Aliens

“The degree of alienation is new. In the late 1970s, nearly three-quarters of Americans trusted newspapers, radio and television. Walter Cronkite read the news every night, and most Americans went to bed with the same set of facts, even if they had different political views. These days, less than half of Americans have confidence in the media, according to Gallup.”  

—Sabrina Tavernise and Aidan Gardiner, “‘No One Believes Anything’: Voters Worn Out by a Fog of Political News,” The New York Times, Nov. 18, 2019.

• Editorial Comment: Come back, Uncle Walter!

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 Hot off the Presses: December's Senior News

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Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard

Macabre

“I have this touching fantasy that maybe one day some senator will look at one of my cartoons and actually say to another senator, ‘You know, he has a point here.’” 

—Gahan Wilson (1930-2019), cartoonist, 2010. “Gahan Wilson, Vividly Macabre Cartoonist, Dies at 89,” Nov. 22, 2019.

• Editorial Comment: Everyone uses “macabre” in describing Gahan Wilson. Wonder what descriptor will spring to mind for me? “Ruggedly handsome”?

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Pacific Winterscape

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Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard

Remembering JFK

 
JFK & The Press

John F. Kennedy was the first president to use the new medium of television to speak directly to the American people. No other president had conducted live televised press conferences without delay or editing.  Between his inauguration on Jan. 20, 1961, until his death in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, JFK had held 64 news conferences, an average of one every 16 days. —John F. Kennedy Presidential Library URL

“[W]hen President Kennedy started televised press conferences, there were only three or four newspapers in the entire United States that carried a full transcript of a presidential press conference. Therefore, what people read was a distillation . . . . We thought that they should have the opportunity to see it in full.”

—Pierre Salinger (1925-2004), JFK’s press secretary

In a December 1962 televised interview, NBC’s Sander Vanocur asked the president about this view of the press.

“I think it is invaluable, even though it may cause you . . . it is never pleasant to be reading things that are not agreeable news, but I would say that it is an invaluable arm of the presidency, as a check, really, on what is going on in the administration, and more things come to my attention that cause me concern or give me information.

“So I would think that Mr. Khrushchev operating a totalitarian system, which has many advantages as far as being able to move in secret, and all the rest — there is a terrific disadvantage not having the abrasive quality of the press applied to you daily, to an administration, even though we never like it, and even though we wish they didn’t write it, and even though we disapprove, there isn’t any doubt that we could not do the job at all in a free society without a very, very active press.”

—John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), 35^th president of the United States, 1962. Video 

• Editorial Comment: Those were the days.

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Morning Sky

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Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard

Fox Bites Back

“You are not the first president to say the media has it out for you. No less than press darling John F. Kennedy himself had his moments with the media. We can’t please all.

“The best we can do as journalists is to be fair to all, including you, Mr. President. That’s not fake doing that, what is fake is not doing that, what is fake is saying Fox never used to do that. Mr. President, we have always done that.”

“[We] are not entitled to praise you but we are obligated to question you, and to be fair to you. Even if it risks inviting your wrath. You are free to rage. All we are free to do is report and let the viewers decide.” 

—Neil Cavuto, news anchor, Fox News, “Neil Cavuto defends Chris Wallace after Trump criticism: Journalists ‘are obligated to question’ authority,” Fox News, Nov. 18, 2019.

• Editorial Comment: Well, whaddaya know?

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Hatfence

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Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard

Tale & Dog: A Balancing Act

“I think that a good rate of acceptance between copy editor and author may be 85 percent of the copy editor’s suggestions would get approved. 

“There are certain times where the author simply says, ‘Funny thing, I actually like it the way I wrote it myself.’ And you are, of course, deferential because you know who’s the dog and who’s the tail.” 

—Benjamin Dreyer, copy chief, Random House, and author, Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, in Terry Gross, “Random House Copy Chief: Stand Tall Wordsmiths! (But Choose Your Battles),” Fresh Air, NPR, Feb. 5, 2019. (Thanks to alert WORDster Mark Larson)

• Editorial Comment: Tsk. What do dogs know?

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Dawgwalk #4,288

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Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard

Echo Chamber

“While Democrats feel victimized by Fox News and allies like Rush Limbaugh, it’s also true that this right-wing cocoon is a disservice to its own true believers — because it feeds them misinformation. . . . 

“In the meantime, Fox News is aggressively defending Trump, joining in smears of public servants and playing a role in history that embarrasses many of us in journalism.” 

—Nicholas Kristof, columnist, “Fox News? More Like Trump’s Impeachment Shield,” The New York Times, Nov. 16, 2019.

• Editorial Comment: Fox is America’s No. 1 cable TV news source.

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Rock Happy 

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Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. 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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Faint Praise

“I don’t read the English newspapers. I’ve had about 25 years here in California, and I’ve never read a single English newspaper during all that time. In fact, one of the nicest things about living here is not reading English newspapers.” 

—Eric Idle, British comedian, actor and writer, in “Monty Python’s John Cleese and Eric Idle on 50 Years of ‘Flying Circus’ and the Trump and Brexit ‘Shitshow,’” Daily Beast, Nov. 10, 2019.

• Editorial Comment: Plus, the politics are so much better.

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Backyard Village

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Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard

You Decide

“A new poll . . . finds that regardless of political belief, many Americans say they have a hard time figuring out if information is true.” . . . 

“‘It is difficult to get facts. You have to read between the lines. You have to have a lot of common sense,’ said Leah Williams, 29, of Modesto, California. A Republican, Williams says she relies on like-minded friends and family to help sort through conflicting information. ‘There are wolves in sheep’s clothing everywhere.’” . . . 

“Democrats are more likely to say they rely on scientists and academics, while Republicans are more likely to trust what they hear from President Donald Trump.

“‘When I hear him on Fox News — that’s where I get all my information,’ said Al Corra, a 48-year-old Republican from Midland, Texas. Trump, he said, is the easiest way to cut through an otherwise confusing information environment.”

—Nicholas Riccardi and Hannah Fingerhut, reporters, “AP-NORC/USFacts Poll: Americans struggle to ID true facts,” The Associated Press, Nov. 14, 2019. 

• Editorial Comment: Yup. I heard it on TV. It’s gotta be true.

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Twilight Cave

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Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard

That’s Entertainment

“I hate to say this, because we’re talking about basic democracy at risk here — but, from a television perspective, the Democrats have to come out strong in that first episode. For the same reason that when we’re watching something on Netflix, or listening to a new podcast, we only choose to keep listening if we’re interested in episode one.” 

—Brian Stelter, anchor, Reliable Sources, discussing House impeachment hearings, CNN. Nov. 13, 2019.

• Editorial Comment: Bullshit, Brian. Investigating Trump is not about ratings.

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Snoozing Anemones

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Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard