We were talking in one of my classes about the fourth estate and the obligations of the news media. Some idiot was going on about how the media as a private enterprise owes the consumer nothing and should seek to maximize its own gains by whatever means necessary. It's not an invalid point in itself, but he was finding issue with the entire concept of the media as a watchdog for government activities. I had to put him in his place and explain that the fourth estate must be a private organization to avoid a conflict of interests that would come in reporting on the government if it were publicly funded. I mean, there are endowments and such, but they still require sponsors, pledge drives, and knickknacks. Perhaps I don't understand anything (very probable), but it ended the discussion and I'm pretty sure that means I won.
We then watched a movie about television journalism, which got me thinking about public suicides on television. If that happens, does the station air the suicide? I believe it is policy here in Portland to not report suicides on the local tv stations, although The Rick Emerson Show has no such scruples. If they air it, you can be fairly certain that it will end up on the tubes at some point. Christine Chubbuck isn't on youtube, although Budd Dwyer is, and Mr. Hands is out there somewhere I don't care to find. That last one finds its place on both the Unusual Deaths and the Horse Accidents lists on Wikipedia.
The Saxy Poet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_deaths
We then watched a movie about television journalism, which got me thinking about public suicides on television. If that happens, does the station air the suicide? I believe it is policy here in Portland to not report suicides on the local tv stations, although The Rick Emerson Show has no such scruples. If they air it, you can be fairly certain that it will end up on the tubes at some point. Christine Chubbuck isn't on youtube, although Budd Dwyer is, and Mr. Hands is out there somewhere I don't care to find. That last one finds its place on both the Unusual Deaths and the Horse Accidents lists on Wikipedia.
The Saxy Poet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_deaths
The Saxy Poet: i don't know why, but i find this kind of fascinating
jedisteve101: that is some funny shit
The Saxy Poet: i don't know if it's funny, but it is interesting
1 comment:
You should tell me more about journalism so I don't have to learn it myself! (I've been wanting to watch Network for years -- thanks for reminding me!)
Post a Comment