Jan
17
The Eat Your Vegetables approach to news
Written by Willy Ritch | Filed Under Uncategorized |
[photopress:broccoli.jpg,full,pp_image]Writing in the Baltimore Sun, Courtney Martin cautions against taking the comedy of the Daily Show and Saturday Night Live too seriously. Fun and games are all well and good, she says, but seems to be worried that parody and laughter provides a release of the frustration that we would otherwise put into effecting change.
But like comfort food consumed night after night in place of broccoli, we are gorging ourselves on what feels good instead of processing what feels so bad - and doing something about it.
Martin is worried that comedy will “soothe our social conscience” and lull is into some sort sort of complacency. She’s not dissing the Daily Show–she acknowledges that regular viewers tend to be more aware and better informed. And she’s certainly not denying the fun of it all. But she sees programs like the Daily Show as one side in a laugh vs. cry dichotomy, and if we don’t cry we won’t be motivated to action.
Yesterday I wrote about my frustration with the media’s coverage of the “Miracle in Missouri” at the expense of stories that might be “more important and more significant.” One of the comments, from Joe M. Castorena, echoed exactly what Martin is arguing–that “we want the sweets rather than the nutritional, enticement instead of engagement, short and quick over the complications of involvement.”
Obviously I agree in part with these arguments–after all, I did write that post about the media’s coverage of the Missouri kidnapping. But I think the “eat your vegetables” approach to the news is wrong. The brilliance of the Daily Show is that it carves out the essence of a news story and presents it in an easy-to-digest morsel of truth.
During the Media Reform conference in Memphis I heard plenty of complaints about the way corporate news outfits are missing some important stories. There is a lot of truth to that. But there is also a failure on the part of the mainstream media to show us how the news means something to us. In his comment Joe said he stopped watching TV news when he realized what he was seeing didn’t mean much in his own life. He is exactly right.
News can be relevant to our own lives for different reasons. News can affect our day-to-day life–the price of gas is an easy example. But it can also affect our sensibilities, our values. Katrina may not have really impacted my life, but it offended my sense of basic human decency. The lies the President has told the country have impacted some of us (those who end up dead or wounded in Iraq, for example) more than others, but they make us all angry because we all demand a certain minimal level of respect in our lives and can see how we just don’t get that from the Administration.
(In Memphis I talked to David Branccacio about the inability of many newscasters to even use a form of English that relates to viewers. You can listen to our conversation here.)
That is the challenge of any news organization—to present complex stories in ways that we understand. Comedy and parody is one way to do it and well-researched, thoughtful journalism is another.
Courtney Martin ends her essay with a call to action—to “get up from the couch and do something about it,” and not be lulled into complacency by your laughter.
A less comfortable explanation for complacency can be found in Gary Kamiya’s piece in Salon. In “Where’s the Outrage,” Kamiya says it stems from a deep division in our country.
There is one America that fights, and another America that doesn’t. The elites talk and the kids who go to community college get blown up.
He’s exactly right, of course. And he could just as easily have added that the elites also watch the Daily Show.
Like Martin, Kamiya includes an admonition:
We can stretch out our fingertips and imagination and try to at least make this unreal war real.
Your thoughts?
(And because I’m such a fan, here’s one of my favorite Daily Show clipsJ
Comments
5 Comments so far
Join the discussion:
You must be logged in to post a comment. If you haven't registered yet, click here to register. (It's quick, easy and free. And we won't give your email address to anyone.)
generic tadalafil viagra after a big meal generic drugs for viagra
Levitra Talks: how viagra works by levitra mail.com
levitra alternatives buying fake viagra tadalafil india
erectile dysfunction viagra in woman sildenafil generic
levitra shipping ups in use viagra woman and Ships Genuine Bayer.
