What to do Without an Election to Cover....and 007 at His Finest

Tonight's "breaking news" on Larry King Live is that President-elect Obama met with President Bush at the White House today. It's humorous to see the media struggle to find headlines during that limbo before the inauguration. Barring any crisis, all breaking news refers to such mundane activities as the type of limo Obama will ride around to the code names the soon-to-be First Family will have. The real insanity begins when Obama's cabinet begins to take shape. These stories prove how desperate the news networks become after the election. Their ratings take a hit as they no longer have exciting campaign coverage to focus on. The stories bring a new definition to boring. Contrived and silly news stories begin filling the time from positive (the Obama's getting a dog) to the plain silly (McCain losing was all Palin's fault, just as it would have been all her if he had won). We, the viewers begin rolling our eyes at the ridiculousness of this. We can see CNN and Fox struggling to fill an hour of news programming. 

What became even bigger news was rumors that Obama may issue executive orders on day one. Shocking. He'll be the President. They tend to issue executive orders, it's part of the job. It's not breaking news to find out a Democrat would issue orders changing those that a Republican predecessor had issued. Hardly a page turner. Yet the same pundits that kept many of us on the edges of our seats for the past months and even years now must make these events seem as crucial and as breaking as the major events of the primary and general election seasons. Some find it necessary to discuss 2012, despite the American people feeling slightly fatigued from 2008. It is one thing for candidates to begin secretly forming committees and raising funds for a 2012 run, that's their business, just leave the news out. This was perfectly evident at those harassing everyone's favorite Alaskan, Sarah Palin, on her potential plans for 2012. Considering she had just arrived back to the Governor's office in Anchorage, I hardly think she's given it any serious thought. Although, based on her actions the final days of the campaign, she may have considered it prior to the media....anyways. Time to stay on topic. 

Personally, I use this time to unwind. I read the news daily, yes, but I stay away from the pundit driven shows. They become redundant snooze-fests, littered with overly critical analyses on why exactly Barney the dog bit a Reuters reporter. Sorry, I'd much rather read a book, continue plowing through my James Bond marathon before the new Bond film hits this week (I'm currently on the rather crappy A View to a Kill). I'm not trying to discount the importance of good political journalism for that would discount the meaning of not only this course, but a great deal of the modern study of politics. We just at times need to find other escape routes. Those commentators that support Obama will do so in such an overly pleasant manner I may vomit and the Obama haters will continue to spew off the same displeasure that Bush-haters have expressed these past years. 

It's a strange cycle we find ourselves in and for much of the new media, this is brand new. The last time we had a "new" President-elect was 2000, before "Internet 2.0" (blogs, vlogs, millions of news sites, etc.) had found its way onto our computer screens, Fox News was just gaining ground, and CNN didn't have it's magic board or hologram technology and the media are eating this up. Larry King, who began this post has turned from top celebrity interviewer to political journalist, questioning with earnest and sincerity and it's just silly. Well maybe it's not as silly as seeing a 59 year old Roger Moore duke it out with Christopher Walken in a blimp over San Francisco..... sorry, losing my train of thought to a less-than-stellar 007 adventure. However, maybe the Bond comparison is a great one for the election and post-election news coverage. The election coverage at many times is as exciting as Sean Connery's outings as 007 or even as high-octane as Daniel Craig's take on Britain's favorite spy, and now it seems as corny as Roger Moore's films. Old, outdated, silly, campy, cringe-inducing.... the list of adjectives could go on forever, but Christopher Walken just took a plunge into the Frisco Bay and it's about time to begin 007's next chapter, featuring the always stoic Timothy Dalton..... The Living Daylights. Until we meet again. Stay warm and stay happy.  

While the aforementioned Bond films have been ragged on they do feature AWESOME 80s theme songs sung by Duran Duran and A-Ha respectively. These are perhaps the best parts of each of those films. Turn off CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, click off the Drudge Report and go see Quantum of Solace this week. If anything, it'll take your mind off this election, whether you were pleased with the outcome or not. Nothing is better than a Bond movie and you know it. 

You know this is more enticing.....

What To Do?

