I'd like opinions. The righteous wall of fire between democracy and dictatorship? Salacious half-truths made to smile and tell you they love you for you? Come on. Tell me what you think of journalism and why it exists and if there is any need for 'news' however you define that word.
You are allowed to swear, pull my hair and call me names.

Carrie, you're taking too long with this. The first thing that arrives in your head is what i want, not the edit and tarting up.

I don't want my opinions to be misinterpreted by tabloid scum.

JDInteractive said:

Harder.

Sorry, I'm too obsessed with men's wee elephant trunks to respond.

INSATIABLE said:

At least you're passionate about something. Obsssion is the first rug on the ladder of soul.

Number23 said:

Glad to know I've taken the first step.

Being soulless is getting mighty old, I'll tell you.

What's the second rung? How many rungs are there?

Will the ladder disappear once I get to the top?

INSATIABLE said:

Thank you for correnting my deliberate spelling error. You get a cookie.

I can't read...or comprehend for that matter....

Number23 said:

I did it all for the cookie.

INSATIABLE said:

We give you Bowie, you give us Durst.

Number23 said:

We give you Dylan, you give us Spice Girls.

INSATIABLE said:

That's two cookies.

I'll give these cookies to anyone who genuinely contributes to this sad thread.

INSATIABLE said:

I'm hungry.

violator said:

The rules are clearly stated.

INSATIABLE said:

I'm genuinely hungry.

Katie Couric is a man

My son is a journalist. He is a writer/reporter for our local paper, The Santa Barbara NewsPress.

Number23 said:

I had to run off after I posted that other thread.


I like news sometimes, but it often depresses me. This doesn't mean I want more fluff news, just that I simply stop paying attention from time to time. I go through phases of consuming news every day and phases where I have no idea what's going on. I'm currently in a "have no idea what's going on" phase.

CarrieMpls said:

If we had the brain power to read and digest every word in every newspaper on Earth for one day, I'm sure we'd be none the wiser about any grand truths. Anyone looking to be informed by another's perception and personal bias is onto blank. I think the only real truths in this slice of life are the ones you can learn about yourself - everyone is a stranger. Love's maybe the temporary euphoria of an illusional/delusional connection. The way I see it, there's two things. Entertainment and death. I'm an entertainer then I'll die.
:davidbrent:

Number23 said:

You should post more often.

violator said:

Oh, I used to. You should have seen my Baked Beans thread in '05. Shit was my Electric Ladyland.

Journalism -- as it's characterized and fictionalized -- is dead, has been dead for a long, long time.

When media outlets -- especially large, daily newspapers -- began to be bought up by profit-margin-mad corporations, their focus shifted from printing the truth to pleasing bean-counters. In time, those who control the purse strings have come to boldly affect their holdings' coverage of important political issues.

The resulting push for profits has caused newspapers to cut large parts of their staff. Layoffs and buyouts are epidemic and have been for almost a decade. All the while, super-wealthy media tycoons -- who almost always are Republican -- demoralize workers and cripple their unions, while criticizing workers for not contributing more to the bottom line.

And, because newspapers tend to be the creative engine that drives other news media such as radio, TV and online outlets, the lack of consistent and comprehensive, serious news coverage (compared with earlier times) has fed consumers' preoccupation with entertainment news. (Ever notice how the latest Britney tidbit appears on CNN.com right next to news about Kenya -- if Kenya's even prominently displayed?)

Journalism -- far from the romanticized craft to which your thread is devoted -- has devolved into something less accurate, far shallower, cheaper and woefully expendable.

The world is full of talentless hacks (and crashing bores apparently)

ThreadBare said:

What he said.

the only journalist i trust is spider jerusalem, and he's fictional. a comic book character, even.

Take it from a newspaper editor--journalism is a crock.

Uhmnnn....
before I post a reply,
are cookies still being awarded to contributors of this thread?

Journalism used to be good until Celebobsession took over.

Now every second "journalist" is really just a gossip columnist with bare minimum qualifications and NO idea how to write.

Sad.

I swear the whole internet/celeb age is sending society straight down the drain.