Friday, April 17, 2009

Tea and More Tea

I must apologize for my lack of posting this week. I am still struggling with what particular blogging methods and style I shall employ, and am still having especial difficulty trying to figure out what to blog about. All in good time.

Today I present a link to Titanic Deck Chairs for his post regarding analyses of the Tea Party protests that have been happening recently. The limited media coverage I have encountered has been disappointing.

Perhaps the media's attitude can be summarized in this video:



To summarize, a reporter at one of the Tea Parties questions a protester and immediately becomes hostile after the protester mentions Abraham Lincoln's stance on liberty, going so far as to cease interviewing him and argue. She cuts off the interview by stating such was not suitable for "family viewing" and that things should switch back to the anchorwoman (despite nothing offensive taking place). Even stranger, the anchorwoman states that this is a "prime example of what we're following across the country" when it was the reporter whom had made a spectacle of herself.

An excellent analysis of this can be found at The New Clarion.

4 comments:

Burgess Laughlin said...

> " I am still struggling with what particular blogging methods and style I shall employ, and am still having especial difficulty trying to figure out what to blog about. All in good time."

When I am confused or unsure about methods and style in writing -- whether on my weblog or other project -- I review my hierarchy of purposes:
1. What is my purpose in this particular project?
2. How does this particular project support my career, that is, my orderly progression of jobs or projects?
3. How does my career lead to my central purpose in life (or other high purpose)?
4. How does my central purpose in life connect to my ultimate purpose in life?

When considering what to do, in many contexts one's purpose is the key context-setter. Reminding oneself of one's purpose can simplify the process of deciding how to proceed. The how is logically connected to the what, that is, the purpose one is trying to achieve.

I see the situation as analogous to form and function in architecture. The form of a building should follow logically from its function (on a particular client's site and within the client's budget).

The relationship of form and function is described in The Fountainhead, as fiction, and in Louis H. Sullivan's Autobiography of an Idea. Sullivan was a mentor of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Unknown said...

Thank you for your insights Mr. Laughlin. I shall chew on them.

Anonymous said...

Shouldn't journalists be neutral in the sense they should keep their bias to themselves and ask questions and listen, instead of arguing and censoring?

Unknown said...

Yes Leo, but, alas, it seems like a rarity these days. It seems rare these days to read an article on a controversial subject that doesn't include the article author submitting his own analysis.

Arguing and drowning out the interviewee's speech is not the only way their bias takes form. They can also take form in subtle cases such as neglecting to report certain things or giving disproportionate airtime to certain people. I recall ARI President Yaron Brook was once interviewed by a news station that aired him speaking only a single sentence.