Forgetting the Lessons... Again
Posted on
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
by Gary A. Ballard
The mainstream media is quite literally retarded. I don't mean retarded in the Internet sense whereby anything even remotely stupid is labelled as the produce of mental defectives. I mean that as a collective whole, the mainstream media is suffering from some mass form of congenital brain defect, a defect which causes it to completely forget the lessons of its own past. Not only does it forget its distant past, it forgets its recent past in the rush to utterly desiccate the latest story before a new story comes along to dazzle its minuscule attention span. This week has seen story after story focusing on O.J. Simpson for returning to his criminal ways. And just like that, anything important is swept aside in the feeding frenzy.
The story is a simple one. O.J. thinks some guys stole his sports memorabilia and are trying to sell it. O.J., like the great detective he is, vows to get his merchandise back with greater alacrity than he has exhibited in hunting down his wife's killers. He sets up a sting with some buddies, planning to steal the merchandise back from the "thieves." Only these thieves actually call the cops and O.J. is busted for a bunch of charges that could net him 30 years or so in prison. I can only assume that O.J. neglected to toss the gloves this time.
An interesting story, if only in that "Hmmm, O.J.'s in jail again, I hope they nail that fucker," sort of way. It's worth maybe a 30-second spot on the network news cycle, some late-night jokes and a few shrugs before tackling the important stories. Unfortunately, the mainstream media has completely forgotten those important stories and are instead focused on dissecting in detail the particulars of the case, as if re-enacting the bathroom scene in Larry Craig's fantasies.
Here's a hint, mainstream media. Congress still hasn't had a response to those subpoenas on Karl Rove and Harriet Miers. The Vice-President is still claiming to not exist as an entity in the U.S. government. New Orleans is still a fucking wrecked mudhole, and the evacuees are still living in potentially-hazardous, formaldehyde-laced trailers. Gen. Petraeus' report is still using inaccurate casualty figures to make the security situation seem more positive than it really is. There are still more private mercenaries in Iraq on the U.S. payroll than actual military troops. The Pentagon and the White House are still trying to drum up support for military action on Iran without a shred of credible evidence to justify said action. There is rampant corruption and fraud in the Iraq contract process, and tons of corporations to be nailed for stealing openly from the taxpayers. In short, there are about a billion other stories still ongoing that are absolutely critical to the American people that you could be covering besides a murderer getting busted for strong-arming collectors.
The mainstream media has a fantastic ability to pick one story and fuck it to death. That ability is a very good thing when it is used responsibly, when it picks the stories that are in the public's best interests. Unfortunately, like a retard easily distracted by shiny objects, the mainstream media too often applies this ability to whatever its corporate overlords think will garner the most viewership. It's high time the mainstream media remembers why freedom of the press is both an important protection and a grave responsibility.
The story is a simple one. O.J. thinks some guys stole his sports memorabilia and are trying to sell it. O.J., like the great detective he is, vows to get his merchandise back with greater alacrity than he has exhibited in hunting down his wife's killers. He sets up a sting with some buddies, planning to steal the merchandise back from the "thieves." Only these thieves actually call the cops and O.J. is busted for a bunch of charges that could net him 30 years or so in prison. I can only assume that O.J. neglected to toss the gloves this time.
An interesting story, if only in that "Hmmm, O.J.'s in jail again, I hope they nail that fucker," sort of way. It's worth maybe a 30-second spot on the network news cycle, some late-night jokes and a few shrugs before tackling the important stories. Unfortunately, the mainstream media has completely forgotten those important stories and are instead focused on dissecting in detail the particulars of the case, as if re-enacting the bathroom scene in Larry Craig's fantasies.
Here's a hint, mainstream media. Congress still hasn't had a response to those subpoenas on Karl Rove and Harriet Miers. The Vice-President is still claiming to not exist as an entity in the U.S. government. New Orleans is still a fucking wrecked mudhole, and the evacuees are still living in potentially-hazardous, formaldehyde-laced trailers. Gen. Petraeus' report is still using inaccurate casualty figures to make the security situation seem more positive than it really is. There are still more private mercenaries in Iraq on the U.S. payroll than actual military troops. The Pentagon and the White House are still trying to drum up support for military action on Iran without a shred of credible evidence to justify said action. There is rampant corruption and fraud in the Iraq contract process, and tons of corporations to be nailed for stealing openly from the taxpayers. In short, there are about a billion other stories still ongoing that are absolutely critical to the American people that you could be covering besides a murderer getting busted for strong-arming collectors.
The mainstream media has a fantastic ability to pick one story and fuck it to death. That ability is a very good thing when it is used responsibly, when it picks the stories that are in the public's best interests. Unfortunately, like a retard easily distracted by shiny objects, the mainstream media too often applies this ability to whatever its corporate overlords think will garner the most viewership. It's high time the mainstream media remembers why freedom of the press is both an important protection and a grave responsibility.
Labels: Bush Administration, Corporate Corruption, Government Corruption, Mainstream Media, Television
posted by Gary A. Ballard @ 2:51 PM
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