(P1) PoeticalFinal Words
(for Arby Kenny 1943-2009)
You did not call 911. Instead
you summoned your friends who
streaming out from The Witch's Brew
found you sitting breathless
on the tavern steps.
The publican who had been an EMT
asked you if you knew who you were.
Goddamn it! you retorted,
You know who I am!
Those words helped your friends
feel better. They sounded like you,
you who were being packed
into a Salem ambulance
never to be seen live again.
Your final words vital to your friends
Goddamn it! You know who I am!
(ed coletti August 5, 2009)
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2700 citizens lined up at 5:30 AM for The 2009 Remote Area Medical (RAM) Expedition which recently came to the Virginia Appalachian mountains. Are we a "third-world country"?(P2) Political
Whatever Happened To the News?
These days do you ever wonder why you see TV ads from corporations like Lockheed-Martin and wonder who's going to buy a fighter jet because of a TV commercial? It's not like Lockheed wants to sell you a fighter bomber. It's more about these ads and similar ones intentionally being placed to maintain control over the networks. If Lockheed, for example, doesn't like a particular show and demands that the station pull it, what recourse does TV "news" have but to comply rather than lose the bribe (I mean advertising)? None.
Some time ago (probably around the time Ronald Reagan succeeded in getting rid of the Fairness Doctrine, and Rush Limbaugh went on the air four weeks later), TV News Divisions were subsumed under the Entertainment Divisions of TV stations and networks. While TV news had been non-commercial and provided as a public service, the Entertainment Divisions did all the earning and supported the news. Now, however, the News Division is expected to earn its own way, and we see more and more "news" shows of the type portrayed above (The Today Show cast on NBC).
Where are we now to go for the news? As much grief as it gets, the New York Times still provides a reasonable product. You might also consider the Huffington Post and Politico.com among a few others.
Peter Zenger is turning over in his grave.
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(P3) Philosophical
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3 comments:
Thanks, Ed. I especially like the Bill Maher piece with the humorous bit about firefighters
not being a part of the drive for profit. There was a recent large article in the Press Democrat
about the Sebastopol volunteer fire company. How we appreciate their red trucks and
unmonetized services! Kendra
In many cases, real, on-the-spot news is delivered by regular citizens with cell phones who photograph and transmit details about the situation as-it-happens. Who knew that "tweeting" would be the new face of the news? Some say the Filipino revolution would not have happened without the fax machine! And so it goes . . . from an old reporter in Kenwood.
Not to try and cause trouble, but as a j-school grad I still have an interest in how news is gathered and presented. I don't remember network news ever being non-commercial and I go back to the first years of Cronkite and Huntley-Brinkley (even if I don't remember how to spell their names).
I do believe it is true, however, that network news organizations today are expected to "earn their keep". But, I don't think Lockheed is a big enough advertiser to make a TV show disappear, nor do I believe that Lockheed's ads are aired for that intent. I believe they are intended to develop goodwill amongst viewers who might influence a politician to vote for a war plane appropriations bill.
While I'm being disagreeable, I never considerd The Today Show to be a news show, but merely entertainment with a sprinkling of news thrown in.
I agree with Viola that the real news is now coming from the "man" in the street with a cell phone/electronic device of some kind. That's how it all started back in 1770 or so. Regular citizens turning out hand bills with news of the day and then "underground" newspapers reporting on the Red Coats' activities.
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