i saw Dan Rather today!
He was on campus talking about a whole slew of important issues in the media today like irresponsible reporting, news turning/being sacrificed for entertainment, journalistic responsibility, the glut of information (like this blog maybe), lack of good news, etc. Say what you want about him or tv anchors in general (even he constantly pointed out his shortcomings as a reporter/anchor and said that the latter profession was very egocentrically driven), but the man gave a great forty- five minute speech. He started off with what he confessed to be idealistic notions of the power of the press, how this relates to democracy and our role as “voting” consumers to demand good information BUT he substantiated his stuff by talking about the “deference to power” by the media (to government and to conglomerates) and its implication on the social system as a whole. He even put the popularity of Jon Stewart, and other media personalities like Chris Matthews and Keith Olberman in perspective. He also tied in the significance of wikileaks and Assange on the media. The funny stories about him growing up in Texas and being pwned by his wife whenever his head got too big was also a plus.
maybe my expectations were a bit too low. idk. but his points were definitely good reminders of how we should think about the media.
also, i shook his hand. buahahahha
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mrjerbear posted this