With election day bearing down on us (the polls open in 38 1/2 hrs), what are we going to do when this is all over? Will we continue our harsh criticisms of each other's candidates in class? It sure will be strange. Everyone seems to be suffering from campaign fatigue except for Bill Maher who on Friday declared this the best election season of his lifetime. That very well may be the case, but it's time for this to be over. Time Magazine published a wonderful article today about how much has changed over the course of this election season. Just by judging the before and after pictures of Barack Obama, you can see that this campaign season is running on fumes. Both candidates are physically and mentally exhausted. Endless events on a daily basis running from sunrise until way past sunset, with a few hours of sleep thrown in between.

 This is getting old. What else can Obama and McCain say to sway voters? They have thrown everything but the kitchen sink into this campaign, and the sink may get thrown in sometime before polls close Tuesday evening.  Now I love politics as much as the next political junkie, but there gets a point when you have to give your drug a rest. Peace and tranquility is what this junkie needs now. An endless supply of partisan bull is exactly the kind of medicine a madman would want at this point. For those of us that have been riding this train since the beginning, it's time to pull it into the station. Let's not throw anymore coal into the engine. This seems unlikely. There will be long lines, accusations of voter fraud, purging of voters, illegal activities on all sides. No one wants this to go past the wee hours on November 5th. If you do, please feel free to invest in Georgia's new private mental health facilities, you could use them. 

Personally, I'm looking forward to a relaxing month of December. Close out this semester of school, plow through my ever-growing reading list and sit back and enjoy. No more late night conference calls, fewer emails, and hopefully just wonderful stories about American democracy holding up another bizarre election process. Face it, you're tired too and just won't admit it. How many fruitless debates can you get into with a friend/colleague over this election? Unless you thrive on anger, I suggest you join me in calling for a peaceful return to class on Wednesday (and in this class's case, Thursday) and begin to discuss something other than the ridiculous crap thrown around in the past two years. I for one, enjoy my hair not either falling out or turning grey by the time I'm 25. Until then folks, enjoy tomorrow and Tuesday and may we all come back together as Americans when this concludes. Perhaps then we can all look at the monumental challenges ahead of us, put our hands together and get to work. That's what we do, it's democratic, it's American, and that's something that makes us all so proud. 

Until then...

2008: A Strange Odyssey....and it continues

With still over two months to go, 2008 has proven to be one of the strangest years in recent memory. All one has to do is see that the Tampa Bay Rays are in the World Series and one scratches their head in amazement. What has gone on here?

The year started with a bang. Our New Year's hangover hadn't faded quite yet when Barack Obama stormed out of nowhere to win the Iowa Caucus and those all over took a second look at his campaign and wondered, can stop the Clinton Machine? We trudged through the winter and then spring as Obama and Hillary duked it out in a strange, bizarre, and almost insane primary contest. It was beginning to look like one of those college football games that heads into overtime. Neither team can close out the deal as both fire in touchdowns left and right. The game continues. No ties in this match-up, someone eventually had to win. I'd become Pavlov's dog watching CNN on the night of a primary contest, and just by hearing the CNN's jingle they played whenever results came in caused my focus to shift directly to my TV preparing for the results to be read by bearded wonder Wolf Blitzer. It dragged on. Finally on a warm night in late June, Barack Obama sealed the deal. The young, freshman Senator from Illinois who captivated the attention of so many just four years prior as a state senator speaking at the 2004 Democratic Convention would be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Who would've thought? Barack Obama beat the Clintons... Strange indeed.

This odd behavior was not as noticeable with the Republicans, yet a strange campaign certainly took place. Rudy Giuliani, an early favorite to capture the nomination decided to take the dumbest road in modern campaign history, putting all of your resources in one state. On top of that, it was a state that couldn't even figure out how to vote properly. We saw a TV personality capture the attention of Conservatives for a while, but once people heard Fred Thompson fumbling his words, and not making much sense, he retreated and headed back to Law & Order, where he belongs. Mitt Romney scared the hell out of everyone with a smile that never seemed to fade, his campaign decided to do what he couldn't. Mike Huckabee, the likable former governor of Arkansas, who looked down and out kept going and really connected with Republicans all over the country and showed some how you can win without huge sums of money, or receiving the national spotlight. However, he too had to concede to a man that just months earlier looked like a man stranded in the water at the beginning of a Jaws sequel. That man was John McCain. 

Who would've thought McCain could pull back into this race and get to the finish line for the Republicans? He was royally crapped on by Bush's campaign in 2000 (odd that he employs the same operatives who did the crapping) yet eight years later he captivated the attention of Republicans and pissed off others. 

