WHERE HAVE ALL THE JOURNALISTS GONE?
By Meri, Boycott Blogger
I grew up in an era where Journalism counted for something. Where the point of becoming a Journalist was to report the events of the day in a way that did not include the personal opinion of the reporter. Where the events spoke for themselves and the reader (or viewer, with the onset of the television medium), was informed without prejudice of what had taken place.
Ratings and future advertising dollars did not factor in to what the Journalist covered and I could decide for myself what I had seen and/or heard. I was not swayed by a semi-scripted set of questions and where the Journalist was not considered a celebrity or "newsmaker" themselves.
Before on the onset of "gonzo journalism" (a phrase coined by the late Hunter Thompson), the reporter wasn't THE story, but only the reporter of fact.
I saw a perfect example of the "new" journalism this morning on GMA when the van der Sloot family made an appearance. They were not asked any of the questions that many of us want the answers to. They were not asked one tough question and appeared to be making a statement more than participating in a real journalistic interview. The host simpered over them with caution and I had the sense that every single word spoken was vetted by some attorney.
Hearing Paulus and Anita state how this case has changed their once perfect son was so ridiculous that the host of GMA should have cringed at the hit her reputation would take as a result of this farce.
Were we supposed to feel pity and sorrow for a family who's son was the last known person seen with a girl who has been missing for months? Were we supposed to feel sorry for that family while their son roams free and goes about his business after lying to police and acting like a smug brat?
Were we supposed to believe Paulus when he said that he had never coached his son when there were witnesses to contradict that statement; witnesses besides the parents of the girl who went missing and was last seen with their now changed son?
How could Paulus explain the lies told by his son throughout this investigation when that question was never asked of him.
In this cult of celebrity that we the people have created and which includes so-called Journalists like Diane Sawyer, how were we ever supposed to get to the truth?
Let's erase the word Journalist from our current vocabulary and call it like it is....celebrity interviewing for the purpose of getting advertising revenues and for boosting the stock of large corporations who own these so-called news shows.
I don't watch shows like GMA and The Today Show because they are mere pieces of fluff and filler to get the day started for those of us who are on our way to our jobs or taking care of our children. They serve no purpose aside from getting us from the point of reluctantly getting out of bed to the point of moving the day forward to more mundane chores.
Pretending to contain serious content and information that will inform us is their M.O. I am not so easily fooled and I'd rather watch the Weather Channel then spend one single moment listening to the prattle of a host's pseudo-serious voice when supposedly presenting something that is meant to inform.
The segue from a so-called informative interview with the family of a suspect in a possible crime to pitching vitamins is not my idea of real Journalism and it insults the intelligence of every single person watching this pap.
Where have all the Journalist's gone.......certainly not to a show called GMA. Those are entertainers, not journalists, no matter how they want us to view them.
I grew up in an era where Journalism counted for something. Where the point of becoming a Journalist was to report the events of the day in a way that did not include the personal opinion of the reporter. Where the events spoke for themselves and the reader (or viewer, with the onset of the television medium), was informed without prejudice of what had taken place.
Ratings and future advertising dollars did not factor in to what the Journalist covered and I could decide for myself what I had seen and/or heard. I was not swayed by a semi-scripted set of questions and where the Journalist was not considered a celebrity or "newsmaker" themselves.
Before on the onset of "gonzo journalism" (a phrase coined by the late Hunter Thompson), the reporter wasn't THE story, but only the reporter of fact.
I saw a perfect example of the "new" journalism this morning on GMA when the van der Sloot family made an appearance. They were not asked any of the questions that many of us want the answers to. They were not asked one tough question and appeared to be making a statement more than participating in a real journalistic interview. The host simpered over them with caution and I had the sense that every single word spoken was vetted by some attorney.
Where are the Edward R. Murrows and the Walter Cronkites of many years ago? Where was the story itself?
Hearing Paulus and Anita state how this case has changed their once perfect son was so ridiculous that the host of GMA should have cringed at the hit her reputation would take as a result of this farce.
Were we supposed to feel pity and sorrow for a family who's son was the last known person seen with a girl who has been missing for months? Were we supposed to feel sorry for that family while their son roams free and goes about his business after lying to police and acting like a smug brat?
Were we supposed to believe Paulus when he said that he had never coached his son when there were witnesses to contradict that statement; witnesses besides the parents of the girl who went missing and was last seen with their now changed son?
How could Paulus explain the lies told by his son throughout this investigation when that question was never asked of him.
In this cult of celebrity that we the people have created and which includes so-called Journalists like Diane Sawyer, how were we ever supposed to get to the truth?
Let's erase the word Journalist from our current vocabulary and call it like it is....celebrity interviewing for the purpose of getting advertising revenues and for boosting the stock of large corporations who own these so-called news shows.
