yeeeeeesh
"If you weren't real, I'd make you up..."
About a year ago, I promised myself that I would never do two things again:
a.) watch TV news
b.) blog
As we can see, I've clearly gone back on one; so while we're at it, let's toss out the whole schbang.
Thursday night, I watched about 5 minutes of Nightline. Just for kicks. And as foolish as my original promise of a year ago was, I now want to try again as of Thursday night. The feature story was the AIDS crisis in Black America. "Gee, this could be enlightening. Maybe I'll learn something," said the hopelessly optimistic part of me.
*note: this part of me is very, very small. We're talking the Pluto of human optimism. Scientists contend it doesn't actually exist.*
And as we all expected, a medium sized comet of cold reality smashed poor Pluto into oblivion.
I only ask a few things of journalism. Mainly that you do some research and don't publish stories based on heresay and the opinions of people in suits. But instead, the story opens, narrated by a very somber-looking whitebread 30-something news personality wearing a nice suit and very expensive shoes that had clearly never seen the "streets of Black America." This man had also obviously never ventured anywhere within 5 miles of the syringes whose dangers he espoused, nor seen, let alone interviewed or at least observed the black, drug-addicted AIDS victims he so compassionately Anderson Cooper-ed, or the prison inmates whose ignorant behavior he vehemently decried.
Instead, he showed stock footage of a prison, and interviewed "concerned black activists" who were likewise dressed in nice suits and expensive shoes and pronounced the word "ghetto" with the sort of detached disgust one has for a place one has never seen and can only paint with the broad strokes of rash generalization.
He cited a study without a name or attachment to any reputable scientific organization to make a point. Figuring he had used enough "fact" to assume credibility, he then proceded to make statement after unjustified statement pointing blame at everyone within a 100,000 mile radius, and then summed up his opus by making the bold, hard-hitting statement that the real problem here was "ignorance."
Tell me, oh television man, what ignorance are you referring to? Could you mean the ignorance of the American people to this problem because the media refuses to acknowledge it exists, or, in the rare moment where we admit Africa isn't the only continent ravaged by internal problems not inflicted by George Bush, pretend like it is something that can be solved with a little bit of heart and an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"?
Huh, the one part of America that Mr. Cornell School of Journalism forgot to blame. Himself.
Turning AIDS into a human interest story with a few tears, zero facts, some warm hearts, and a lot of bodily-fluid-free hugs is a humongous disservice to everyone involved and the main reason why I have a journalism minor that I plan on forgetting. Now I know why Edward Murrow's heroic fight against McCarthyism is now available as a black and white George Clooney film. Because the only place journalistic integrity like that has today is buried in a fictional movie script. Based on a real story, indeed.
*for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, you should probably watch "Good Night, and Good Luck"*
On a positive note, this piece did bring back a wonderful piece of footage from the last vice-presidential debate that is worth repeating...
Moderator: "I would like to bring up a problem not related to the budget at this time. I'm talking about AIDS. I'm NOT talking about AIDS in Africa, I'm NOT talking about AIDS in China. I'm talking about AIDS in America, where black women are 30 times more likely to get AIDS than their white counterparts. Mr. Edwards, any reaction?"
Edwards: "Well first, let me say this about the terrible epidemic of AIDS in Africa and AIDS in China that are killing millions of people every day. Truly a tragedy."
Moderator: *shakes head*
It is now 3:45am. Have I ever mentioned I have trouble sleeping?
It is so bad lately, I have tried to invent remedies. I tried watching TV until I got tired. Nothing.
I tried reading until I fell asleep. Instead, I just end up finishing a whole lot of books.
I just made the best, hour-long "put you to sleep" iTunes playlist, EVER!! And I've played it 15 times since I made it three days ago....
I have literally begun to pray every night that the Lord will put my mind to rest and help me sleep. Occassionally it has worked. Although I am finding out I can pray longer than I ever imagined possible.
So, if praying to get me to sleep proves fruitless, the least I can offer is a prayer for when I awake:
Deo, da mihi nunc hodie perfecte incipere.
That's probably not exactly correct, but it translates to something like "Lord, let me now, having not yet failed today, make a good beginning."