No one at the start of 2008 ever believed this election would come down to Barack Obama and John McCain. Yet it has. With less than two weeks left until this election is over and done with, there is still work that both candidates must do to secure victory. Strange happenings could still happen and most certainly will, in just a week, Barack Obama will run a 30 minute ad on the major networks, even delaying the start of game 6 of the World Series. If that isn't strange and unusual, I'm sure what else is. Until then.... stay weird. 

An Honest Question

"The American Promise" (Obama campaign ad)

"Ayers" (McCain campaign ad)

Tomorrow evening Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain will debate for the third and final time this election season. For most, this will be the final time these candidates have an opportunity to discuss the issues. The posted videos are the latest ads to be posted on the YouTube pages of Obama and McCain. Neither ad actually expresses a key issue in this election. According to the CNN Issues page with data conducted by PollingReport.com, 58% of Americans top issue is the economy. The next largest issue: healthcare at a whopping 13%. Tomorrow night truly is the final time these men have an opportunity to discuss issues that truly matter to Americans. 

Let's start with Obama's ad, "The American Promise". It's a great online advertisement coming in at a long 2 minutes and 43 seconds it shows clips of Barack Obama speaking, crowds cheering, and talking about Americans rising up and "changing". It's a well made ad with catchy music, good editing, but doesn't discuss one single issue facing Americans this election season other than Obama's buzzword, "change." Upon watching this ad, it is very easy to figure out what exactly the Obama campaign is trying to do: motivate. With three weeks to the day left until election day, Obama wants as many supporters as he can muster out there creating "change" and beginning to fulfill his "American Promise" by knocking on doors, phone banking, emailing, whatever it takes to bring home "change" next month. It is not trying to convey a specific policy position Senator Obama has, or attempting to contrast his candidacy with that of John McCain's. Therefore, it succeeds and fails. It addresses but doesn't. It is in less than three minutes a fantastic look at the Obama campaign. A promising politician, fired up audiences responding to Obama's call for change, and may in fact create the motivation in supporters that have yet to join the campaign to do so now in the final stretch. 

With that being said, the ad fails. Now more than ever, Americans want answers about how these candidates are going to tackle the serious issues we are now facing. The economy, despite the massive increase in the stock market yesterday, is still incredibly fragile. Many more Americans are facing job losses and foreclosure, yet none of this was uttered in the Obama ad. It paints a pretty picture of what the United States can be under an Obama Presidency. At this point, a lot of people are willing to take hope and are simply assuming everything will be fine under with Obama as President. At this point, it's going to take more than hope to fix our problems and those campaigning for Obama now are going to have continue that support and work through the good and bad that could occur with Obama at the helm.

Now onto McCain. 

We are all now well aware of Bill Ayers. (For those that don't, there is a reason both Wikipedia and hyperlinking were created). I need not explain who he is, because the John McCain ad describes him for you and his relationship with Barack Obama. What I find interesting in McCain's message is there is a complete lack of any issue. While certainly Americans don't want a President who "pals around with terrorists" it may be a far cry to actually say that. It's OK to question one's judgement and you want to win this election, so it is understandable that you would do both. However, it doesn't seem to be working. As daily polls come out, Senator Obama continues to gain in the polls, even in states that seemed so red (North Dakota, West Virgina) just a few weeks ago, it would have been hard to imagine Obama gaining there, but he is. With or without the Bill Ayers ad, many Americans are coming to an agreement. 

"I may not agree with Obama on all the issues, but the Republicans haven't helped much, in fact, I may be worse off with them in charge," are the thoughts of many who have been interviewed and polled. 

McCain's campaign is definitely looking for answers and thought the judgement and associations of Senator Obama would dissuade voters and bring them to or back in the McCain category. Frankly, Americans are getting fed up. It has become same old politics in America. McCain the Maverick has proven to be anything but, even going back on his own promise to shy away from negative campaigning. Even if McCain did want to blast Obama away with the negative ads, let a 527 do it and continue appearing as the Maverick. If Bush had the Swiftboat Veterans, surely McCain could do even better. Instead, McCain is too focused on how to get people to hate Obama rather than explaining why he'd be a better choice for President. With crowds now seeming more angry and rowdy, and not at McCain's proposals, but simply the crowd's disapproval of Obama. It seems almost probable that these two candidates have been turned into two groups. Those who support Senator Obama and those who don't. 