I don't watch shows like GMA and The Today Show because they are mere pieces of fluff and filler to get the day started for those of us who are on our way to our jobs or taking care of our children. They serve no purpose aside from getting us from the point of reluctantly getting out of bed to the point of moving the day forward to more mundane chores.
Pretending to contain serious content and information that will inform us is their M.O. I am not so easily fooled and I'd rather watch the Weather Channel then spend one single moment listening to the prattle of a host's pseudo-serious voice when supposedly presenting something that is meant to inform.
The segue from a so-called informative interview with the family of a suspect in a possible crime to pitching vitamins is not my idea of real Journalism and it insults the intelligence of every single person watching this pap.
Where have all the Journalist's gone.......certainly not to a show called GMA. Those are entertainers, not journalists, no matter how they want us to view them.
The curtain has been pulled back and the Wizard exposed in all of his fakeness.
4 comments:
This was NOT an INTERVIEW this was a PR op for the VDS-TOURISM TEAM.
The closest they even got to truth was when he was asked about the NO BODY statement and then HE WAS ALLOWED TO JUST BLOW IT OFF. No follow-up...
Then the commentator in the studio made the analogy that this is just a DUEL. Lady... this is NOT a mere disagreement between two families. An AMERICAN girl is missing and believed MURDERED.
There were so MANY points that SHOULD HAVE BEEN brought up... but weren't... WHY?
Aside from trying to put a personal we poor victims Aruba face on this the other motivation by the VDS PR TEAM was to make that one UNCHALLENGED statement that Natalee "went voluntarily" with the BOYS. You see... that takes their little baby one step further away from PRE-MEDITATED and in Aruba... if it wasn't pre-meditated IT WASN'T MURDER. They do not have a MANSLAUGHTER or some such charge. So... the goal there was to get that out there UNCHALLENGED (thanks to ABC) so even with worst case scenario there wouldn't be any REAL prison time involved.
Good Morning America SO dropped the ball. They never pressed, never pushed and never brought up the letter with ONLY Paulus' DNA, the Racquet Club lie (of the DAY AFTER, the fact that Paulus was referring to Natalee as a BODY by the day after her disappearance, the refusal to allow their house, well, property to be searched... gee thanks ABC... way to be AMERICANS.
There is no evidence of a crime! That means: no murder or manslaughter!
And I can think of a few question I'd like to ask Beth....Greta has been doing a VERY POOR job over the last few months. All she is doing, is give Beth a place to vent her hate and anger. She NEVER gets asked any "hard" questions!
Anonymous said, "There is no evidence of a crime! That means: no murder or manslaughter!
And I can think of a few question I'd like to ask Beth....Greta has been doing a VERY POOR job over the last few months. All she is doing, is give Beth a place to vent her hate and anger. She NEVER gets asked any "hard" questions!"
Let me be blunt: you are an idiot, meaning you are completely devoid of common sense.
Natalee is gone. There is more than adequate circumstantial evidence to prove a crime has been committed against her. There are three thousand sheriffs across the United States who know this. Why are you so clueless? Never mind. I don't want to know.
You can talk yourself silly (actually, you already have) about Beth this and Beth that, but she is not the focus, and nothing you morons say or do is ever going to change that. You're making as big an ass out of yourself by trying to divert the subject to Beth as OJ did with his "search for the real killer." Hard questions for Beth? Such as? How hard is it to know your daughter was drugged, raped and murdered by a bunch of punks? How hard is it to deal with trying to get your baby back from an island of dirty, corrupt officials? News flash: THERE IS NO QUESTION TO ASK HER THAT COMES CLOSE TO WHAT SHE HAS BEEN THROUGH AND WILL FACE EVERYDAY FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE. News flash #2: Beth did not do away with her daughter. She was a thousand miles away at the time, so there are no "hard" questions to ask her in relation to the case. You're just more of the static behind the failed attempts to divert the focus from a pack of murdering pukes and their support system.
For the record, I and millions of others admire and respect Beth greatly, and people like you are not worth spitting on.
Glock,
Here is where you need to show your work. Where is the PROOF that Natalee was drugged and raped? And the answer cannot be that Beth had read it, or had someone read it to her.
So the hard questions are those that ask for proof, or to back up her statements. Do you know how many times she has changed HER story! She acutally sat there and said she did not know what took the ALE so long to go to Mountain Brook and interview the students. This after she said for months that there was no reason to do it since their statements were already taken. She needs to explain why she says the things she says. There is no proof of drugging. Even Deepak said so during the false editted Skeeter tapes. So yes, there is room for help here.
And as far as a grieving mother - she moved past that a long time ago. She is now a mother who does not want to be wrong. It's become a game to her.
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