|
October 24, 2003
The Monkey
and the Crocodile
a perspective by Linda Baker
Three
years ago, I was treated to a seminar where the speakers were all women
who had achieved certain goals in their lives, and were willing to share
some of their experiences as they had traveled those paths. Most
of the women were not power-suit business types, but instead included
archeologists, doctors, professors, and other activists, who had labored
many years at their callings.
One speaker told a humorous story about how she had been invited for an
interview by journalist Geraldo Rivera's television news show. She
was informed that her segment would be taped for later airing.
The lady arrived at the appointed hour, and was placed in a nice
armchair on the show's set, across a span of about ten feet from an
empty stool. Shortly, she was interviewed by a crew member, who
had propped himself on the stool, with a list of questions provided by
the producers.
Later, when the segment was shown on national television, there was
Geraldo Rivera, sitting in a chair across from her, asking all the
questions in the interview and providing additional commentary that was
not included by the original crew member. For the viewing
audience, it appeared that the conversation was entirely conducted by
Mr. Rivera personally.
It was a minor Media Deceit. Was the substance of the interview
true? Perhaps. Was the perception of the circumstances
surrounding the interview meant to deceive the very people it purported
to inform? Entirely. Was it meant to aggrandize the
interviewer, namely Geraldo Rivera, as a keen, insightful journalist?
Absolutely.
Two things brought this tale to mind this week. First was the
ludicrous Star-Telegram half-page ad on October 18th, touting
"If your local newspaper wasn't looking out for you, who would?"
First off, it has become very plain to me in the last couple years I
have contributed to LocalNewsOnly.com, that the Star-Telegram
gets very little original news dug up by their own hard work. They
rely on fluff provided by self-serving sources who are eager to provide
quotes, free tips on potential stories by affected residents, and do not
hesitate to mine stories already uncovered by LNO.
Quite often, the Star-Telegram Editorial Board, collectively or
individually, with many a preexisting ax to grind or unholy alliance
with a networking Chamber of Commerce, will pompously announce their own
take or endorsements on the political scenes, without ever leaving the
confines of the literal or mental offices. If the Star-Telegram
is "looking out" for anyone, it is the Star-Telegram-do
not be deceived.
The second incident, was when FOX News gladly rushed out to the LNO
offices to pick up the original documentation of the Dallas Firefighter,
indecent exposure scandal. This story was freely given with only a
request for a source credit-which was eagerly promised.
I'm sure the moral of the Aesop Fable of the crocodile transporting the
monkey across the river will occur to readers-LNO should have
remembered it was a crocodile when we hopped on the reptilian nose, but
there is one other tiny deceit FOX News perpetuates from the
broadcast of the story that should trouble viewers.
By not stating the source of the news item, FOX News lets the
viewer assume it was their own hard hitting investigative reporting that
uncovered the trail of the serial pervert. And how many times have
you seen those commercials for themselves at FOX News, portraying
that very image of Investigative Journalists on the prowl, on the
lookout for us, the viewers?
So, here's the moral of the story. Don't rely on anyone but
yourself to decide who is right, what is wrong, who to vote for, what
they really stand for-in short, do your own darn homework. There
really is a test at the end of the semester.
|