McCain's true support is waning, that much is true. I had a wonderful conversation last week with a student at KSU who is a Republican and was a McCain supporter from the primaries up until three months ago and had previously supported the Senator's candidacy in 2000. His reason for jumping ship: McCain was not the same man and was lacking ideas for the country. That much could be true and from a campaign strategy side, if you knew of the same problems with voters that I heard from this gentleman, then you change your campaign. Make it about NOT supporting the other guy. When stumping, don't bring up anything YOU plan on doing, just how awful the plans of the other guy are. Supporters that were earlier falling asleep at a rally, wake up, and begin screaming and yelling in much of the same fashion that the characters of Orwell's 1984 did. 

With this new found knowledge in mind, the ads begin to make sense. Obama's ads are about supporters doing something (what that is, we still have no idea) and McCain's ads are now about fear, anger, the "Two Minutes Hate" if you will. With the lack of true issue based substance in these candidates, perhaps this is why tomorrow night will be similar to the previous two debates, boring, rambling, and telling me absolutely nothing of the direction either of these two men want to take the United States. That more than Bill Ayers scares me and that more than the "American Promise" makes me want to take action to ensure I still have a country by the time my hair falls out. 

Please Senators, one of you is going to be handed a big pile of garbage from King George II, who promises "plenty more to do in the last 100 days." Get with the program and inform the general public or at least the masses who are too lazy to read up on your policy positions via your websites. Whether you like it or not, in three weeks the American people are going to head to the polls and vote and then, "it's all over now, baby blue." 

Perhaps Bob Dylan had it right when he sang that song 43 years ago. He proclaims in the first verse, "You must leave now, take what you need you think will last. But whatever you wish to keep you must grab it fast." We may need to hit the road and disappear if this doesn't all work out in the end. America could truly be in danger if we don't think this one through before going to the polls in November (or earlier if you're the early voting type). Educate yourself and friends on the positions of these candidates and research them to the fullest. Don't rely on the candidates themselves to explain this to you, they're too busy "campaigning". 

Debating Take Two

The second of three Presidential debates will commence in just a few short hours. The networks are preparing, the pundits are getting ready for some punditry. It shall be glorious...or will it? In the past week we have seen the McCain and Obama campaigns get predictably nasty with each bringing up mundane, irrelevant information from the candidates' pasts. Really folks? With all this going on, neither one can say one word about the issues? 

Just scrolling through the pages of today's New York Times it doesn't take a rocket scientist or even a political scientist to find the issues. They're on the front freaking page. More so than many elections in recent memory, these candidates finally have real issues to discuss and yet they aren't. We saw a pathetic display last week at the Vice Presidential debate in which Joe Biden and Sarah Palin barely touched on the issues. Most pundits claimed that Palin did a good job simply because her expectations were really that low and Biden won because I guess he brought something of relevance up and didn't bite Palin's head off and eat it for dessert. 

When the primaries finally came to a close and we knew who our nominees were, part of me felt confident that Senator Obama and Senator McCain were gentlemen who knew the importance of this election and would attempt to stick to the issues. Although being a person who studies politics this seemed a bit too good to be true and oh was it. With an economy on the verge of collapse (at the time of this writing the Dow has gone from way up this morning to now down approximately 350+ points), two wars that need fixing, a crumbling infrastructure, smaller presence in the world, struggling education system, science that is paling in comparison to the rest of the developed world... The list can go on. Much has happened in this decade, easily the most turbulent since the 1960s, and yet the two men that we much decide on to carry us out of this decade can't find the time to actually discuss these issues. 

The first Presidential debate was boring with McCain too focused on his record from yesteryear, not acknowledging Obama's presence at the debate while Obama looked more like Mr. Spock in his personality and delivery than he has in previous debates and speeches. Is it too much for American citizens to ask these candidates to address the issues? Smear campaigns have worked very well in previous campaigns, as have meaningless debates but too much is at stake here. The next President is going to be handed a mountain of problems, perhaps the largest since World War II or even the Civil War and the mess isn't shrinking. President Bush has packed his bags and all but left the White House. Just by looking into his eyes, you can see the man has been done for a while. Even with a lame duck in the White House, McCain and Obama has resorted to the exact tactics they claimed they wouldn't stoop to, and I feel duped.

Yes, McCain has been struggling as of late on the issues, the economy right now just doesn't help the Republicans, so it makes McCain's tactics look a little more acceptable, but not by much. 

Well similarly to the election, time is running out... I have to go to work. Good luck to the candidates tonight at the debate and here's hoping to a fun and exciting time.

