Jefferson Review
"Your Liberty is Our Interest"
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Jefferson Review |
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"Your Liberty is Our Interest" |
February 23, 2004 | |
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Reason's Weekly Dispatch February 18, 2004
1. Nookie Monster 1. Nookie Monster Average news consumers can be forgiven if they do not quite understand all the rules governing the coverage of John Kerry's rumored, possible, supposed flings. The old rules have broken down, and no amount of hand wringing can bring them back. What reporters and editors can do, however, is level with their customers. The truth is that the kind of rumors swirling around Kerry would not have been reported 10 or 15 years ago. Instead, they would have been faxed around the Beltway, been the subject of newsroom gossip, and lurked just off-stage in every campaign story or interview. That world is obviously gone, the crinkled "hot fax" story replaced by Matt Drudge and millions of eyeballs a day. But still lurking is the unofficial double standard for reporting on questions of marital fidelity. Consciously or not, much of the media lump liberal politicians in the pro-adultery camp. Conservatives get the anti-adultery tag. What this means is that conservatives are automatically viewed as having a more newsworthy private life. It has to square with their pronouncements on "family values," or they will be judged as morally inconsistent, and this inconsistency is an issue that must be brought to the attention of voters. This is part of the de facto bargain the media has struck with politicians, particularly in election years: We will be your conduit to project whatever image you choose, but you only get one image. Try to complicate it -- or double-cross us -- and the deal is off. Kerry, as a wink-wink pro-adultery liberal, did not trigger the media's higher-level of scrutiny during his career or campaign. Fair enough, if everyone knows the score. But considering all the angst over the reporting of the Kerry non-affair, the outcome seems to working pretty well even without the old gatekeepers in the loop. Kerry's denials of an affair, and those of the supposed Other Woman, have garnered at least as much attention as the original rumor. That would seem to function as a meta-correction of sorts, conveying to voters the allegations that were once the whispers of insiders. http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/165215p-144675c.html 2. Beeb in the Woods Tony Blair's government has experienced, painfully, just what a drag it can be to have a less-than arms-length relationship with the news media. No wonder that there is now a trial balloon afloat to restructure the BBC into as many as four smaller units, and to create more "oversight" for the organization. But that does not solve the fundamental problem of state financing, which will always tie the BBC to the government in uncomfortable ways. No matter how many rings of "independent" boards supposedly separate the Beeb from those in power, there will always be a fractious conflict their respective and diverging goals. So it is that a BBC report about Blair's Iraqi intelligence leads to suicide, scandal, and a full-blown government inquiry into basic editorial decisions. The BBC exists in a netherworld between a fully independent news gathering organization and a propaganda organ. That Blair would take a stab at pulling the BBC even closer to the government is not a surprise. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1537&ncid=1537&e=3&u= /afp/20040215/wl_uk_afp/britain_politics_media_040215090138 3. The Passion for Passion America's bizarre love-hate-love affair with sex and violence gets a new twist next week with Mel Gibson's film about Jesus Christ, The Passion. Despite featuring such fare as a reported 45-minute beating scene, and graphic scenes of Jesus' torment and torture, church groups are literally lining up to show the film to kids as young as 10. Is this even the same country as the one convulsed by Janet Jackson's bare breast? The answer is yes, but there seem to be a few big differences between one case and the other. One is the element of choice. Much of the offense over the Super Bowl peep show centered around the unexpected, unwelcome nature of the nasty bits. Going out and buying a ticket -- or renting an entire movie theater -- to view an adult-rated film is much more pro-active. However, there will doubtless be some viewers shocked by the violence they will see. Watch for stories complaining about it. Second, there is the relative familiarity of the source material. Many complaints about pop culture content revolve around how utterly alien it is to social conservatives. The stuff literally seems to come from another planet. Not so the story of Jesus. There is a comfort level built into the material. These differences still don't explain everything, especially the certainty that vivid scenes of crucifixion will have a positive effect on young minds. Why are parents and church leaders so certain that their young charges will come away with the right message? How do they know that the kids will not want to emulate the brutal Romans? Of course, they don't know. Wisely or not, parents and others simply trust their kids to make the right choices while believing that their own framing and discussion of such material will carry the day. Therein lies a little secret. Parents and community leaders who believe that they have the power to use a violent, R-rated movie as a didactic tool probably also have the power to overcome the odd boobie flashed on TV. They just need to have a little more faith in themselves. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-02-16-passion-rating-kids_x.htm 4. Quick Hits Quote of the Week "If he were a white American, say a chaplain of some other denomination, I don't think this would have happened." - - John Fugh, a retired judge advocate general, on the case of Capt. James Yee, a Muslim Army chaplain, accused of spying by the Pentagon. http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040216_87.html
Another Cost of Public Education At least 30 people suffered ultraviolet radiation burns from a defective gymnasium lamp during a girls' basketball game at Pennsylvania's Dunmore High School. A broken UV shield was not replaced until people complained of sunburned-like skin and corneal damage. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10968810&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id Ritter Repeat Mariane Pearl blasts The Wall Street Journal for its response to the murder of her husband, Daniel, in Pakistan in 2002. She warns that only sustained pressure on the Pakistani legal system will result in convictions for the suspects in the case. http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=492014 5. New at Reason Online Teenage Wasteland 6. The Print Edition Get your personal copy of the latest issue of Reason's print edition each month -- before it hits the newsstands and before it's posted on the Web! Subscribe Today! 7. News and Events Buy Reason T-shirts and coffee mugs! Click here for the latest on media appearances by Reason writers. Want even more Reason? Sign up for Reason Alert to get regular news from Reason Magazine and Reason Public Policy Instiute, as well as advance notice about media appearances and events. We encourage you to forward Reason Express. If you received this issue from a forward, please subscribe. It's Free! ---
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