18 December 2005
The state of contemporary mass media
Just how stoopid are some of the people creating what is passed on to us media consumers as "news?"
Exhibit A: Chenney's itenerary didn't formally include Iraq but involved going to neighboring states. Just about anyone with a lick of sense could see an un-previously-announced stop in Iraq happening, so when it does, it shouldn't be called a "surprise." Take your pick among just about any ensemble of first- and second-tier news sources to see this in action. Just one example here.
Exhibit B: This inane "War on Christmas" nonsense. Here's an example (USA Today, surprise, surprise, but any of the usual suspects would do) of the nonsense, and here's Mr. Lane linking to some semblence of data suggesting the vast majority of people feel otherwise.
What do they teach in those purported journalism schools? Surely it involves more than rehashing press releases or being a conduit for leaks from government officials (e.g. Judith Miller, the latter incarnations of Bob Woodward, etc.).
Exhibit A: Chenney's itenerary didn't formally include Iraq but involved going to neighboring states. Just about anyone with a lick of sense could see an un-previously-announced stop in Iraq happening, so when it does, it shouldn't be called a "surprise." Take your pick among just about any ensemble of first- and second-tier news sources to see this in action. Just one example here.
Exhibit B: This inane "War on Christmas" nonsense. Here's an example (USA Today, surprise, surprise, but any of the usual suspects would do) of the nonsense, and here's Mr. Lane linking to some semblence of data suggesting the vast majority of people feel otherwise.
What do they teach in those purported journalism schools? Surely it involves more than rehashing press releases or being a conduit for leaks from government officials (e.g. Judith Miller, the latter incarnations of Bob Woodward, etc.).
