Raking Muck in the Third Millenium

I used to have a sign over my desk in a newspaper office long ago, in Gothic script it read Rake Some Muck Today. In today's world, raking muck is something of a lost art. I may not be able to singlehandedly bring it back, but this is a start.

06 January 2010

Sarcasm, Just Another Service We Offer

I read a column recently in which the author noted journalists don't deliberately make people angry. We ask people to think and very often that makes them angry. Which is a shame. Thinking should be something all people do routinely. They shouldn't be afraid of it. Readers shouldn't expect to receive their news watered down. News isn't polenta, it's not supposed to be bland. It's supposed to contain the facts regardless of who looks foolish. We don't make people look bad. They do a very good job of that for themselves. Like Joe Friday from the old Dragnet, we deal in "just the facts." The "commentators," mainly right-wing talk show hosts, spoon feed their babble to their listeners and the listeners start to believe they should be spoon fed all the time. They should grow up already. Read objective articles, read commentators from both sides. Read more than listen, actually. And if they get angry, it should be for a reason.

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