The Workermonkey

Thursday, March 31, 2005

the opinion that matters...mine: the influence of media in the 21st century, and also duct tape factories 

# posted by josh @ 3/31/2005 05:12:00 PM

i was doing some thinking, and i've decided maybe i don't care so much about different news stations carrying different biases. it may have mattered early on when newspaper and television news began, but i think it's a moot point now. cuz even if someone is telling the facts correctly, we would never know. cuz there will be 54 other broadcasts/papers/your media of choice out there to contradict all or part of it. it's all very much analogous to lawsuits: sometimes you'll have cases where the facts are undisputed, but most often there's also much that is disputed.

so you may be asking yourself, when cnn tells me bush is on vacation and is neglecting his duties and fox news tells you that god came down and talked to W and told him that him going on vacation is the best thing he can do for the country (note: if you look closely, there may not be an inconsistency there), who do i believe? the answer is to turn them both off, throw in your best porn, and go to town because you realize that it doesn't matter. how could that be, you ask. it's simple. step 1: find the undisputed facts (these may seem overly broad, but that's ok). step 2: draw your own damn conclusion.

chances are if major networks can't agree on the more subtle details, then they're not important. more often, they will just not agree on how to apply the facts. but this is something i argue should be done yourself, based on your own set of beliefs. so let the news be biased, cuz after the main facts they can't agree upon anything themselves. and the news reports, they don't act. congressional biases (admittedly, some may be formed thru media, but i would argue most congressmen have a solid belief system prior to election into office. otherwise what the hell did his moron constituents use in deciding to vote for him?) should be of more interest and concern.

now speaking of media biases, i got my own chance to exert one today, albeit within a much smaller realm. i was eating lunch in the lobby with some of my classmates, and this girl from the usc school of journalism came over and asked anyone if they wanted to be interviewed. i didn't jump at the chance, but rather was pointed out by another kid in my class, mainly cuz i have posted a number of things regarding the schiavo case on the con law website. so she came and asked me and i agreed, and the 2 of us went on camera for a 5 min interview. it'll be on carolina tv or something. i think one of those cheesy university news shows that's on in the background at the dining halls or something. but at least i'm wearing my red sox hat for the interview. suck it dirty southerners.

the "reporter" was a stereotypical trophy reporter. thin, blonde, and orange from fake-baking. as i answered her clearly pre-meditated set of questions, i could see her vacuousness just by staring into her eyes while i responded. i'd probably have given her a 5 cent mustache ride, but it would've ended as soon as she had to express her own thoughts orally. so it goes.

one final note of interest is that last night i was sitting here reading, and i heard this huge crash that sounded like an explosion, then a second, quieter one. the first one especially shook my apartment. well, it was an explosion. where you ask? the DUCT TAPE FACTORY at the end of my road. apparently the wrong chemicals mixed. i feel bad for the guy standing on top of the boiler when it happened (i think this is actually true, and they're gonna have to go thru dental records). i guess my only question left is this: if there's no duct tape, how are they gonna fix the factory?

3 comments

Ya, that will get those southern bastards! Go sox!

So what kind of bias did you spew to the reporter? You didnt start bashing religion did you? That would be great.

By  Brancibeer, at Friday, April 01, 2005 8:33:00 AM  

i took it easy on religion. while i did say that the husband was kinda shady, if she didn't want to be put on life-sustaining services then her wishes should be honored. the courts did the correct thing in following legal principle regarding the husband being guardian. and i also said, hey, this basically sucks, yes, but to prevent it, get a living will. there's been a mad rush of people getting them since this happened.

By  josh, at Friday, April 01, 2005 2:29:00 PM  

http://www.qohf.org/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=292016
OH...And I have run 3 Virus scans and a defrag and its come up with nothing

By  Anonymous, at Monday, August 29, 2011 4:00:00 AM  

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