“[L]arge segments of the American population think the
media is attentive to trivia, and indifferent to what really matters. They also
believe that the media does not report the country’s problems, but instead is a
part of them. Increasingly, people perceive no difference between the
narcissistic self-serving reporters asking questions, and the narcissistic
self-serving politicians who evade them.”
—Michael Crichton (1942-2008), novelist and
screenwriter, “Mediasaurus,”
Wired, 1993.
• Editorial Comment: Well, sure. That was in 1993....
PS: Hey, Crichton: The media ARE . . .
Got Pie?
FREE! Get TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM in your email This free “service” is sent to
2,000,000 or so subscribers around the planet more or less every weekday
morning during WORD season. If you have recovered from whatever illness 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.
Don’t shoot the messenger.)
“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
No comments:
Post a Comment