Letters to the Editor
DCLaw1
Published Letters: 839 Editor's Choice: 2
-
Free Market = Morality
[Read the article: David Halberstam on today's American press]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What oh what are today's "conservatives" to do -- pornography is one of the most profitable industries around. Oh, and the drug market is absolutely booming.
Why should our evil government interfere with this great success and entrepreneurism?
-
Fairness
[Read the article: David Halberstam on today's American press]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yeah, you know, my sarcastic comments about modern "conservatism" aside, I'm not sure how I feel about the Fairness Doctrine, etc. Without getting too into it, my main concern is how to administer such a standard. Also, I've always been big on the First Amendment, and tend to take the position against censorship and government control when it comes to speech and the press, even when the cause is worthy and good.
And I realize I probably shouldn't have mentioned it, but I really don't have the time or willingness to debate it right now. What I will say, however, is that I don't think it takes government intervention to fix the media. You know, for all the effort it would take to get an FCC regulation or piece of legislation imposing "fairness" on the media, this energy would be much better spent increasing the salience and development of blogs as a sort of "watcher of the watchers." Besides, with the advent of developments from TiVo to YouTube, and the ever-increasing resistance of audiences to standard audio-visual trickery, the old television and print advertising paradigm is rapidly waning, and with it, much of the current construct of corporate influence over news divisions, etc.
So, I think we need to focus on new solutions rather than look to old throwbacks and clumsy control mechanisms. I really do think the "blogosphere" (a term that will most definitely seem hilariously anachronistic one day) will change the face of the media, for the better.
Gotta go, Frontline is on!
-
Not just blogs
[Read the article: David Halberstam on today's American press]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In my haste, I failed to mention the tremendous influence of film and popular art on society as well. I think the release of An Inconvenient Truth will be some day be universally seen as a monumental turning point and catalyst of both American public opinion and government action.
Environmentalism has been a pseudo-trendy thing for some time, but I have definitely noticed how, since Al Gore's movie came out and subsequently won an Academy Award, the movement has come to pervade nearly every aspect of American life. Where it was once regarded as an almost inescapably, perhaps radioactively liberal, "hippy," issue, I now see conservatives everywhere embracing the fact that climate change is a serious problem that needs to be confronted. I see it in commercials all the time, and corporations practically competing with one another to be "green." This societal tectonic shift is cause for tremendous celebration and hope.
Of course, you can't ignore the steady buildup of this issue over the past twenty years, but it is very hard to overstate the effects of An Inconvenient Truth on our society. Did the media (or government) lead the way on global warming concerns? Hardly -- in fact, they actively undermined them at many turns. Now, global warming and the need to do something about it is fait accompli. Just think of the possibilities for so many other pressing issues.
This is a new era of true democratic action.
-
That was unFair!
[Read the article: David Halberstam on today's American press]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]DCLaw1:
"Without getting too into it, my main concern is how to administer such a standard."
Well, gosh. We had it for over 50 years. I'm sure someone took notes.
Very cute. I mean administering it in a way that is truly "fair," because everyone's concept of "balance" is completely different. We all have different definitions of right, left, and center, and different notions of what a reasonable position on an issue, or an issue of high enough importance, looks like. Particularly now, with so many more channels, voices, and issues occupying the airwaves than in the early days of radio and television, I think the program would prove incredibly unwieldy, particularly from a public policy standpoint with everyone condemning the FCC for what they see as inherent unfairness against their point of view. I also think that trying to reintroduce any sort of Fairness Doctrine would be an exercise in political futility and not worth the tremendous effort such a resurrection would require.
Again, I reiterate my other points about the higher potency and promise of alternative approaches, from blogs to citizen action to film and popular art. Need I even mention the phenomenon that is the Daily Show?
So many truly exciting alternatives to centralized control and imposition of rules on the media.
I gotta hit the hay...
-
Elephant
[Read the article: The Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch frauds]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It must be so frustrating trying to defend this administration anymore -- having to distract the conversation to other topics and people just to keep one's head from exploding.
-
humor?
[Read the article: The Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch frauds]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"How petty and small-minded! Embellishment of heroic war stories in order to inspire people is an ancient literary tradition going back to Homer's day, if not earlier. One is not supposed to take them literarilly. Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman represent photogenic archetypes of our brave fighting men and women. While the stories told about them may not be literally true, they portray a larger "big picture" truth, which is entirely valid. Reasonable people understand this."
I literally can't distinguish this from satire. Perhaps it is? I'm so confused.
-
I speak Elephant, and will translate --
[Read the article: The Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch frauds]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"We could poll Americans on all sorts of misperceptions. We might find majorities of Americans who believe that JFK was murdered by a conspiracy. Or that silicone gel breast implants cause a wide range of diseases. Or that wealthy Americans pay a small share of the total the income tax burden."
Translation: "Lots of people are wrong about lots of things; therefore, it is pointless to expect the media, who's job is to get things right, to provide the public with truthful information on the most important issues of the day."