New Thought on Media & the Economy

For the first time in what seems like quite a long time, I find the news media to be accurately reporting something: the financial crisis. While reading and watching the news I am tending to find more honest, open reporting on the economic conditions, what the government is or isn't doing, information on the banks, credit market, etc. They are leaving the commentary and editorials to the commentators and editorialists (with the politicians doing some as well). With all of the spin, it seems like the facts are actually there presented to us all. 

The reason for this is simple, the media is as concerned about the state of the economy as we are. From the corporate owners, to the shareholders, to the anchor on TV, we all have been or could be seriously affected by the economy. We are all reliant on the economy to survive, as are the news media. We love to hate the mass media and we quickly forget they are people too. I tend to see this when watching CNN during the day when the anchors here in Atlanta are really just regular people with a job. They need that job to provide for their families, just like all of us. When they ask questions to reporters in the field, or economic experts, they sound sincere, worried, and needing the information reported accurately just as we need news reported accurately. With a collapse of the economy, some of those reporters might be out of job too, even with news that needs to be reported. The companies they work for just might not be able to pay them either. 

So just this once, the news gets a pass. They are reporting exactly what we need to see and for once, in an honest manner. Will this continue? Doubtful and they'll go back to reporting in their usual spin-fashion once the economic crisis ends (assuming it does). It does cause you to do some thinking about how serious the financial problems truly are and that the media does have a few employees that do have souls. That or they are that worried about their 401K. Either which way, glad to have them on our side for a change.

I'll provide some examples to hopefully strengthen this theory tomorrow.

Economic Disaster v. Designer Glasses

Upon returning home from class Wednesday afternoon, I expected CNN to be covering the financial meltdown and nothing but. This was the case during the first thirty minutes I watched of Wolf Blitzer's show The Situation Room. The Dow Jones Industrials had just dropped nearly 450 points after dropping over 500 on Monday. The market seemed near collapse after the bankruptcy filing of Lehman's Brothers, Bank of America buying out Merrill-Lynch, and now AIG, the nation's largest insurance group was being bailed out by the Federal government with an $85 billion loan. The television coverage was nail-biting. Wolf had all the best analysis and I'm pacing around my room watching the U.S. economy collapse live on television. TV hadn't been this riveting since the season finale of ABC's show Lost. 

Before cutting to a commercial, Blitzer gave a rundown of the upcoming segments on the show. First up after the break: a segment on Sarah Palin's in demand glasses. The mind reels in the absurdity of this. Largest economic downturn since the Great Depression or a candidate's high priced specs? Hmm, I thought the former would be a more popular topic. Alas, I watched the two minutes on Palin's glasses and how women everywhere are flocking to their closest LensCrafters to hunt down a pair of Palin's hot lenses. The segment left a negligible impact on my life and didn't make me love or hate Sarah Palin anymore than before. It left me a bit perturbed with the current state of our news. This could be the most turbulent time in the United States in quite some time and Americans are rightfully concerned. My pacing stopped, my brow raised and I said politely, "what the f***?"

Really Wolf? After the daily stress you cause me when you constantly pitch the new bestseller written by one of your cast, you show me this? Who in the editing room decided that, while the market may have reached the point of no return, let's squeeze in two minutes for glasses? Although my solace in all of this, the demand for these glasses might be the best part of the McCain/Palin economic plan. If that's the case, I may go ahead and pull my money out of the bank and put it in the mattress. 

This is another example of how the media tends to put the public's best interest behind what sells. While Palin's media star might have faded this week (sorry Sarah, the economy comes first) it beguiles me that someone actually thought this was a good idea. Now call me crazy, and too nitpicky, but I as an American have other priorities and NEED to be informed, now more than ever. We are less than fifty days from choosing a new President and the polls have these guys in a dead heat, and this is what you give me? At this point I wouldn't care if Palin had a similar ocular problem as the X-Men character Cyclops and shot bright red streaks out of her eyes that can cause massive destruction if it meant she had an answer for this economy. 

So for now Wolf and company, ask questions, get your analysts analyzing, and let's get America informed for once so that they'll know exactly who these candidates are not by what accessories they wear but how they are going to better America. Just ask people who actually wear glasses. They'll agree with me in a large majority. Trust me, people who wear glasses are scientifically known to be significantly smarter than those that don't.*

We have 46 days ladies and gentlemen until this insanely long show comes to an end. After that, we can discuss Palin's glasses, her clothes, and yes, even her lipstick, I don't care. Give me the issues, what's important and if you find out that Americans DO care about the specs, please, let me know. I'll laugh, then cry, and find another place to live, because that's the point I'll truly be frightened of our society. 