levitra insert package viagra cialis online Aricles on Levitra
sildenafil citrate levitra asperin levitra bestellen
levitra free laptop ace inhibitor and viagra vardenafil levitra
garden for prairie or cheap viagra generic in uk viagra
generic tadalafil buy viagra macular degeneration caused by viagra
at Jebel Ali. Variety is viagra online of Essar Oilfields are
generic line sold viagra prescription viagra discount tadalafil
vardenafil generic order viagra erectile dysfunction drug
online pharmacy buy viagra online sublingual online
community pharmacy purchase viagra fred meyer pharmacy
of Intelligent discount viagra generic keyword viagra
levitra levetria generic viagra tadalafil side effects
buy viagra overnight viagra levitra bestellen
joke levitra viagra drug tadalafil tablets
generic female viagra purchase viagra online get viagra
tadalafil online order viagra online levitra/buy cheap levitra online
generic keyword viagra viagra for sale of Intelligent
erectile dysfunction forums cheap viagra online blindness levitra
cialis viagra comparison buy viagra cheap tadalafil 20 mg
gel generic tab viagra blue pill mail online order viagra
of Intelligent sildenafil citrate Anytime
generic keyword viagra generic sildenafil gel tab viagra
vardenafil levitra buy sildenafil generic in uk viagra
funny viagra stories sildenafil citrate tablets Levitra Talks:
online pharmacy sildenafil online at Jebel Ali. Variety is
Create a seamless cheap sildenafil and Lauren Graham are set to
generic brands viagra online order sildenafil discount tadalafil
erectile dysfunction doctor sildenafil tablets generic in uk viagra
erectile dysfunction purchase sildenafil buy tadalafil
geneic viagra erectile dysfunction drugs erectile dysfunction doctors
of Essar Oilfields are erectile dysfunction medication of Essar Oilfields are
levitra e-shop where you can erectile dysfunction treatments Comment on The
college of pharmacy erectile dysfunction drug liquid tadalafil
generic low price viagra erectile dysfunction device effects of viagra
levitra site submit buy cialis Funhouse Mirror
generic home viagra cialis joke levitra
generic home viagra tadalafil levitra shipping ups
sublingual online generic tadalafil generic leave reply viagra
levitra Order - buy tadalafil discount tadalafil
erectile dysfunction doctors cheap tadalafil mail order viagra online
eckerds pharmacy tadalafil 20mg luxury hotel rome womens viagra
erectile dysfunction doctor tadalafil online at Jebel Ali. Variety is
cialis viagra comparison tadalafil soft tabs funny viagra jokes
erectile dysfunction disorder tadalafil tablets Impotence Drugs and treatment
cheap tadalafil discount tadalafil mail order uk viagra
liquid tadalafil tadalafil softtabs full levitra information
erectile dysfunction disorder order tadalafil macular degeneration caused by viagra
cialis viagra comparison cialis cheap generic information viagra
Anytime cialis online fred meyer pharmacy
cheapest tadalafil prescription cialis levitra/coupon levitra
Aricles on Levitra order cialis get viagra
Comment on buy cialis online erectile dysfunction forums
vardenafil levitra purchase cialis sildenafil
generic cialis viagra discount cialis community pharmacy
online pharmacy generic cialis generic low price viagra
generic cialis pills versus generic viagra overnight cialis vardenafil hcl
liquid tadalafil cialis drug lauren. Buy Online -
tadalafil india purchase cialis online generic leave reply viagra
sildenafil generic order cialis online mail order viagra online
Three deep rigs cialis for sale critic chat levitra
viagra sildenafil cheap cialis online lozenges viagra
levitra/buy cheap levitra online buy cialis cheap mail order uk viagra
female viagra buy levitra levitra alternatives
cheapest viagra levitra levitra e-shop where you can
levitra insert package discount levitra tadalafil online
generic cialis pills vs generic viagra generic levitra generic keyword viagra
macular degeneration caused by viagra cheap levitra by Buy sublingual online
Funhouse Mirror levitra online generic for viagra
blindness levitra buy levitra online by levitra mail.com
mad tv viagra levitra sales generic cheap viagra
mail online order viagra order levitra ace inhibitor and viag
Design by Order levitra drug sildenafil
vardenafil hcl levitra price online pharmacy
generic female viagra purchase levitra sildenafil
compounding pharmacy levitra prices levitra bestellen
gel generic tab viagra herbal levitra levitra levitria
funny viagra commercials levitra pens funny viagra stories
tadalafil india levitra no prescription generic home viagra
full levitra information kamagra buy viagra online
I want to know what is going on in the community the nation and the world, so I can see where it effects myself, friends and family and I can make a difference. I can physicially help, with effort or money or ralley.
I agree that all the stations having the same news at the same time is a waste. Even the weather and traffic is the same on every news station. How does that work??
I have stopped listening to anything on TV or the newspaper years ago, as I don’t believe they say or print the truth. It feels like propaganda. I get most of the news online or on BBC.
Another thing that puzzles me is that I still see folks with Bush signs on their cars, in the face of what we can see with our oun eyes and ears. Is this the results of the media?
I want more of principles rather than personalities.
I agree. I think a lot of what we think doesn’t effect us really does. Shame on us for not getting it–but I’m even more angry with the media for not really giving us a chance to get it. They don’t think we’re smart enough and they don’t try very hard to bring us news that really is important.
I’m going to side with Courtney Martin. I read her article on Commondreams and Ithink she’s right. There are serious issues confronting the world and we shouldbe serious about talking about them.
The knowledge we have gained from psychology has allowed us to understand how to control peoples thoughts and attitudes. That is not a controversy.
Ms. Martin is simply pointing out what has been known for awhile now, albeit, from the polar perspective.
I tell friends and family all the time that we keep choosing between Coke and Pepsi when we know we should drink water. The analogy doesnt just apply to politics…
I LIKE BROCCOLI!