Article

2006-05-30 Home Front: Culture Wars

Bad News: J-school graduates, commence worrying

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Brett 2006-05-30 11:40|| || Front Page|| [11130 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Here's the Washington Post columnist who ought to have given the speech.

Posted by Seafarious">Seafarious 2006-05-30 13:03|| 2006-05-30 13:03|| Front Page Top

#2 I've read Dave Barry and this guy is no Dave Barry.

Posted by ed 2006-05-30 13:16|| 2006-05-30 13:16|| Front Page Top

#3 Amazing. On second thought, this is probably not an uncommon rant among the old hands of "journalism", but delivered as a graduation speech? What did these kids do to deserve this massive dose of self-pity and deranged bullshit? Just as Seafarious is shocked and saddened by the fall, so must be the fool who invited this cretin to speak. Or so I hope.

This is what you'd expect to hear mumbled or screamed into the seat cushions in the back booth at the seediest bar in town - The Losers Club.

Sometimes the trip from sanity to insanity can be very short. Especially if you haven't the perspective and honesty to recognize you're completely full of shit and most of what ails you and embitters you is self-inflicted.

Posted by Uneamble Jating3646 2006-05-30 13:30|| 2006-05-30 13:30|| Front Page Top

#4 We columnists should know better, inasmuch as we are the only people in America intelligent and principled enough to tell people what to think and how to behave.

If Dave Barry said this, it would be funny. I suspect this guy means it.

Unfortunately, given the recent spate of heart-wrenching stories about non-existant people, misrepresentation and misinterpretation of facts and the inability of journalists to separate news from editorials, we doubt both your intelligence and your principles.

Posted by SteveS 2006-05-30 13:53|| 2006-05-30 13:53|| Front Page Top

#5 Bloody, self-indulgent nonsense all through. Nice fisk, Seafarious. As for his concerns about the employability of the graduates looking up at him, so wide-eyed and enthusiastic, as far back as the 1980s the only way a space opened up was when a sitting journalist died. It was easier to find a job as a chemical engineer during the oil bust.

Posted by trailing wife 2006-05-30 14:08|| 2006-05-30 14:08|| Front Page Top

#6 We columnists should know better, inasmuch as we are the only people in America intelligent and principled enough to tell people what to think and how to behave.

Intelligent? I don't know in America but here in France you become journalist when you aren't good enough at maths and physics for an engineering carreer and not good enough at litterature to either become a writer or a teacher.

And for principled, let's just recall the name of Dan Rather

Posted by JFM">JFM 2006-05-30 14:39|| 2006-05-30 14:39|| Front Page Top

#7 I submit this as proof that the MSM is dead and starting to rot. I hope that we don't have to witness each and every implosion personally.

Posted by wxjames 2006-05-30 14:51|| 2006-05-30 14:51|| Front Page Top

#8 We need more Jews in the media ..."

His name's Weingarten - this might be a little joke on himself.

This would have been a big improvement over the snoozefest I got from Chuck Robb at my graduation. It's a series of jokes, people! Although you're right, he's nowhere near as good as his protege Dave Barry.

Posted by Spesh Angereque2682 2006-05-30 14:54|| 2006-05-30 14:54|| Front Page Top

#9 If this guy was the best they could get to deliver the commencement address, I got a feeling U-MD's J-school isn't nearly prestigious as it used to be.
And not only that, he uses it as the basis of a "mail it in" column...

Posted by tu3031 2006-05-30 15:00|| 2006-05-30 15:00|| Front Page Top

#10 Uh oh..... I rather liked it. I read the whole thinger as a piece of self-mockery. Still...

the Herald was a newspaper the thickness of the Singapore telephone directory.
I used to hike 1/4 mile each Sunday to buy it. :<

Posted by 6 2006-05-30 16:37|| 2006-05-30 16:37|| Front Page Top

#11 A long time ago, you could go to school and learn. And when you graduated, you had learned. And commencement was not a political rally but rather just a "Get them on their feet with a good attitude" speech.

This entire education system is so shameful now. I do not know if it is surviveable at this point. Maybe the loss and bankruptcy of this mess is needed. Or not.

Either way, something is Very, Very wrong.

Posted by closedanger">closedanger 2006-05-30 20:55|| 2006-05-30 20:55|| Front Page Top

#12 Wow. My impression of U MD just went way down.

Posted by Unavitch Unaviper3310 2006-05-30 21:41|| 2006-05-30 21:41|| Front Page Top

#13 And not only that closedanger - WE (at last taxpayers and parents of the students) ARE PAYING FOR IT!

Posted by CrazyFool 2006-05-30 21:42|| 2006-05-30 21:42|| Front Page Top

#14 Can we declare journalism as a 'job that Americans won't do'?

Posted by DMFD 2006-05-30 21:57|| 2006-05-30 21:57|| Front Page Top

#15 wow - was he drunk? medicated?

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2006-05-30 22:10|| 2006-05-30 22:10|| Front Page Top

#16 I'm contemplating another masters degree... possibly in Irish American Cultural Studies. Headed to the frig just now to begin with a ice cold Guinness.

Posted by Besoeker 2006-05-30 22:14|| 2006-05-30 22:14|| Front Page Top

#17 Actually he wrote a pretty good book a few years ago about his battle with Hepatitis C.

His commencement speech was fairly status quo and true to his 'style'. The point of my rant is that it was inappropriate for a commencement address.

The 'jews' thing still bothers me, it's another one of those *wink wink* Jews secretly run the planet conspiracy statements, and ought not to be foisted on impressionable students about to grapple with paying their school loans. It's more subtle reinforcement of the academia/media party line, and I think it sucks. Note it was the *very first* item on his list.

From the musical South Pacific (yes, written by Jews):

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

Posted by Seafarious">Seafarious 2006-05-30 22:22|| 2006-05-30 22:22|| Front Page Top

#18 the Jews thing was totally inappropriate. What if he'd substituted *blacks*? still hip, still funny? mmmmmmmmm no

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2006-05-30 23:06|| 2006-05-30 23:06|| Front Page Top

08:37 Anon1
00:11 JosephMendiola
00:02 C-Low
23:49 JosephMendiola
23:23 DarthVader
23:21 DarthVader
23:20 RD
23:06 Frank G
23:04 Frank G
22:54 Frank G
22:46 RD
22:35 Frank G
22:31 Rafael
22:30 Frank G
22:28 Frank G
22:23 Frank G
22:22 Seafarious
22:15 3dc
22:14 Besoeker
22:14 DMFD
22:14 Frank G
22:12 Frank G
22:10 Frank G
22:06 3dc