Round-the-Clock Regurgitation
Some of you may wonder why I've been so silent
about the war in Iraq since it started a week ago,
considering how much I
had to say about it before it began. While I have
been following events as much as everyone else, I
find myself reluctant to comment, since the news
media have said so much (and yet so little)
themselves. I am loathe to add my voice to the
throng that has milked every story and
sensationalized every occurrence to the point that
the slightest wounding seems like a massacre.
Before this all started, I considered myself a
certified news junkie. Now, I turn on the TV (or
log on to the news sites) just long enough to get a
quick update.
I watched the last Gulf War from a different
perspective—specifically, from the Combat
Information Center of an aircraft carrier—so I
don't know if this 24/7 regurgitation of news is
the new standard for war coverage. The reporting of
9/11 would lead me to believe so. I don't call
these cable TV news anchors journalists; they more
closely resemble mother birds feeding their young,
vomiting up the same half-digested gristle over and
over again.
The American people need to accept less
information. Events in wartime (with some
exceptions, of course) do not happen on an
instantaneous, round-the-clock basis. We don't need
continuous coverage; in fact, we need just the
opposite. Constant reporting of the same events
from every conceivable angle ends up blowing them
out of proportion. When I participated directly in
war, with a Secret security clearance and a
need-to-know, I still passed much of the time
uninformed. Events unfold as they unfold;
information should come out as facts are verified.
Speculation breeds rumors and confusion. Amongst
sailors on a ship during wartime—the
"uniformed uninformed," one might call
them—such speculation is to be expected. From
an official news source, with ostensible
journalistic integrity, it should be frowned upon.
Instead, it is espoused, encouraged, embraced.
This may be a biased rant against a ratings-hungry
media, but I'd be surprised if many people
didn't share my position. Puffed-out suits like
Aaron Brown and Shepard Smith are no more qualified
to report on the war than my neighbor Bob. Until we
win the war, I'll be going back to the good ol'
newspaper to get my news. Since it only comes out
once a day, it doesn't have to exaggerate (or even
create) the news in order to fill time or win
ratings. It only reports the news—which, after
all, is what reporters are supposed to do.
Development note: I've
noticed that this site doesn't look like it should
in Netscape Navigator. Rather than waste time
jury-rigging it to look right in a
soon-to-be-obsolete browser, I'll just add the
cliché "This site best viewed with Internet
Explorer."
©2003 Michael
Strickland ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
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What is "The Daily Strick"?
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you, dear reader, are the beneficiary of
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Today's
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Previously...
3/25:
Piece
of the Puzzle
3/24:
Echoes
in Eternity
3/23:
Booing
for Columbine
3/22:
Not
Recommending Diving
3/21:
Works
in Progress
3/20:
Three
Rings of Shock & Awe
3/19:
Paris—A
Beautiful Blur
3/18:
Ignorant
Idiot Man
3/17:
The
Pirate Queen
3/16:
To
War or Not to War
3/15:
So
Long, Seau
3/14:
Telemarketing
Pays
3/13:
Free,
For Now
3/12:
Chicken
Little Gets Respect
3/11:
Axis
of Evil
3/10:
Writing
Kept Me From Writing
3/9:
King
Arthur
3/8:
The
Women are Smarter
3/7:
Salt
on Old Wounds
3/6:
3/3/03,
3:33 p.m.
3/5:
Beer
Day
3/4:
Pulling
the Trigger
3/3:
Make
'Em Laugh
3/2:
Whither
Iraq?
3/1:
Strickland
Cellars
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