bob wyman

With the whole War on Fox News – i find it disturbing that first the FTC and now Administration officials are saying who is and who isn’t the press.

Definition is a form of regulation. You have no say in the Matter. I can say Fox News is not what they say they are, but you, Mr. Obama-Flunky can not!

With respect, you might want to research the history of government and education. Doing so you’d see that the singular goal of US *public* education was to tranquilize the masses, i.e. suppress far more than just the first Amendment.

THE book is online, and free:

http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/underground/toc1.htm

They are subsidizing the hell out of the pagan earth worship creed: windmills, overpriced hybrid cars, etc.

To my mind, the essence of the issue is that there is still a readership out there, but that many of our commercial organisations no longer find it profitable to deliver news. As a consequence, I believe they have abdicated their responsibilities to their readership and no longer deserve to be saved.

News consumers are no longer loyal to titles, certainly not in the way they once were. This is bad news for news organisations, but it provides a chink of light for reporters, those that are brave enough to begin producing their own news output and smart enough to find routes to market. As such, I’m thinking that what we need is support for journalism business colleges, providing reporting standards, commercial expertise and new media research and development facilities, rather than state aid.

I’ve written about it here: http://waleshome.org/2009/10/paper-nightmares/

It’s started a bit of a debate in Wales. However, we’re still quite some way behind the work that’s gone on in the US (regardless of whether you agree with individual findings or not), even though our problems sound the same. I’d like to keep in touch on this.

Perhaps real journalism has been eroding for the last while to the extent that nobody really cares and it really doesn’t add value to society. If not perhaps journalism should go the same way as other once-useful occupations like farriers, lamp-lighters and bustle-makers.

News is now in the business of competing for eyeballs and attention. As a consumer I can read/watc/listen to the news or I can read a novel, watch Oprah/sitcom or listen to music radio. As a media exec (eg TV) I can run sitcoms or news, quality is determined by which provides the best revenue stream, not by fact.

So-called journalism has been changed by this, serving up sound-bite sized alarmism. The days of critical investigative journalism are gone. It is really just infotainment.

Perhaps many journalists think they are serving society by bringing news and commentary which informs people. Perhaps they are providing this, but that does not mean people are really taking that onboard. Public opinion is swayed far more by what Oprah says, or what Arnie or Dan Browne say in some eco-thriller than any fact-based journalism..

I’m not for a minute suggesting that old-time journalism really has no value to me. Unfortunately there is less and less value to most people and I am probably part of a dying breed of people who care more about truth than perception. Unfortunately journalism seems to be reinventing itself to be more and more trendy to keep market appeal. In doing so journalism loses its core value to people like me and is
cutting its own throat.

I don’t think it is easy to ask people to make painful changes. I’m sure that to ask many committed journalists to give up their passions for truth etc and become media whores for better business is like asking a concert pianist to change to rap becuase it sells more records (or T shirts).

I’m not a journalist.

Let’s see, what do we have going on these days:

Tea Partys all over the country with a true grass-roots participation by people formerly disconnected from the political process.

More debate with MORE VOICES than we’ve ever had on major issues: the economy, the war, health care, global warming, you name it.

All while the newsPAPERS go down the toilet.

Tell me again why they need to be saved?????