Responses to Fawn's Germer recent column on the media, a comment about a proposed trade bill and rant about the recent "Planet Puzzler" snafus.
All the News that Fits to Print
Re: "The Misunderstood Media" by Fawn Germer (May 1-7)
Timely media piece. Here's my two cents' worth.
As far as "nasty" stories designed to sell newspapers: that, of course, only applies to those pubs on sale at the checkout counter. Mainstream pub advertisers cringe over any perceived nastiness.
But it is all about the definition of "news." Unbribed judges and uncrashed airplanes are not news. As Walter Cronkite once said: "People are not interested in all the cats that did not get stuck in trees today."
Fair, balanced, witless, reactionary, superficial and cosmetic Fox Network notwithstanding, the media remain more liberal than any other persuasion. It comes out of the j-school culture of representing "the people" against special interests, big business, the establishment, etc. It carries over.
I would also add that cynicism is a subset here. Reporters are not properly trained. Let your undergrad courses and small town newspaper train you. When you hit a decent-size daily you're thrown into a beat. You're covering cops. You're covering city hall, etc. You get had because you don't know all the agendas. As a result, healthy, necessary skepticism morphs into chronic cynicism.
Arrogance is another frequent trait. Where else can a 20- or 30-something sit in judgment of captains of industry and powerful politicians? It can be a heady experience, if you let it. A lot do. And it shows.
Joe O'Neill
Via e-mail
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We get very angry at how the media act but rarely know why they do what they do. This is especially the case in the stories about people who have been recently victimized. I never really got the reason those stories were done and assumed the reporters doing them were just a bunch of vultures waiting to pounce. Thanks for enlightening me. I hope you will answer more questions, like how so many mistakes get into the paper with no one proofreading them first, why the media will drive certain topics into the ground, and why morons like Ronda Storms get so much attention while the people doing real work get ignored.
James F. Dunn
Via e-mail
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As usual, I found your column right on target. Thank you. I would, however, like to suggest a few sources that might be useful to your readers about how the news media operate.
FAIR — Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: (www.fair.org) an excellent resource that keeps tabs on press bias, be it ideological, economic, social and any number of other subjective positions. FAIR produces a weekly radio show, Counterspin, that is broadcast Monday mornings at 11 a.m. on WMNF-88.5 FM.
Another outstanding resource is Edward Herman's book, The Myth of the Liberal Media, a robust and bulletproof debunking of this patently false axiom. The Media Education Foundation (www.mediaed.org) has produced a video companion to the book, featuring interviews with Herman, Noam Chomsky and Sut Jhally.
I'd also like to suggest Freespeech TV to your readers. Available over the Web as streaming video (www.freespeech.org/), FSTV can also be seen 24/7 on the DISH Network satellite system (channel 9415). Both Fear and Favor in the Newsroom and The Myth of the Liberal Media are frequently screened here, as are myriad programs and documentaries unavailable anywhere else on TV.
Stan Davis
Plant City
Unfair Trade Agreement
Re: Proposed legislation giving president power to negotiate trade agreements
Our president, George W. Bush is asking for "trade promotion authority" from Congress. Formerly known as "fast track authority," this is the same bill that was endorsed by former president Bill Clinton.
This bill would give unconstitutional authority to the president to make trade deals. Congress could only vote up or down on the president's deal with no debates or amendments added. The United States Constitution states The Congress shall have the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the states.
The president and every member of Congress take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. This legislation is in direct violation of the oath and would remove important checks and balances in our government. We the people must hold our leaders accountable to their oath of office. If they cannot or will not do their job, we must replace them with people who will honor their sacred oath.
This legislation, if passed, would erase our borders and continue to erode our national sovereignty. I urge you to contact your senators and congressmen to oppose this unconstitutional bill.
Ryaan S. Aubrey
Tampa
Puzzle Repeats; Thousands Suffer
Re: "Planet Puzzler" snafus
I was shocked, shocked to see that you ran the same Puzzler twice in a row. As a dyed-in-the-wool Merl Reagle crossword puzzle fan, I look forward each Thursday to seeing a new puzzle. Imagine my dismay when I saw the same thing twice in a row.
The horror. The horror.
Not that the world does not have enough problems, I mean, let's put this in perspective. Terrorists lurk in every Middlesex village and town now, and the Larsen B ice shelf is melting away to nothingness. All true, all so painfully true. On a cosmic scale, the headlines tomorrow will not read, "Puzzler Repeats — Thousands Perish."
So gee whiz, golly, I feel a little abashed at even bringing this up. But, hey, if I don't pitch in to maintain quality assurance at the Weekly Planet, then who will?
How best to register my displeasure, you ask? Will I march in front of your swank Ninth Avenue digs, waving a placard and calling for crossword puzzle solidarity? Will I call for a boycott of your tattoo emporia, cartilag- piercing enterprises and adult entertainment venues? Will I flood your Man Seeking Man personals with crank phone calls?
No. I will sulk and pout until the next puzzle appears. So take that.
Christopher Gallagher
Tampa
Editor's note: Recent changes in production procedures resulted in mistakes with the crossword puzzle and other features. Our deepest apologies to Puzzler addicts. Watch for a special bonus puzzle from Merl Reagle in June.
This article appears in May 15-21, 2002.