Laughing Hyenas
“So, I asked Mr. Oliver:
Is he engaging in a kind of new journalism? He muttered an oath, the kind he
can say on HBO for comic emphasis, but we don’t say here, adding, ‘No!’
“‘We are making jokes about the news and sometimes we need to research
things deeply to understand them, but it’s always in service of a joke. If you
make jokes about animals, that does not make you a zoologist. We certainly hold
ourselves to a high standard and fact-check everything, but the correct term
for what we do is ‘comedy.’”
—John Oliver, quasi-comijournalist and host, “Last Week
Tonight,” HBO, in David Carr, “John Oliver’s Complicated Fun Connects for HBO,”
New York Times, Nov. 16, 2014
• Editorial Comment: So is a journalist covering comedy a laughing hyena?
PeezPix by Ted Pease
Golden Day
TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM is a free “service” sent to the 1,800 or so misguided subscribers around the planet. If you have recovered from whatever led you to subscribe and don’t want it anymore, send “unsubscribe” to ted.pease@gmail.com. Or if you want to afflict someone else, send me the email address and watch the fun begin. (Disclaimer: I just quote ’em, I don’t necessarily endorse ’em. But all contain at least a kernel of insight. Don’t shoot the messenger.)
Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD
“Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard
.
PeezPix by Ted Pease
Golden Day
TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM is a free “service” sent to the 1,800 or so misguided subscribers around the planet. If you have recovered from whatever led you to subscribe and don’t want it anymore, send “unsubscribe” to ted.pease@gmail.com. Or if you want to afflict someone else, send me the email address and watch the fun begin. (Disclaimer: I just quote ’em, I don’t necessarily endorse ’em. But all contain at least a kernel of insight. Don’t shoot the messenger.)
Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD
“Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard
.
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