A random journal about local politics, baseball and whatever comes to mind.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Charlie's Angels marathon
WGN (96 on Comcast) is playing the 1st season of Charlie's Angels. When it was first on I watched it with the sound off. Like many teenage boys growing up in the 1970's I had the poster and still do.
I have never been more convinced of the dumbing down of America than over these past few days. Seemingly respectable news organizations have been broadcasting non-stop stories on Michael Jackson and to a smaller degree, Miss Fawcett. Even the more reasonable Fox news has taken part in this perversion of journalism. I understand that Mr. Jackson and Miss Fawcett were entertainers and had their various fans, but we have a venue for this type of thing and it is called Entertainment Reporting. I see no problem at all if Entertainment Tonight wishes to dedicate its entire program to an entertainer's death or even the comatose Larry King devoting a night or two or three to the subject, but it is imperative, students, that genuine journalistic venues stay on the right track of reporting solid news. After viewing TV and print coverage of Mr. Jackson's demise, I nearly lost my supper from disgust. And the revisionism that has been cast upon his reputation is equally appalling. After all, this was a man who was a predator; and I was shocked to see that the US House of Representatives observed a moment of silence in his memory. To all those students who have malingned me over the past several years, I now accept your apology. After all, our nation is in dire debt and the liberal politicians are spending us through the roof; N. Korea is threatening our shores with nuclear attack, we have taken over the auto industry, the President wants to do the same to the health care industry, and we still have not even seriously considered an elimination of the capital gains tax (which would solve our economic plight overnight), and what does our congress waste its time on? Prayers for a celebrity degenerate. I can assure you, students, that this would not have happened under a Speaker Boehner. I do not wish to be misunderstood, I do not take a jocular view of Mr. Jackson's and Miss Fawcetts's deaths, respectfully. I am just disappointed that our news organizations are behaving as if we lost a President or a great world leader (of which there are none at the present time). My advice to the youngsters out there; get a haircut, buy some soap, and throw away your Michael Jackson gloves and Farrah Fawcett posters and get out of your parents homes and make it on your own. It will be worth it, not only for your future but for the future of our country. Class dismissed.
One of the definitions of news is sharing information with people on a topic of interest. The passing of Mr. Jackson was a sudden event that warranted attention. News is news.
Frankly, I think both MJ and Farrah were highly over rated in their respective fields. Jackson peaked in 1982--nearly 30 years ago with Thriller. He spent the rest of his life after that as tabloid fodder for his eccentricities. As far as all of the talking heads saying that MJ was the first African American singer to unite the races, well I beg to differ as would performers like Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and the SUpremes, the Four Tops, I can spend all day on the list of pre-Jackson singers that whites paid to see or hear. So, lets put that myth back on the shelf.
As far as Farrah, she peaked around the same time as MJ with the Burning Bed. Just like MJ she spent the rest of her life as tabloid fodder for her eccentricities (remember her wacky appearance on Letterman, YOUTUBE IT).
We Americans love a good ole-fashioned freak show, which explains our fascination with celebrity culture in general. It also explains why Michael Jackson remained in the public eye all these years, as he hasn't done anything creatively in over a decade.
Anyway, if the whole MJ/Farrah thing bothers you, I suggest moving into a cave.
I have never been more convinced of the dumbing down of America than over these past few days. Seemingly respectable news organizations have been broadcasting non-stop stories on Michael Jackson and to a smaller degree, Miss Fawcett. Even the more reasonable Fox news has taken part in this perversion of journalism. I understand that Mr. Jackson and Miss Fawcett were entertainers and had their various fans, but we have a venue for this type of thing and it is called Entertainment Reporting. I see no problem at all if Entertainment Tonight wishes to dedicate its entire program to an entertainer's death or even the comatose Larry King devoting a night or two or three to the subject, but it is imperative, students, that genuine journalistic venues stay on the right track of reporting solid news. After viewing TV and print coverage of Mr. Jackson's demise, I nearly lost my supper from disgust. And the revisionism that has been cast upon his reputation is equally appalling. After all, this was a man who was a predator; and I was shocked to see that the US House of Representatives observed a moment of silence in his memory. To all those students who have malingned me over the past several years, I now accept your apology. After all, our nation is in dire debt and the liberal politicians are spending us through the roof; N. Korea is threatening our shores with nuclear attack, we have taken over the auto industry, the President wants to do the same to the health care industry, and we still have not even seriously considered an elimination of the capital gains tax (which would solve our economic plight overnight), and what does our congress waste its time on? Prayers for a celebrity degenerate. I can assure you, students, that this would not have happened under a Speaker Boehner. I do not wish to be misunderstood, I do not take a jocular view of Mr. Jackson's and Miss Fawcetts's deaths, respectfully. I am just disappointed that our news organizations are behaving as if we lost a President or a great world leader (of which there are none at the present time). My advice to the youngsters out there; get a haircut, buy some soap, and throw away your Michael Jackson gloves and Farrah Fawcett posters and get out of your parents homes and make it on your own. It will be worth it, not only for your future but for the future of our country. Class dismissed.
ReplyDeleteThe "Beast" killed "Beauty"!
ReplyDeleteOne of the definitions of news is sharing information with people on a topic of interest. The passing of Mr. Jackson was a sudden event that warranted attention. News is news.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I think both MJ and Farrah were highly over rated in their respective fields.
ReplyDeleteJackson peaked in 1982--nearly 30 years ago with Thriller. He spent the rest of his life after that as tabloid fodder for his eccentricities. As far as all of the talking heads saying that MJ was the first African American singer to unite the races, well I beg to differ as would performers like Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and the SUpremes, the Four Tops, I can spend all day on the list of pre-Jackson singers that whites paid to see or hear. So, lets put that myth back on the shelf.
As far as Farrah, she peaked around the same time as MJ with the Burning Bed. Just like MJ she spent the rest of her life as tabloid fodder for her eccentricities (remember her wacky appearance on Letterman, YOUTUBE IT).
"It's interesting when people die"
ReplyDelete- Dirty Laundry, Don Henley
We Americans love a good ole-fashioned freak show, which explains our fascination with celebrity culture in general. It also explains why Michael Jackson remained in the public eye all these years, as he hasn't done anything creatively in over a decade.
Anyway, if the whole MJ/Farrah thing bothers you, I suggest moving into a cave.