*There is no evidence that people that wear glasses ARE smarter than those that don't. This has been long rumored, especially among those that are nearsighted. Nearsightedness can cause your eyes to bulge out slightly, and we all know what causes this, a larger brain capable of understanding more. 

Missing the Story

  *
Last night John McCain accepted the Republican nomination for President of the United States. While a momentous occasion, the mainstream media has missed the story completely. Demonstrations have been taking place all week in the Twin Cities that have led to hundreds if not close to one thousand or more arrests of protesters. While many protesters were instigators, most were not, simply using their First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech. This is something that I take great pride in and seeing fellow young people express their voice only to be shut down is despicable. 

Even more disheartening is the total lack of mainstream media coverage this is receiving. If you scroll through the top stories on CNN.com, there is finally, now at the conclusion of the convention, a link letting you view a few videos of the protests that took place. Police arrested protesters, charged them with felony riot and have released most. While the severe charges will not stick, some face up to a year in jail for their actions. The media has remained silent. 

Protests began as soon as the convention started on Monday, overshadowed by coverage of Hurricane Gustav and came to a head on Tuesday evening. There was a music festival called the Ripple Effect Music Festival, which had all the proper permits to hold this festival in St. Paul on Tuesday. The popular band Rage Against the Machine, well known for their political activism, was scheduled to play the event. Upon attempting to take the stage, police prevented the band (who just recently reunited) from even taking the stage. The band took to the streets. Grabbing a megaphone, singer Zach de la Rocha and guitarist Tom Morello addressed the crowd about protesting peacefully and proceeded to perform two songs sans instruments. After the band left, police promptly arrested nearly 200 more protesters. 

Rage did get to play a show the following night, Wednesday at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Upon concluding the show de la Rocha told fans to leave peacefully. Not all did. Police in riot gear were waiting and promptly arrested after fans took to the streets and began protesting what de la Rocha called the "fascist Republican agenda." 

The protests for me became a bit more personal when a photographer from my former school, the University of Kentucky was arrested amidst the protesting this week. He was a photographer, press pass included. He was doing what any responsible journalist might do, cover the story. He was charged with felony riot. 

The media continued their silence all week. Now agree or disagree with the protesters taking to the streets, this was a story. A major one at that. The journalists that did take to the streets were being intimidated, threatened, and yes, even arrested. This prevents Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Speech, and is downright un-American. Pro-war, anti-war, pro-Bush, anti-Bush, Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Conservative, young, old, it doesn't matter folks. These were people that couldn't express their right to free speech because a few decided to spoil it for the many and the cops went overboard. Round up those that are causing destruction to property, interrupting the protests, or threatening police. Next time, I shouldn't have to look very hard to see police blasting a woman in the face with pepper spray or dragging someone through the streets. We did this in 1968, let's never do it again and shame on the media for shoving to the back page. 

Cops should be there to serve and protect. Arrest those that are causing a danger, but kids waving American flags calling for an end to the war giving you the peace sign? Why spray them? What did they do? Oh yeah, they decided to disagree with the establishment. They paid the price.  

*The picture is of Kentucky Kernel photojounrnalist Ed Matthews. He was photographing the protests and was not taking part in them. He was doing the job of the people we study in this class, reporting the news. At least he was trying to, and trying to do it honestly. 

Brief Thoughts on Additional Readings

While written at such different times in American and media history, both de Tocqueville and Giussani's articles point out how specific forms of media, newspaper and the internet respectively, are necessary to a free and just society. They act as checks on government and the people they represent. 

While newspapers represented freedom for so long, the creation of "Internet 2.0" meaning the communicative interaction we now see online with millions of bloggers, social networkers, and the browsers of these sites. What would have been much to de Tocqueville's dismay, newspapers were gathered into large entities when William Randolph Hurst began his quest of owning them all and newspapers ceased to be as free as de Tocqueville envisioned. Hurst was even able to start a war (Spanish-American) simply by drumming up support of the sinking of the Maine in his newspapers. 

