Though I feel like it's a significant factor, I didn't intend to oversimplify the issue by implying that 24 hr news was the only factor, so thank you for addressing that, and I'll be sure to convey that point better in the future.

Anyways, I do agree with some of your points, and it's true that these tactics have been around since antiquity. But though the tactics have been around for a long time, the 24 hour news is arguably more effective at manipulating the public psyche. In the past, people didn't have access to the same level of information that they have access to today. Additionally, the type of news people were consuming, and the amount of exposure they had to the spin on the news was comparatively limited as well.

The level of exposure an individual has to ideas they find convincing, tends to be correlated with the level of influence that these ideas have on that individual's thought process.

In the end, it is true that this is an incredibly complex topic that can't possibly covered in its entirety in a short post, and it wasn't my intent to do so.

Again I appreciate you taking the time to comment.

Take care.