[News] The Trayvon Martin Discussion Thread

S

SeraRelm

To sell more air time regardless of how muddied the facts get or who it hurts (deserved or not.)
 
S

Soliloquy

I used to think that local stations at least tried to remain fair and balanced if they could. Then the other day the news editor at a station I work for told me to make sure that no coverage of a union protest story shows up on our website because it would piss off one of our advertisers and it wasn't big enough of a story to piss them off over.

I no longer think we try to remain fair and balanced.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
Soliloquy said:
I used to think that local stations at least tried to remain fair and balanced if they could. Then the other day the news editor at a station I work for told me to make sure that no coverage of a union protest story shows up on our website because it would piss off one of our advertisers and it wasn't big enough of a story to piss them off over.

I no longer think we try to remain fair and balanced.
Click to expand...
Speaking from experience, there is absolutely nothing honest, honorable or upright about the broadcasting industry at any level.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
ElJuski said:
If only we had something like an NPR station...
Click to expand...
Coming up next on All Things Considered: Seaweed! How it makes your town's harbor look kitschy, and you should be worried about global warming while a jazz musician you never heard of mumbles incoherently.
 
ElJuski

ElJuski

Staff member
Shows like This American Life and All Things Considered, not to mention the various amazing programs that were on WBEZ (Jim DeRogaitis, wat wat), the Chicago station, are awesome. And, during that whole BAN NPR WAH WAH thing last year or so, the data eventually proved that NPR is one of the most balanced news sources out there.
 
fade

fade

Staff member
Was it Jon Stewart who called This American Life stories for rich white people? Sounds about right.
 
fade

fade

Staff member
All the friggin' time. My wife loves it. It does very much have a looking-down-the-nose-attitude. I can't quite describe it, but obviously I'm not the only one who gets that vibe.
 
ElJuski

ElJuski

Staff member
Okay, good. But this rich white people stuff...I don't see it. If anything, they have such a way of taking what they're talking about and making it such a person to person thing. I mean, TAL is like, hipster cocaine, sure, but I don't think that comes off in the show.

I'm glad you actually listen besides that fact, though. I wish Ira Glass could read me bedtime stories. He makes me sleep sooo good.
 
strawman

strawman

I get real tired of tal real quick. I enjoy listening to the show for the stories, but I think it's the way they present them. It seems like they are adding or creating emotional weight that doesn't exist in the story naturally. They force you to suspend your emotional disbelief in order to feel the story as much as they are trying to make you feel it.

I dunno. I enjoy them, but only in small doses. I wouldn't be able to listen to several episodes in a row, and half the time I feel like smacking the "journalist" that is speaking at the moment. "just talk normal, alright? This isn't theater!". WAP!
 
ElJuski

ElJuski

Staff member
I mean, they do informative pieces, but in the end, they try to make it engaging radio. If you want more dry news, there's plenty of it elsewhere on NPR and countless other radio shows.
 
fade

fade

Staff member
stienman said:
I get real tired of tal real quick. I enjoy listening to the show for the stories, but I think it's the way they present them. It seems like they are adding or creating emotional weight that doesn't exist in the story naturally. They force you to suspend your emotional disbelief in order to feel the story as much as they are trying to make you feel it.

I dunno. I enjoy them, but only in small doses. I wouldn't be able to listen to several episodes in a row, and half the time I feel like smacking the "journalist" that is speaking at the moment. "just talk normal, alright? This isn't theater!". WAP!
Click to expand...
Yeah, this is what bugs me about it too. That and it always feels like someone telling a story about something they don't quite understand in order to validate their ulterior theme.
 
Tress

Tress

GasBandit said:
Why does everybody confuse "ban" with "cease subsidizing with tax money?"
Click to expand...
In many cases (and this is true for NPR) losing government funding would lead to shutting down. It's a way to ban something without explicitly saying so. Funding for Planned Parenthood is another perfect example. But you already know this, and other conservatives already know this, and your attempt to feign ignorance is just part of the games you try to play.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
Tress said:
In many cases (and this is true for NPR) losing government funding would lead to shutting down. It's a way to ban something without explicitly saying so. Funding for Planned Parenthood is another perfect example. But you already know this, and other conservatives already know this, and your attempt to feign ignorance is just part of the games you try to play.
Click to expand...
So what you are saying is the content that people say is SO wonderful on NPR... there's absolutely no other way for them to pay the bills. Do they not draw listeners, generating ratings, which could possibly generate revenue through... oh, I don't know... ADVERTISING? And don't give me the "no advertising on NPR" bollocks, every single NPR show always ends with "made possible by a generous grant from the owlfellaters association" or some such.
 
Tress

Tress

So, the guy who complains about humanity in general thinks that NPR should be reduced to worrying about what appeases the masses (which is the only way to get advertising money)? The idea behind public broadcasting is that government subsidies mean the outlets don't have to cater to the lowest common denominator. They can focus on trying to put out quality programming free of advertising pressure. If you change that, PBS and NPR would eventually look exactly like CNN or TLC or any other craptastic media outlet.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Tress said:
So, the guy who complains about humanity in general thinks that NPR should be reduced to worrying about what appeases the masses (which is the only way to get advertising money)? The idea behind public broadcasting is that government subsidies mean the outlets don't have to cater to the lowest common denominator. They can focus on trying to put out quality programming free of advertising pressure. If you change that, PBS and NPR would eventually look exactly like CNN or TLC or any other craptastic media outlet.
Click to expand...
Basically this. NPR can only be what it is because it doesn't need to cater to a certain demographic. Force them to compete for advertising dollars and not only are you driving away the audience the enjoys their advertisement free radio, but your also corrupting the very nature of the station, destroy it's intent.

Also, what does ANY of this have to do with Trayvon Martin's death?
 
Tress

Tress

Someone criticized the way the news networks handled the case, GB mocked the notion of impartiality in media, Juski countered with sarcasm about NPR, and GB went on the attack about NPR's funding. Somewhere in the middle of all that people discussed the merits of TAL.

Such is the derailing powers of Halforums.
 
sixpackshaker

sixpackshaker

GasBandit said:
So what you are saying is the content that people say is SO wonderful on NPR... there's absolutely no other way for them to pay the bills. Do they not draw listeners, generating ratings, which could possibly generate revenue through... oh, I don't know... ADVERTISING? And don't give me the "no advertising on NPR" bollocks, every single NPR show always ends with "made possible by a generous grant from the owlfellaters association" or some such.
Click to expand...
And by taking money from people with axes to grind, the NPR stations will lose their independence. You have admitted as much recently.
 
SpecialKO

SpecialKO

Guys, GB is just pissed that he has to deal with political advertising at his radio station and NPR doesn't.

Understandable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top