20 September 2005

word to the wise grasshopper

It is said that becoming a dead man in one's daily living is
the following of the path of sincerity.

- from Hagakure

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Antigone-

Came over here from Unapologetic Atheist (or perhaps the proper spelling, never could put a and e together). I enjoy your blog (something I'm sure you don't give a flying fuck if I enjoy or not) but this post makes me feel the need to defend my chosen profession.

Yes, journalists mostly suck ass. Yes, the whole fourth estate has been sold out, like everything else, to the highest bidder: ratings, tell the people what they want to hear so they will buy the products we're hawking: 30 second image of a dusty explosion followed by some crazy person crying and screaming in Arabic (or tongues, hell if I know) picture of a dead baby, picture of a soldier giving a candy bar to a local American flag, cut to commercial. I know that the journalists are the "enemy you can't shoot" as my one friend so eloquently put it in his letter.

But still, the American people DO deserve to know wtf is going on over in Iraq. And Afganistan. And if that isn't happening, it's not because media is bad, or the ideal of the fourth estate, its because it's a mutal fuck-up from the news "industry": from the CEOs who don't know how to run a microphone (I know, I've interned) down to every reporter that lets an editor clip something "for cohesion" (read, because it says something people aren't going to want to hear) or adds something "for more balance" (read, so it doesn't piss anybody off).

Point of order, yes, no one completely and totally understands what you guys are doing and going through over there, and yes, these pussy reporters are stay in their nice little hotels and going out to interview some people before scurrying back into their room and just verbaitim typing up the Press Release from the Public relations specialist. But don't shoot them please. We really need to see SOMETHING.

17 October, 2005 10:08  

Post a Comment

<< Home