Report from the Zoo

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Bad Monkey!

“The [more] you spend time with the political [world] and media, the less political you become and the more viscerally upset you become at corruption.... I’m less upset with politicians than [with] the media. I feel like politicians . . . the way I explain it is, when you go to a zoo and a monkey throws feces, it’s a monkey. But when the zookeeper is standing right there and he doesn’t say, ‘Bad monkey’—somebody's gotta be the zookeeper. I feel much more strongly about the abdication of responsibility by the media than by political advocates. They’re representing a constituency.... [W]hat has changed is the media's sense of their ability to be responsible arbiters. I think they feel fearful. I think there’s this whole idea now that there's a liberal media conspiracy, and I think they feel if they express any authority or judgment, which is what I imagine is editorial control, they will be vilified.”

—Jon Stewart, host, The Daily Show, and social commentator,
in interview w/ Terry Gross on “Fresh Air,” Oct. 4, 2010

Editor’s Note: Monkey poo as editorial comment?

PeezPix: Cutler Marsh—The Bear River wanders through Cache Valley, Northern Utah

WRITING PROF WANTED! JCOM @ USU is hiring. A search for a new tenure-track faculty member to focus on the teaching of writing. Revolutionary! See job posting at Utah State University HR or email ted.pease@usu.edu.

NEWS NOTE: Thanks to everyone who came out (!) to see filmmaker and USU alum Reed Cowan and his Sundance documentary, 8: The Mormon Proposition, at USU last night. It was standing-room-only—estimated 440 people—and Q&A with Cowan lasted until almost 11 p.m. We laughed. We cried. We yelled. We all learned something. URL See Utah Statesman story by Megan Allen

NOTE: Today’s WORD on Journalism is now on Facebook! Join up and rant daily! And join USU JCOM Alumni & Friends on FB.