So here's to mornings =)
About a year ago, I promised myself that I would never do two things again:
a.) watch TV news
b.) blog
As we can see, I've clearly gone back on one; so while we're at it, let's toss out the whole schbang.
Thursday night, I watched about 5 minutes of Nightline. Just for kicks. And as foolish as my original promise of a year ago was, I now want to try again as of Thursday night. The feature story was the AIDS crisis in Black America. "Gee, this could be enlightening. Maybe I'll learn something," said the hopelessly optimistic part of me.
*note: this part of me is very, very small. We're talking the Pluto of human optimism. Scientists contend it doesn't actually exist.*
And as we all expected, a medium sized comet of cold reality smashed poor Pluto into oblivion.
I only ask a few things of journalism. Mainly that you do some research and don't publish stories based on heresay and the opinions of people in suits. But instead, the story opens, narrated by a very somber-looking whitebread 30-something news personality wearing a nice suit and very expensive shoes that had clearly never seen the "streets of Black America." This man had also obviously never ventured anywhere within 5 miles of the syringes whose dangers he espoused, nor seen, let alone interviewed or at least observed the black, drug-addicted AIDS victims he so compassionately Anderson Cooper-ed, or the prison inmates whose ignorant behavior he vehemently decried.
Instead, he showed stock footage of a prison, and interviewed "concerned black activists" who were likewise dressed in nice suits and expensive shoes and pronounced the word "ghetto" with the sort of detached disgust one has for a place one has never seen and can only paint with the broad strokes of rash generalization.
He cited a study without a name or attachment to any reputable scientific organization to make a point. Figuring he had used enough "fact" to assume credibility, he then proceded to make statement after unjustified statement pointing blame at everyone within a 100,000 mile radius, and then summed up his opus by making the bold, hard-hitting statement that the real problem here was "ignorance."
Tell me, oh television man, what ignorance are you referring to? Could you mean the ignorance of the American people to this problem because the media refuses to acknowledge it exists, or, in the rare moment where we admit Africa isn't the only continent ravaged by internal problems not inflicted by George Bush, pretend like it is something that can be solved with a little bit of heart and an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"?
Huh, the one part of America that Mr. Cornell School of Journalism forgot to blame. Himself.
Turning AIDS into a human interest story with a few tears, zero facts, some warm hearts, and a lot of bodily-fluid-free hugs is a humongous disservice to everyone involved and the main reason why I have a journalism minor that I plan on forgetting. Now I know why Edward Murrow's heroic fight against McCarthyism is now available as a black and white George Clooney film. Because the only place journalistic integrity like that has today is buried in a fictional movie script. Based on a real story, indeed.
*for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, you should probably watch "Good Night, and Good Luck"*
On a positive note, this piece did bring back a wonderful piece of footage from the last vice-presidential debate that is worth repeating...
Moderator: "I would like to bring up a problem not related to the budget at this time. I'm talking about AIDS. I'm NOT talking about AIDS in Africa, I'm NOT talking about AIDS in China. I'm talking about AIDS in America, where black women are 30 times more likely to get AIDS than their white counterparts. Mr. Edwards, any reaction?"
Edwards: "Well first, let me say this about the terrible epidemic of AIDS in Africa and AIDS in China that are killing millions of people every day. Truly a tragedy."
Moderator: *shakes head*
It is now 3:45am. Have I ever mentioned I have trouble sleeping?
It is so bad lately, I have tried to invent remedies. I tried watching TV until I got tired. Nothing.
I tried reading until I fell asleep. Instead, I just end up finishing a whole lot of books.
I just made the best, hour-long "put you to sleep" iTunes playlist, EVER!! And I've played it 15 times since I made it three days ago....
I have literally begun to pray every night that the Lord will put my mind to rest and help me sleep. Occassionally it has worked. Although I am finding out I can pray longer than I ever imagined possible.
So, if praying to get me to sleep proves fruitless, the least I can offer is a prayer for when I awake:
Deo, da mihi nunc hodie perfecte incipere.
That's probably not exactly correct, but it translates to something like "Lord, let me now, having not yet failed today, make a good beginning."
So here's to mornings =)
Zeph 3:5 The LORD within her is righteous; he does no wrong. Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, and every new day he does not fail, yet the unrighteous know no shame.
posted by Ryan @ 2:36 AM
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