tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184761548473412299.post7640696731892239453..comments2023-10-28T06:04:14.608-04:00Comments on Rants and Ramblings: A slap in the faceLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06297576158829688888noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184761548473412299.post-58486015367888181642007-10-17T21:15:00.000-04:002007-10-17T21:15:00.000-04:00I see what you're saying, Pat. I guess it's import...I see what you're saying, Pat. I guess it's important to distinguish between needless sensationalistic coverage and a truly newsworthy story. It's one thing to approach someone on the scene of a fatal fire, say, and shove a microphone in their face to see how they're feeling (although, that is part - albeit an unpleasant one - of a reporter's job description, and often gives a human angle to an otherwise routine story). <BR/><BR/>But what I was talking about - what I encounter more often with readers - is family members who say, for instance, "Don't put that my son was driving drunk when he died in the paper. No one needs to know that." In those instances, it's not a reporter's responsibility to sweep information under the rug out of some perceived obligation to a suffering family member.Lizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06297576158829688888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184761548473412299.post-48484426474951653812007-10-17T15:38:00.000-04:002007-10-17T15:38:00.000-04:00"Well, that's not his job - and, harsh as it may s..."Well, that's not his job - and, harsh as it may sound, it's not a reporter's obligation to be sensitive to grieving relatives when pursuing a news story."<BR/><BR/>While I also get a chill when a state official starts discouraging the media from covering anything, I do think that sentiments like this are one of the many reasons why the public consistantly says in polls that they hate and distrust the media more than virtually any other institution. I understand the thinking behind that statement, but it's hard to see the value in staking out victims' houses and shoving a camera in their face when they arrive to ask how they feel, as if there is any more than one answer to the question. And this is not just true of television news. <BR/><BR/>No one will disagree with your statements that it is the goal of journalists to ensure justice and go after power, yada yada. But a lot of this coverage is sensationalist and comes from a "bleed, it leads" mindset. Let's not pretend that what Woodward and Bernstein did is the same as the narrow and superficial reporting too often seen in the stories of personal tragedy.Patrick Boylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06806548044342788714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6184761548473412299.post-65408414684403169732007-10-16T14:41:00.000-04:002007-10-16T14:41:00.000-04:00Motherf****r, please. "Ignore a mass shooting." ...Motherf****r, please. "Ignore a mass shooting." I get so sick of people telling us to keep the negative news off the front page. Well, guess what, knucklehead, the public has a right to know, and you're not serving the memories of the deceased by glossing over something like that. Makes my head ache something fierce...D. Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13106957735849599581noreply@blogger.com