are you being brainwashed right now?

Are the media moguls controlling us?

Oh god yes. In the sense that they are the ones who control what we get to read about and watch on the news everyday, of course they control some aspect of us in choosing which tidbits of information we're allowed to gain access to, and how they'd like us to react to them. I'd like to say that this information manipulation only controls us to the extent that we allow it, but how can we avoid being controlled by it when we're only allowed to have knowledge of the tip of the iceberg? This forced submissiveness is already a huge step in the direction of the media's control.

Are they controlling our minds and souls?

Trickier. This question begs a multitude of other (somewhat depressing and existential) questions: do we have control over our own minds in the first place? Have we ever had control over them? Is the way we react to media based on opinions that have already been placed in our minds subconsciously by these media moguls?

I'd like to say that my reaction is based on a sense of indignation to the initial question, but could it not also be a defensive reaction to the knowledge that in some way, my mind has been controlled by these media moguls? Consider this: I'm currently typing away on my very old, very slow PC laptop, cursing the fact that I'm not sitting in front of my beloved Mac. Why is that? I'm not doing anything that requires the use of design software, I'm posting a blog. This crappy PC is as good as anything for that purpose. The moguls of Apple media have put this idea into my head that I'm slumming, in a way, by working away on a PC. I can't say that I feel that strongly about being away from my Mac, but that thought it still in my head. Which means, in some sense, that I have indeed been conditioned and controlled by these media moguls.

The thought of delving into the full extent of the media's grasp on me (or anyone, for that matter)
is just a little too much. You win, John.