“Prager U” has a formula that works. They create videos that are typically under 6 minutes long, have a narrator that some will know, and that woman or man will provide a relatively balanced view of a topic for consideration. This video, posted on 6.3.2019, had 427,548 views in under 48 hours. If only manufactured housing could say the same about a pro-industry video.
The thrust of the Prager U concept is educational. They take a controversial issue and strive to shed light on it. Prager U is branded, but in a mild way that keeps millions coming back to see their next video. Yes, they are generally conservative, but do so citing the views of other political or moral perspective.
In fact, that’s the point. They look at what the opposition says, and then they do a fact-check and analysis.
Sound familiar? It’s Prager’s video version of what significant parts of MHProNews content has been in recent years. In fairness, this has been done for years by media, but has grown more popular on both the left and the right. So one takeaway is that the Prager approach is a proven one. Manufactured housing industry leaders should sit up and take notice.
On this specific video, “Brent Bozell, founder of the Media Research Center, explains how and why Big Tech is making Orwell’s 1984 a 21st century reality.”
Their YouTube page says, “George Orwell’s fictionalized world where Big Brother reigns supreme is no longer a figment of the imagination, but a prophetic vision of present-day threats.” It would be hard to name many businesses today that operate in our factory-built home industry that don’t use one or more of the services that are spotlighted by this video.
What this video doesn’t do is call for boycotts or even an antitrust breakup. MHProNews has argued for antitrust action, and word earlier this week that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are gearing up antitrust investigations sent the FAANG stocks down.
Washington Leak – Justice Department Prepares Major Antitrust Investigation
The earlier report MHProNews did on the Creepy Line took an in depth look in text and videos into the ways that big tech is purportedly manipulating data that harms companies and can tip elections.
“The Creepy Line” Video DocuDrama, Manufactured Housing – The Problem, Solution, and You
While Bozell doesn’t call for a breakup, he does make it clear that the situation is serious. It is. Monopolization isn’t just a manufactured housing industry problem; it is a broader economic threat that impacts a score of industries. This video is one of about 100 that as of this post being drafted YouTube has ‘restricted.’ What is there about this video that is anything other than a simple exercise of free speech?
Among the 2020 issues we expect to be significant is consolidation, monopolization, and antitrust. It’s a topic most of our colleagues in manufactured home trade publishing simply won’t go near, perhaps out of fear for what the industry’s Big Brothers in Omaha-Knoxville-Arlington axis might do.
As the powers that be in manufactured housing are viewed by numbers as a cause – rather than a solution – for the industry’s underperformance, the FAANG threat to economic, political, and free speech freedom should be seen as part of the bigger picture that arguably should include Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft, perhaps others too. While the Omaha-Knoxville-Arlington axis bears responsibility for the widely misunderstood manufactured home industry, don’t overlook the supporting role played by these tech giants.
Learn more from the related reports, below.
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Related Reports:
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According to key “congressional supporters of the 2000 reform law” in a letter to HUD said that “…changes to the law [the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000] give “HUD the legal authority to preempt local requirements or restrictions which discriminate against the siting of manufactured homes … simply because …
The Masthead
Hold the headline for 125 words. Poisoning the well. Salting the fields. Those are but two of several ancient methods some enemies used to harm their opponents. The notion behind those vile tactics was if you could kill off their drinkable water or their food supply, someone could effectively destroy their enemy.
