Should I be more Ashamed of the Press or of Us?

[Lightning Rod]

I can't believe what happened today. I woke up this morning to news that Russia has invaded Georgia. This is the first day of the Olympics. And both those stories were pushed below the fold in favor of coverage of John Edwards diddling around with his videographer two years ago.

This shows what a native prudery and a fascination with the prurient that we Americans have. It's 08-08-2008. It's the first day of the Olympic Games. War is breaking out in the world! People are being killed and we could possibly find ourselves in further military conflict in a region that is already sapping our national wealth and we would rather pay attention to peccadilloes that a former presidential candidate had in 2006.

But we are tired of wars. We would rather hear about soap opera and adultery. We would rather tsk tsk a politician for having human shortcomings and cheating on his poor cancer ridden wife. My question is: I care about this, why?

The talking heads are all speculating about how Edwards' affair is going to affect the Democratic party and the Obama campaign. Maybe I missed something here. Was Obama watching when they did it or something? What does he have to do with the whole affair?

Do you think this disgrace is because the press is pandering to what they they think that we want to hear, or is it really what we want to hear?

[bennie2]

call me shallow, a pussy, a weakling (fancy word for "a pussy"), a... hm... the bird that buries its head... gazelle?

yes. i'm pretty sure it's gazelle. call me a gazelle, but I don't care anymore. I really... I feel like i've had my fill of all of this, LR.

I studied journalism (something I wanted to do when most kids wanted to be a train driver, astronaut or walrus (one kid in my school wanted to be a walrus because he dug the way they moved on the beach)). So, you can imagine my heartbreak (i didn't sleep properly for a few years afterwards) when i realised that these scum fucks write what they are told to write, report what they are told to report in a style and "angle" that suits the media owners, by the editor of the relevant news station or paper.

it disgusts me. even in the UK where our press is envied (yes?)... they are still a shower of lying cunts! I couldn't do it!

It's common to lie on an application but for lies to be the ultimate goal of your chosen profession... ?

I've grown to expect lies (or streched truths) from all press and broadcast news so I chose to ignore it all now. I browse through various news channels online and when something grabs my eye i get info from several sites and make my own story based on several variously biased reports.

--
and can i take this opp to say that it is a fucking disgrace that china has the Olympics. i hear mugabe is putting in a bid for the next one.

[Lightning Rod]

bennie,

Only someone who has served time as a journalist or been through the academic indoctrination knows what you are speaking of.

It doesn't take long working at a newspaper or a television station to realize what the bullshit ratio is.

You can just as easily tell a lie with the truth as you can tell the truth with a lie.

Just the fact that a news editor (and by implication the management that owns him) can set the agenda with regard to what leads in the news.

"make my own story based on several variously biased reports."

yes, my friend
as usual you take the wildly reasonable approach

[e_dog]

its good fer the partay.

Maybe it'll reveal thart JOHN MCCAIN messed around too. He left his cancerwife too, no doubt.

McCain a real American Zero.

Barak wantz to 'vade FGANISTAN.

that#'s bettern IRAN.

?


Shah! Right!

[Arcadia]

my brother told me about Georgia yesterday. Actually I´m more preocupated about Evo right now...