That is what I am saying - too much of “the news” is not journalistic anymore. It’s repeating facts from other orgs mixed with commentary and analysis - usually with a lot of opinion mixed in.
That is MOST of the cable channels programming. It’s most of the ABC/NBC/CBS news any more.
They are presenting themselves as journalistic, but they don’t do the heavy lifting. If you watch, so many stories start with “The blah blah blah reports that…” They are just repeating statements. They aren’t doing the most basic of fact checking, which is how ABC put up video of a machine gun night shoot in the US as footage from Syria. Everyone is wanting to be first, breaking and get as many eyeballs as they can. Jesus Christ, they are perpetuating memes and cute pet videos in some cases. (Look, we’re cool, just like the internet!)
I completely agree that they SHOULD be more journalistic in nature, and have concern for the public interest. And some of them do, and there are specific shows that focus on that. But mass media news in general is not like that. It’s mostly big giant bowls of Lucky Charms and if you want a balanced breakfast you need to find your grapefruit, eggs, and oat meal somewhere else.
Agreed, which is why they need to be regularly called out for this kind of thing. Just sort of shrugging our shoulders or saying “well of course” when many Americans still SEE them as journalism isn’t going to change the problem - calling it out will help, eventually. As will offering real alternatives of actual journalism.
Hell, I was ‘that guy’ until last year, when I finally sat down and watched the original film from start to finish. (And my impression? It doesn’t pass the Bechdel test.)
Disregarding the rest of the problem here. The thing is these sorts of investigations don’t impact public opinion based on “pizzazz”. Day one hot takes and scandal of the moment flubs aren’t what attracts public attention, or shifts public opinion.
Changes in public opinion come over time, and track pretty nicely with how much clear, pretty bland, direct info is put in front of them and for how long. Congress did not an does not need clickbait generating sound bites to make this happen. And even with that you wouldn’t see a day one response from the public.
So this is not only a nihilistic, Southpark grade dismissal. Where what happened doesn’t matter, just who will win an argument over it. Its wrong. Public interest is already up, and has already seriously shifted in the weeks since the Ukraine call came to light. I wouldn’t expect a lack of jazz hands on a single day of that process to be the deciding factor in how it plays out from here.
I was hoping he could produce some quick notes on public event planning and shaming, faster than a novel, but you are right, we just don’t have the time to spare for a fancy season finally event.
Noted. Coppola was working from Puzo’s very male-centric (blood/murder/guys) book and from what the mafia was like (‘strategically’ keeping their wives and daughters out of the loop). Definitely not a date movie.
That said, I do recommend Godfather II. Can’t help it; I’m a film buff.
I’ve only ever seen parts of it, horror not being a favorite genre of mine. I’ve seen bits here and there, like the head-spinning scene, but must have missed out on the Assyrian-demonology parts. Looks like I need to watch it in full!
Fair point, but not every reporter has to take the same angle on a story. It may be important to understand the limitations of the medium to understand the public reaction.
