Newspaper endorsement

Media Literacy Week

newspaper endorsmentWhen I read the Vanity Fair article, Is the Newspaper Endorsement Dying? and similar articles elsewhere, I was sad, but for a slightly different reason than one might think.

“Alden Global Capital—the second-largest newspaper publisher in the country—began adopting a new endorsement policy. ‘[The Boston] Herald stands for the people, not pols,’ read the headline of the Herald’s editorial, which went on to announce that the paper would stop endorsing candidates in presidential, gubernatorial, and Senate races…” Now, there may well be endorsements at the more local level.

“Earlier in the piece, the editorial staff offered some context for the decision. ‘As America’s political divide continues to deepen, the role of traditional news media as impartial providers of a common set of facts is more vital than ever,’ the editorial began, citing the ‘increasingly acrimonious’ nature of public discourse ‘with misinformation and disinformation on the rise.’

“At this particular moment, the [Hartford] Courant added in their editorial, the ‘partisan selection” inherent to endorsing political candidates “is counterproductive to achieving the essential goal of facilitating healthy public debate and building trust in our journalistic enterprise.'”

Other newspapers are cutting back as well. It may be “prudent” not to offend their shrinking customer base. Indeed, “a committee of editors from Gannett newsrooms nationwide [recently]… recommended the company’s papers avoid making endorsements in [statewide] races… ‘Readers don’t want us to tell them what to think’ and ‘perceive us as having a biased agenda,’ the committee said… citing editorials and opinion columns as not only ‘among our least read content,’ but a ‘frequently cited reason for canceled subscriptions.'”

The Wire

A friend of mine pointed out that writer David Simon, way back in 2009, “expresses fears for newspapers’ future and accuses media owners of contempt,” some of them rightly so. Ultimately, he was making a case for online paid subscriptions, which has had mixed success.

More pervasive in the years since is the cult of personality that has become more important than real news. In The Hollywood Reporter, psychotherapist and media theorist MJ Corey views the cultural sway of the Kardashians. ‘There is a sadomasochistic element to the way they put themselves out there.’ The sociologists and philosophers who have foundationally influenced your thinking on media — Jean Baudrillard, Marshall McLuhan, and Daniel Boorstin — spoke a lot about the acceleration of media, spectacle, and the creation of the self.”

Another Hollywood Reporter story, this by Keli Goff, suggests Trevor Noah’s “decision to leave his Comedy Central show — and the continued decline of late night it signals — back to the politician who first eschewed legacy media,” Sarah Palin.

“Palin’s [Katie] Couric interview became fodder for memorable sketches on Saturday Night Live, but the fallout also led to the political divide that defines media consumption today. Palin wrote off the press as condescending, mean-spirited, untrustworthy, and out to get people like her (non-elites who would rather hunt than read.) People who saw themselves in her began to write the press off, and the rise of social media finally made it easier for them to do so.”

Pushing back

Some papers, including the Albany Times Union, want to push back. Editor Casey Seiler noted, “To be clear: The editorial page doesn’t direct news coverage, and it isn’t beholden to opine only on topics the Times Union’s reporters have covered.” Knowing Seiler somewhat, I’m willing to take him at his word.

But many folks do not. They perceive the mainstream media – or “lamestream media,” as Palin called them, as intrinsically unfair. There was a recent poll that was conducted by the New York Times indicating that the Republican generic House candidate had a 4-point edge over the Democrat. This was a straightforward story unless you read right-wing media, which I do. Newsmax indicates that EVEN The New York Times had to ADMIT that Democrats were losing. A very different spin.

Even a decade ago, people would share with me some info nuggets. I’d ask the source; they’d say Facebook or Twitter. “But what SOURCE, not the platform?” Even then, it was a struggle to get my point across. Now, what Kim Kardashian tweets about is treated the same as, and indeed is followed far more closely than, actual news on the legacy media. And THAT makes me sad.

Hope?

