DOES THE MEDIA TELL LIES?
Considering the studies of Pierre Bourdieu on the field of cultural production, since the members of the society live under different circumstances and posses different amounts of economic, cultural, social, and symbolic capitals, there isn't a general truth, but "truths" (or social versions of it) in competition.
The producers in the field of cultural production produce according to the positions they occupy in the field, and their productions are usually consumed by those that occupy a similar position. Therefore, an account of "the facts" shared by the producers and consumer located in one position of the field may be perfectly honest for them and, at the same time, an evident lie or misconception from the perspective of other positions in the field.
So, the media has interests that condition how the social events are interpreted but, since it is a collective interpretation, valid in a particular position in the field, it is not a lie for those who share that position.
Since the humans are animals who behave like animals and not like computers, they reproduce how they live according to their traditions (languages, religions, political affiliations, nationalities), not according to the analytic reason, this is the main cause that avoids a Communist revolution.
Then, if the media I consume is OK, even when it "disinforms" according to people who don't live like me, why should I pay $30 to have a conversation with Jorge L. Villacorta on the topic "Journalism & Disinformation"?
First, if you are interested in the subject and you like the previous exposition, it is possible that you have the need of defending or understanding your own position in the field due to an external social pressure. You may want to understand why you consume the kind of media you consume, or you are studying the theme and need clarification or another perspective.
Second, since we are animals and we learn like animals, you may need someone to tell you what you already have read, even when it is online and not face to face. Social validation is a factor in our behavior. If you "interact" with someone who has taken the time to read the information and ponder it, it may help you to relieve your doubts. There are biological and social reasons that condition us "to believe" in the "experts." I already explained the core of the subject, consulting a "knowledgable person" is part of a system of beliefs, as it happens in the fields of art and religion.
Subjects we can develop and recommended reading:
1) The Media Monopoly.
1.a. "The Media Monopoly" by Ben H. Bagdikian.
1.b. "The Rich and the Super-Rich: A Study in the Power of Money" by Ferdinand Lundberg.
2) News or PSYOP?
2.a. "Science of Coercion: Communication Research and Psychological Warfare, 1945-1960" by Christopher Simpson.
2.b. Annex “B” to the PSD-D33, June 29, 1953, by the Psychological Strategy Board:
http://www.archives.gov/declassification/iscap/pdf/2012-036-doc1.pdf
2.c. The U.S. Doctrinal Program, PSB D-33/2, May 5, 1953:
https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80R01731R003200050006-0.pdf
https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-01065A000200080013-4.pdf
3) Art and Entertainment or Propaganda?
3.a. "The CIA in Hollywood: How the Agency Shapes Film and Television" by Tricia Jenkins.
3.b. "Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies" by David L. Robb.
3.c. "The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters" by Frances Stonor Saunders.
3.d. "The Pentagon Propaganda Machine" by J. William Fulbright.
3.e. "Abstract Expressionism, Weapon of the Cold War" by Eva Cockcroft.
3.f. "Hollywood Censored. Morality Codes, Catholics, and the Movies" by Gregory D. Black.
3.g. "Hollywood and the Culture Elite: How the Movies Became American" by Peter Decherney.
4) The Internet: Freedom of Information or Digital Totalitarianism?
4.1. "Chatter: Uncovering the Echelon Surveillance Network and the Secret World of Globat Eavesdropping" by Patrick Radden Keefe.
4.2. "The U.S. Intelligence Community" by Jeffrey T. Richelson.
4.4. "The Globalization of Surveillance" by Armand Mattelart.
5) Education or Brainwahing Camps?
5.1. "Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace" by Margaret Thaler Singer.
5.2. "Homo Academicus" by Pierre Bourdieu.
5.3. "Reproduction in Education, Society, and Culture" by Pierre Bourdieu and Jean-Claude Passeron.
5.4. "Language and Symbolic Power" by Pierre Bourdieu.
5.5. The Craft of Sociology: Epistemological Preliminaries" by Pierre Bourdieu, Jean- Claude Chamboredom, Jean-Claude Passeron.
5.6. "Colleges and Universities with Department of Defense Prime Contracts" 2000-2006. By Brian Bogart:
https://www.nwopc.org/files/PentaVersitiesByState.pdf