Here's something you might be interested in.
Spring is sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the birdies is.
My mother used to say that & I have always liked it! I do not have a clue as to its origin. But, it is now officially spring and the start of the season portends the NCAA men's basketball tournament. I suppose the biggest upset was Western Kentucky over Illinois. Several top seeded teams came very close to losing. UCLA players were holding their collective breaths as they beat VCU by only one point. I had picked VCU as my first round upset.
I love the ESPN online pool. Currently I am ranked at 2,314,106!!!!!!!!!! In others, I am doing much better, mainly because there are fewer entries!
Did you see President Obama on the Jay Leno show last night? I thought he was personable and he answered a lot of questions. Already, the press, looking for something to report, is villifying his remark about bowling "like in the Special Olympics". He is apparently not much of a bowler but, has been practicing at the White House lanes.
Why has the media morphed into pirhanas, looking for something to criticize? If the President sneezes, it becomes a headline like: 'President Obama may have started an epidemic when he released germs into the air at his press conference'. Reality takes a back seat to sensationalism.
Speaking of media, how about the mess at the homecoming of the Octomom and her babies? Reporters were actually crawling on the car (like snakes). My goodness, it was quite disgusting. Even the "real" reporters are guilty of hype over facts. This is even more so when there is a story and the combatant reporters want to be the first 'on air' with it. The next day they can issue a retraction, but first is often more important than right. I remember the Oklahoma bombing when Dan Rather was somber in his report that it was the work of Islamic terrorists. Here is a tip for all the reporting leeches, "get it right, not first". If you can do both, then your boss will be very happy. But, right is much more important.
Some of the investigative reports are interesting & serve the public good. Others are just plain fluff or downright wrong. Often, it appears that the 'investigation' is started because of an instinct or a personal agenda, where the 'facts' are skewed by perspective of the journalist.
I find myself thinking that the media is a necessary evil. Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein did a masterful job of investigation in the Watergate scandal, which resulted in Nixon's (I am not a crook) resignation.
Recently, the Octomom received more press stories with opinions about the doctors, Octomom's parents and then the absolute ridiculousness of the circus in trying to bring the babies home. Have you ever seen a rporter stick a microphone in the face of someone who, literally, had just witnessed someone die? "How do you feel?" Or at the scene of a car accident, plane crash, any type of tragedy, the reporters often ask the most inane questions of the people who should be granted some time (more than a minute) to grieve.
I have a major pet peeve about the "public's right to know". Many reporters seem to believe that I need to know about someone's sex life, or the identity of a rape victim, or, whatever is in the news. I don't need to know. But, many 'reporters' use that to justify their aggressiveness. If a reporter sticks the ever present microphone in the face of someone, I believe the person has the right to push it away. Public figures have lost any right to privacy, and that is a sad commentary on todays' journalistic community. The few bad apples do spoil the whole bunch as reporters are lumped together in the criticisms of journalism. I would venture to guess that most reporters (not on air personalities who never leave the station) are "fair & balanced".
So long
Spring is sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the birdies is.
My mother used to say that & I have always liked it! I do not have a clue as to its origin. But, it is now officially spring and the start of the season portends the NCAA men's basketball tournament. I suppose the biggest upset was Western Kentucky over Illinois. Several top seeded teams came very close to losing. UCLA players were holding their collective breaths as they beat VCU by only one point. I had picked VCU as my first round upset.
I love the ESPN online pool. Currently I am ranked at 2,314,106!!!!!!!!!! In others, I am doing much better, mainly because there are fewer entries!
Did you see President Obama on the Jay Leno show last night? I thought he was personable and he answered a lot of questions. Already, the press, looking for something to report, is villifying his remark about bowling "like in the Special Olympics". He is apparently not much of a bowler but, has been practicing at the White House lanes.
Why has the media morphed into pirhanas, looking for something to criticize? If the President sneezes, it becomes a headline like: 'President Obama may have started an epidemic when he released germs into the air at his press conference'. Reality takes a back seat to sensationalism.
Speaking of media, how about the mess at the homecoming of the Octomom and her babies? Reporters were actually crawling on the car (like snakes). My goodness, it was quite disgusting. Even the "real" reporters are guilty of hype over facts. This is even more so when there is a story and the combatant reporters want to be the first 'on air' with it. The next day they can issue a retraction, but first is often more important than right. I remember the Oklahoma bombing when Dan Rather was somber in his report that it was the work of Islamic terrorists. Here is a tip for all the reporting leeches, "get it right, not first". If you can do both, then your boss will be very happy. But, right is much more important.
Some of the investigative reports are interesting & serve the public good. Others are just plain fluff or downright wrong. Often, it appears that the 'investigation' is started because of an instinct or a personal agenda, where the 'facts' are skewed by perspective of the journalist.
I find myself thinking that the media is a necessary evil. Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein did a masterful job of investigation in the Watergate scandal, which resulted in Nixon's (I am not a crook) resignation.
Recently, the Octomom received more press stories with opinions about the doctors, Octomom's parents and then the absolute ridiculousness of the circus in trying to bring the babies home. Have you ever seen a rporter stick a microphone in the face of someone who, literally, had just witnessed someone die? "How do you feel?" Or at the scene of a car accident, plane crash, any type of tragedy, the reporters often ask the most inane questions of the people who should be granted some time (more than a minute) to grieve.
I have a major pet peeve about the "public's right to know". Many reporters seem to believe that I need to know about someone's sex life, or the identity of a rape victim, or, whatever is in the news. I don't need to know. But, many 'reporters' use that to justify their aggressiveness. If a reporter sticks the ever present microphone in the face of someone, I believe the person has the right to push it away. Public figures have lost any right to privacy, and that is a sad commentary on todays' journalistic community. The few bad apples do spoil the whole bunch as reporters are lumped together in the criticisms of journalism. I would venture to guess that most reporters (not on air personalities who never leave the station) are "fair & balanced".
So long