Sunday, May 17, 2009

This is Why

(Mr. EUGENE DEBS is a very talented but also very frustrating young fellow. I don't know where he is or what he's doing, although I gather he's in some kind of hell. Nothing new there. He sent us the following:)

The slow motion death of the American newspaper industry is already 
well documented; I keep expecting to one day wake up to a 72-point
 banner headline reading simply "BRAINNNS!" (with an insightful 
Lifestyle-section guide to preparation and garnishing by Martha 
Stewart).

But some people keep expecting more of the wheezing
 pre-decedent; for example, Brad DeLong is always 
asking "Why oh why can't we have a better press corps?", which is, I
 suppose, not a bad question and deserves an answer.

And here it is:
 because the readership wouldn't notice.



Exhibit A: The Register recently published a story 
on the Lt. Dan Choi mess, for which it solicited a comment from 
the Center for Military Readiness, a non-stop single-issue
 homo-free military PR shop (motto: "Virgin Cosmopolitans, Prayerful
 Celibacy, and the Lash"). Its president, Elaine Donnelly, obliged with a
 sentence of copy so inane the reporter had to resort to something I've 
only rarely seen in print:



"If you're too old, too young, if you have a medical
 condition, there are many reasons people are ineligible to be in the 
armed forces," she said in explaining her position that gays should be
 excluded from serving.

Yes, that's right: the reporter (Cameron Bird) appended what is 
essentially an in-sentence caption to identify for readers the 
intended meaning of the preceding gibberish. Conscientious, and 
amusing too; so far, so good.

Let's take a look at the next day's Letters 
Section:



Press release or news?
 The article about gay guardsman Dan Choi being expelled from the 
National Guard for violating the "Don't ask don't tell policy"
 demonstrates why newspapers are a failing industry ["Soldier battling
 on two fronts," May 11]. Disguised as news, the article might as well
 be a press release from some gay advocacy group. Considering the
 number of gays favorably quoted in the article, perhaps it was. Choi 
is treated as the heroic victim, numerous supporters are favorably 
quoted, and no supporters of the military's policy are allowed to 
speak. The reader is left wondering if there is any reason for the
 policy, or anyone willing to defend it. Thus, a nominal news article
is used for subliminal issue advocacy.

So a reporter is charitable and in return is accused of not only
 bias but mind control(!).

You tell me: if you had to write for this kind of audience, wouldn't
 you secretly be trying to wreck your industry from the 
inside, too?



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This doesn't cheer me up Mr. Debs, but, you're right.

Of course, the Register, is, well, the Register.

Perhaps we in the OC are the canaries in the metaphorical coal mine?

Can I buy you a subscription to the New York Review of Books? I worry about your reading material.

Anonymous said...

Wish you'd write more, Mr. Debs.

Anonymous said...

Good stuff; may we have some more, please?

Anonymous said...

You are correct sir! More!

Anonymous said...

I do wish Mr. Debs were more prolific. You should let him out of his box more often. He should have his own blog, though.

Anonymous said...

When I glance at the Lariat, I am not surprised that the newspaper industry is dying. While I appreciate the intent and applaud the attempt, I am utterly appalled at the quality of writing coming out of that journalism program. I would have failed my high school journalism class with writing that poorly constructed. They need to spend more time editing that publication before it goes to print.

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...