You’re just reacting inside a template that’s already been sold to you.

“Our Interpretation Is Fact – Your Facts Are Interpretation”

What happens when a right-wing viewer turns on prime-time news?

At first, he thinks he accidentally opened Netflix.

There are good characters (usually from the left).
Bad characters (usually from the right).
And above them all – the narrator: the anchor.

And if you think differently?

Then you’re not “thinking.”
You’re “inciting,” “spreading misinformation,” or worse –
“asking difficult questions at the wrong time.”

Conflict? Only If It Follows the Script.

Take the war.
Or a military operation.
Or a ceasefire disguised as a “humanitarian arrangement.”

The TV doesn’t present it as a clash between civilization and barbarism.
It presents it as a “complex entanglement,”
a “cycle of violence,”
“two sides of the same story.”

Seriously?

The kids here playing with Playmobil,
and the kids there training to dismantle a Kalashnikov at age six –
that’s the same story?

The New Values: Rights, Sensitivity, and Gender Neutrality –

As Long As You’re on the Right Side

Try raising an eyebrow on the news toward anyone from a “media-sanctified group” –
and suddenly you’re an “existential threat to the social fabric.”

Oppose crime in Arab communities? You’re “generalizing.”
Ask teachers to focus less on gender identities and more on reading and writing? You’re “backward.”
Ask where your tax money went? You’re a “populist.”
Mention that the IDF’s job is to win? You’re “insensitive to the enemy’s morale.”

In other words, television sells us a values package –
beautifully wrapped, with a ribbon.

But only club members get to open it.

And the Right? Always the Smoke – Never the Fire

Have you noticed?

If someone on the left does something questionable –
“an incident occurred.”

If someone on the right opens his mouth –
“a wave of incitement erupted, democracy trembled, and Brussels is deeply concerned.”

A right-wing MK speaks firmly? He’s an “extremist screamer.”
A left-wing MK shouts in the studio? He’s “expressing a strong position.”
A right-winger opposes a Supreme Court ruling? He’s “threatening the rule of law.”
A left-winger opposes a Knesset majority? He’s “defending democracy.”

So What Are They Really Selling Us on TV?

Not laundry detergent.
Not razors.

They’re selling a framework.

A world where there are good guys and bad guys –
and the roles were assigned in advance.

A reality that won’t attack you –
as long as you’re the correct type of citizen.

And the best way to sell it?

Don’t call it marketing.
Call it “public broadcasting.”
Or “brave journalism.”

Conclusion: Watch – But Remember Reality Isn’t in the Studio

If you’re looking for truth – go outside.

Talk to soldiers.
To farmers.
To parents afraid to send their kid to kindergarten with a flag.

They’re not in the studio.
But they know exactly what’s being sold to us.

And they’re not buying it.

Because if there’s one thing the right has already learned,
it’s this:

The most successful product on television
is the fear of thinking differently.