JOKES LESS FUNNY, STILL IMPORTANT
Last week, two Carolina Panther cheerleaders were caught having sex in a bar bathroom stall. Here is a link to the story:
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/12595
On Saturday, Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" did a fake news reenactment of that incident, which turned into the most insightful, flat-out ballziest piece of reporting I have seen in the last five years. I don't have the exact quote, so I'm not going to post the whole thing. I mention this because there is a trend emerging here that I would like to point out.
This fake report, along with "The Daily Show", represent the most honest and complete criticism of the current political scene available in the media. AND THEY ARE BOTH FAKE NEWS SHOWS. I have noted this before, but now I want to make a further point about what I believe this means.
What is it that comedians do? Make jokes, of course, but how do they do that? They do it by violating taboos. In a public forum, the violation of taboos is considered funny.
So then, why are the joke news shows the only ones doing completely honest journalism? Because honest journalism has become a taboo in this country. Speaking the plain truth, without regard to party or ideal, has never been the province of politicians in this country, but recently it has ceased to be the domain of the media. Now, our assumption of "partisanship" with regard to any political or social news has turned into reality, and no media is able to resist the pull of one side or the other. A journalistic slant is a precursor to journalism itself. Except on the fake news shows.
Let me be careful to point out that I am not suggesting any intentional bias in the part of our newspeople. Indeed, what makes it taboo is that it is an unspoken but fundamental change in the way that our system works.
Shows like "Crossfire" and others of its type encourage the taking of sides instead of the debate of issues. The moderators of these shows create a liberal or conservative 'persona' so that the audience can know what they are getting before they get it. The problem is that doing the news becomes a rhetorical effort to fit facts into personas instead of an honest and open evaluation of the facts. The sum of politics does not fit into only two categories, so why should the coverage of it fit into only two categories?
The result of all this is that news' goal of creating informed and honest political opinions is lost, replaced with the goal of entertainment. And, in an ironic twist, the shows that entertain us have started doing the real news.
--OGW
Last week, two Carolina Panther cheerleaders were caught having sex in a bar bathroom stall. Here is a link to the story:
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/12595
On Saturday, Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" did a fake news reenactment of that incident, which turned into the most insightful, flat-out ballziest piece of reporting I have seen in the last five years. I don't have the exact quote, so I'm not going to post the whole thing. I mention this because there is a trend emerging here that I would like to point out.
This fake report, along with "The Daily Show", represent the most honest and complete criticism of the current political scene available in the media. AND THEY ARE BOTH FAKE NEWS SHOWS. I have noted this before, but now I want to make a further point about what I believe this means.
What is it that comedians do? Make jokes, of course, but how do they do that? They do it by violating taboos. In a public forum, the violation of taboos is considered funny.
So then, why are the joke news shows the only ones doing completely honest journalism? Because honest journalism has become a taboo in this country. Speaking the plain truth, without regard to party or ideal, has never been the province of politicians in this country, but recently it has ceased to be the domain of the media. Now, our assumption of "partisanship" with regard to any political or social news has turned into reality, and no media is able to resist the pull of one side or the other. A journalistic slant is a precursor to journalism itself. Except on the fake news shows.
Let me be careful to point out that I am not suggesting any intentional bias in the part of our newspeople. Indeed, what makes it taboo is that it is an unspoken but fundamental change in the way that our system works.
Shows like "Crossfire" and others of its type encourage the taking of sides instead of the debate of issues. The moderators of these shows create a liberal or conservative 'persona' so that the audience can know what they are getting before they get it. The problem is that doing the news becomes a rhetorical effort to fit facts into personas instead of an honest and open evaluation of the facts. The sum of politics does not fit into only two categories, so why should the coverage of it fit into only two categories?
The result of all this is that news' goal of creating informed and honest political opinions is lost, replaced with the goal of entertainment. And, in an ironic twist, the shows that entertain us have started doing the real news.
--OGW
posted by OGWiseman at 8:10 PM
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