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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Iowahawk: Bylines of Brutality |
| 2008-01-18 |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #5 As with most great satire, there is more than a grain of truth in this one. Broadcast journalism in particular is propbably the most competitive and fastest paced profession in the world. There are only a handful of job openings for each new graduating class, and even some of those do not go to journalism school graduates. The stakes in turn are enormously high. Fame and immense fortune can result for the lucky few, and utter failure for a lot more. One cannot help but wonder what kind of driven, obsessive personality is required to reach the very top in such an environment. On top of that, we have the journalism culture itself, the characteristic internal culture of the media-industrial complex as I have called it. As documented by Thomas Frank in his brilliant cultural history, The Consquest of Cool, this internal culture is still solidly based on the counterculture of the 1960s. This brings its own set of attendant problems and distortions. |
| Posted by: Gromomble Oppressor of the Iowans8916 2008-01-18 23:00 |
| #4 I don't think, Sgt. Mom, it's as much of a parody as some of the Iowahawk stuff. At least some of the links went to articles describing the crime committed by the named journalist. Not that jurnos are bad, per se, but that they commit crimes more often than ex-military guys. And gals. It's all about context, something shamefully lacking in the NYT original hit pioece. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2008-01-18 11:55 |
| #3 He left out this guy... Mumia Abu-Jamal began his journalism career with the Black Panther Party. The Panthers were the original "affirmative action" employer, and Mumia (then Wesley Cook) was Minister of Information for the Philadelphia chapter at age 15, writing for the national newspaper. A heady beginning for a West Philly kid. After the Panthers fell apart (helped by a stiff dose of FBI harassment) Mumia turned to broadcasting. He had the voice, the writing talent and the ambition, and by age 25, he was one of the top names in local radio, interviewing such luminaries as Jesse Jackson and the Pointer Sisters and winning a Peabody Award for his coverage of the Pope's visit. He was president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, called "one to watch" by Philadelphia magazine. But then, of course, he killed a cop... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-01-18 09:17 |
| #2 Oh, that parody is gonna leave such a mark! |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2008-01-18 07:46 |
| #1 I didn't count, but it's possible he named (and linked)122 journalist crimes - which'd be one more than the 121 vets in The New York Times slander. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2008-01-18 06:58 |