Giussani points out the new revolution that has freed up from what Hurst among others did to so many forms of mass media. The internet has allowed for us to participate in this blog, freely able to express our opinion on any given issue. Blogs across the web focus on so many issues, an unimaginable amount, and each author has no limit to the blogs they can publish. No contract to write for one specific company, with deadlines, specific topics they are required to cover. Free. It's pure Democracy. So pure, it can be filled with lies, deceit, and garbage. Censoring is not required, nor is having your facts straight. So while the internet has led to a communications revolution and allowed all of us to become journalists, do we hold up a true journalistic code of honor? Do we factually report the news as we see it or do we intentionally slant it to meet whatever our personal goals may be? 

This upcoming election is the first in which internet 2.0 is being fully utilized. Senator Barack Obama even has a social networking tool known as MyBarackObama in which you can "friend" other supporters, join groups, create events, and yes, even blog. Unfortunately while this tool is used for good, others have used it to spread rumors about almost all of the candidates this season. They don't write for the Associated Press or the New York Times or even the KSU Sentinel. No worries about being fired or sued for your opinion on a blog. In most cases, you're not even being paid for creating the lies! 

So as Americans, lovers of freedom, and fellow bloggers, we have to prevent Giussani's dream go the way of de Tocqueville's and let corruption, lies, and deceit ruin this new device that will hopefully all democracy to flourish for centuries to come. 

The News vs. Us: How do they win?

Ahoy folks. 

This here blog will focus on the news, mass media, and its effect on the world around us. First thing's first, there is news abound. 

Recently the Barack Obama campaign did something interested, new, fascinating, incredible, unheard of!.... If you submitted your cell phone number or email address the Obama campaign would text or email you Senator Obama's running mate BEFORE the news announced it! 

*GASP*

Upon hearing this Wolf Blitzer promptly turned into the Hulk and destroyed half of the Situation Room set.*

"How can they do this!?" Blitzer screamed as he tore down the desk in front of him.

John King using his fancy touch screen TV gave Blitzer a seemingly intelligent answer. "We can beat them," King promised. 

The Hulk calmed down. 

In all seriousness folks, the Obama campaign wanted to transcend that need for the mass media to report information. With much of Obama's organization started using the internet, this seemed a no brainer. How could we be so naive? To think the news would not get a hold of the information before the general public did was ridiculous, but many of us bought into it anyway. 

Friday August 22nd seemed to drone on, especially for those on television hoping Blitzer wouldn't explode with rage. Obama had made his decision, that much was clear, but no one knew when the text/email would go out or who exactly the choice was. All indications pointed to Governor Tim Kaine of Virigina, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware being the final three in this race. Day turned into night, information started coming in. 

The news networks were getting confirmation from Democratic Party sources that Governor Kaine and Senator Bayh were out of the mix. The rumors about Biden increased. The media was staked outside of Biden's home like it was the Britney Spears scandal. All I could think of was where in the hell my text message was? Obama is something new, refreshing, he'll get the information to loyal supporters before the media gets a hold...right.

CNN began getting unofficial reports that it was in fact Joe Biden. Again, no email, no text message, nothing. CNN reported that Biden had gathered with his family. No message. ABC confirms that the Secret Service had been dispatched to the Biden residence. Still...no message. CNN now confirms that Barack Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate.

Dear Senator Obama,

Where the hell was my text message? 

Love,

Joel

In all seriousness, the mass media couldn't lose. They had to report information first. The Obama campaign tried to prove that we didn't need mass media to provide the American people with crucial information. They were wrong. We were wrong. I believed in the campaign's promise. I received my confirmation from the Obama campaign.... at 4:48AM Saturday. Nearly five hours after CNN reported that Joe Biden was in fact Obama's running mate. 

This event proves one thing. While we might not NEED mass media to provide us information, they are too entrenched in our political system to allow us direct access to information from campaigns and government. It was the ultimate goal for the mass media to prove they still had the leg up on us and they did. Maybe this won't be the case in the future, but for now we'll be stuck with them, up to and including Wolf Blitzer's beard. 

Hope everyone enjoys the insanity that will undoubtedly occur throughout these posts, especially with the election on our doorstep....I would keep posting but Barack Obama is on TV getting ready to introduce Joe Biden as his running mate....this might be important.

*There is no evidence that Wolf Blitzer turned into the Hulk. This was a story floating around the offices of Fox News. Upon hearing this, Chris Wallace laughed so hard he choked on a pretzel and Bill O'Reilly blamed Blitzer's transformation on liberals loving science.