I have been discussing an article with the Sports Executive Editor, Tim Beisel, of the Topeka Capitol Journal and he was in the lecture mode when he replied to me. He objected because I don't understand his standards. Yes, Tim, I think printing something a player said to justify what he had done wrong is not good journalism. I am not sure that it is even news. I think that after delivering and then reading the paper for over 50 years, I have a good handle on what should go into the paper. I think that anyone that reads the paper today can see the size and content of the paper slipping to a smaller level and if the trend continues they will be soon the same as 45 RPM records. Ask a third grader today if they know what a record is.
How do you get your information about the world today? I'll bet that a lot of people just don't read the paper or take the time to go out on line to read all the things going on. I do and hope to continue to read the paper because it is a part of my life. Even when I am in a city on the road I will get a copy of the paper and read what is going on. I probably don't spend as much time on local items but I do read. How long will the print media survive? Does it make me a dinosaur when I read and not just listen to the news.
A great point about life, made by Barb a moment ago, is the compensation given to different levels of people. Why does an Athletic Director at a college make $ 900,000 a year? Why do some CEO's make a salary of several million and then get a bonus when they have laid off workers that do all the work? I do believe that free enterprise should control the market out there but after watching parts of the NBA's All Star game, I wonder why they get paid multi millions to play a game. We are losing teachers each year because they can't survive on their salary and continue to pay sports stars millions. Hell, a lot of teachers have to go out and get a better paying job just to pay off their student loans. Now that's a real shame. We give athletes full rides in college but don't help the teachers as students.
Oh well, I better go eat some cereal for breakfast so I don't get an ulcer. Yes Virginia, I know I am a carrier not a getter.
MUD
My in-laws used to get the Wichita Eagle when we lived next door to them. Sometimes I would look through their paper, but I was always disgusted with the quality of the writing and reporting, not to mention editing for basic grammar and spelling. I only read the paper now when there is an article that catches my eye (often at the dentist's or doctor's office), and it is usually about some place to see in Kansas.
ReplyDeleteMost of my news I get from the internet or from NPR. I don't watch local news for the same reasons I don't read The Wichita Eagle. I'm disgusted by the lack of facts and the sloppy reporting.
When Jo was hurt in a horseback riding accident a few years ago, there were news teams all up and down our road. None of them got the facts straight. Some tried to dress it up to make it more dramatic, thus misrepresenting facts. Some gave out personal information like her name and age and our address without permission. (Okay, just announce to the world that we probably won't be home this week because we'll be up at the hospital with our daughter.) Elderly relatives heard the news on TV and radio while we were on the way to the hospital--before we had time to call anyone. You can bet I sent an email to each TV and radio station addressing their lack of professionalism. It was courteous, but it took a lot of work to make it so because I was pissed. I did get an apology from channel 12, but the other TV station did not want to admit they'd done anything wrong. Have I mentioned this before? If so, I'm sorry, but it still ticks me off. I don't know if it was in the newspapers or not.
I've always had a slight distrust of the media, but this experience confirmed it for me. I remember being in high school history and journalism classes and learning about yellow journalism and the importance of unbiased reporting. Being thorough and getting the facts straight, not to mention proofreading your work carefully, were givens. Yet, I haven't seen such an emphasis on these things in any form of our media lately. Sure, everyone is going to write from their unique perspective and it may be impossible to write entirely without bias, but I see a lot of journalists who are not making any effort at all to report fairly. Just the facts please--unless you are writing an opinion piece, and we can't have all opinion pieces for our source of information.
Even though my FOX News addicted mom likes to say it is "that pinko-commie station", I prefer to listen to NPR because I do feel they at least try to be a little less biased. Knowing which direction their bias tends to lie helps, too. There are a few NPR commentators I simply won't listen to, but overall, I feel I can listen and discern fact from bias on that station. I simply cannot stand arrogant, intolerant people delivering the news. (Ha! I'm intolerant of intolerant people!) Arrogant and intolerant combined with sloppy work is something I really cannot abide.
BAM! You've just been struck by a guest post! Happy President's Day:o)
Jenni, there is no such thing as "President's Day." Today is a federal holiday enacted by President Nixon with Executive Order 11582, signifying "Washington's Birthday."
ReplyDeleteMore: http://www.snopes.com/holidays/presidents/presidentsday.asp
Sorry, that just irks me no end, revisionist history is why our kids voted for the jughead for president. They have no clue what is right or wrong. Stupid is the new smart.
Which brings me to the point of MUD's post. I dropped delivery of our local dog trainer two weeks ago. The Clarion Ledger, Jackson, Mississippi's daily, is a Gannett paper and has been since 1983 or so. The paper is absolutely terrible now. Headlines are so misleading as to render the article's content contradictory. It is unreadable, but I held out for years just to get local high school football scores. With the progression and increasing coverage of thescore.com, I no longer need the paper. Plus they cut the content in half and raised the price to double of the cost just one year ago.
When the largest Mississippi daily completely backs everything that the government does, it is no longer living up to the responsibilities given to it by the first amendment.
That said, papers are dead to me. Just look at the supposed "Newspaper of Record," The New York Times. They have lost more than half of their readership in the last two years because of their complete capitulation to the federal government. Pravda never accomplished that.