Comments on: Bill Moyers on Media Reform

By: Marco

Marco — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:37:09 +0000

@Josh
I think you forgot to consider India.:)

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:07:13 +0000

If China’s any indication.

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:36:47 +0000

“As public sanitation goes, so goes democracy!”

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:45:18 +0000

@Josh – when teachers are told in teachers’ college that they play an essential role in guiding the young and helping them achieve their best.

Or when doctors pledge to ‘do no harm’ at the end of their education.

Or when journalists are taught again and again to report the news with journalistic integrity and be the watchdog of the government…

These are all essential functions of what I would consider a good society.

One doesn’t have to do the job of the other, but they are all vital. And so, should they all aggrandize themselves in the light of their own importance, perhaps it is ego-centric, but it doesn’t make it less true.

Democracy, as a term, is nothing more than abstracts that give people a comfortable term to rally around. But on the ground, there is a very real job to be done by all branches of a libertarian society, and journalism, the ability to report freely and without unjust recourse, is as integral a part of that liberty.

Moyers point, and on a grander scale, the purpose of the conference he was speaking at and the movement in general, is in my feeling a very legitimate and urgent concern.

I’ve worked in newsrooms that’s content was completely dictated by advertising dollars, and it was painful to live with in a non-relevant fluff rag – but to see it happen to institutions that millions upon millions of people trust as an unbiased source – it’s nothing but wrong.

@King of Men: That’s the tricky part, isn’t it. As long as it sells – and The Wire sells. HBO, and in turn Time-Warner, knows that their product is only good if it is ‘edgy’ and critical of the establishment. Corporations don’t have much in the way of personal shame – they’re more than willing to let folks listen to criticisms about them, if they’re paying the corporation to do it. Both Simpsons and Futurama notoriously did this with Fox as well.

By: King of Men

King of Men — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:58:24 +0000

It is with great irony that THE WIRE comes from HBO, part of the Time-Warner conglomerate. Then again, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox/Newscorp produced FIGHT CLUB. As Leonard Cohen once sang, “There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”

I also second the recommendation of ON THE MEDIA and add STUDIO 360 to the mix. Both are available on free podcast editions.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:34:57 +0000

Emo Phillips has this joke: “I used to think that the brain was the most amazing organ in the body, but then I realized..ahhhh! Look what’s telling me that!”

I’ve noticed most teachers exaggerate the importance of teachers to society. Same goes for architects, labor organizers, environmental lobbyists, etc. Journalists are no exception. They spend a lot of time talking about journalism – enough to make whole shows out of it. One of my favorite podcasts is WNYC’s On The Media.

My point is “as [insert one's generalized profession here] goes, so goes democracy” feels good to say and is never really false. It’s never really true, either. It’s just a navel-gazing platitude delivered via YouTube.

Besides, democracy is myth. Moyers should replace it with “the Mandate of Heaven”.

The Wire is great. I’m finishing up the final two episodes.