Still, I always try to find hopeful signs. The New York Times notes that this week, October 24 to 28, is Media Literacy Week. The article Teenagers and Misinformation: Some Starting Points for Teaching Media Literacy – the link SHOULD be available to you – has lots of useful information. “Five ideas to help students understand the problem, learn basic skills, share their experiences and have a say in how media literacy is taught.”

Number 3 is Learn from teen fact-checkers, specifically “the MediaWise Teen Fact-Checking Network, which publishes fact-checks for teenagers, by teenagers. According to the site, the network’s ‘fact-checks are unique in that they debunk misinformation and teach the audience media literacy skills so they can fact-check on their own.'”

Some of this, I would think, is common sense. Mike Caulfield, “a digital literacy expert… has refined the process fact-checkers use into four simple principles:

1. Stop.

2. Investigate the source.

3. Find better coverage.

4. Trace claims, quotes, and media to the original context.

Otherwise known as SIFT.”

Even adults could make of the methodologies described in the article.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor

more than “flex”

queen-elizabeth-ii
Getty Images

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, RIP.

There are approximately 7.9 billion people on earth. Less than 10 percent are over 70, so more than 7 billion people living today have known only one British monarch. The queen ascended the throne before I was born.

I’m fascinated less by the queen’s passing than by the various reactions.  Mark Evanier has decided, “The Internet Era has created people who were famous for being famous… And in these times, that’s all ‘royalty’ is.” Huh. I understand anti-royalist vitriol or adoration of QEII, but I was not expecting her to be cast as Zelig.

When Elizabeth became the queen, the British Empire contained 70 overseas territories with hundreds of millions of people. But the number of territories shrank by 80% during her lengthy tenure. That she could keep most of them within the Commonwealth is no small feat. President Biden ordered all United States flags to half-staff on September 8, 2022, through her interment circa September 19 in her memory.

Elizabeth would likely never have become queen if not for the abdication by her uncle Edward VIII in 1936. This made her father, George VI, king until his untimely passing in 1952. So it’s a bit of luck that she became the longest-reigning monarch in British history.

The announcement of her death came just two days after the queen was photographed while appointing new Prime Minister Liz Truss at the Scottish estate. Truss is the 15th prime minister the queen had sworn in, with her first being Winston Churchill.

I’m impressed with how quickly information was updated on WikipediaVanity Fair had a nice obituary. Here is some queenly trivia.

The Hollywood Reporter shared 15 Stars Who’ve Played the British Monarch. Incidentally, The Crown paused filming after QE II’s death.

The AmeriNZ take

Arthur is an American-born blogger living in New Zealand for more than a quarter-century. What he wrote on Facebook reflects my thoughts quite well.

“I’m personally saddened by the death of Queen Elizabeth, even though I’m a firm republican (lower case “r”). She devoted her life to public service, and I admire her for that… For most of us, she is, at the very least, a link to a constancy within our own lives: She was always there. Presidents and prime ministers come and go, but the Queen was constant.

“As we get older, we all lose the links, the anchor points, that have kept us, for lack of a better word, moored in our own lives. But everything and everyone ends, and so, too, do those moorings… While I may not be a fan of monarchies, I can nevertheless admire the Queen for a job well done.  London Bridge is down. Farewell.”

Feeling for Charles

The new king, Charles III, will never be as popular as his mother. This is partly tied to his messy divorce from the popular Diana, followed by her tragic death 25 years ago. Nor is he as well-liked as his heir apparent, his and Diana’s son William. Some folks, before Elizabeth’s death, expected that Charles would abdicate in favor of William. This would make little sense, as William’s successor, George, is currently nine years old.

statement of Charles III

I was puzzled when someone I know, in response to the posting of the statement above, posted on Twitter, “It’s hard not to see this as a flex.” First, I had to look up the definition of flex in this context. “To talk in a boastful or aggressive way” or “to make an ostentatious display of something: SHOW OFF.” I do not agree AT ALL.

King Charles III vowed lifelong service in his first address. But it is inevitable that the monarchy as we know it will shrink. The Skimm noted: “The royals remain a symbol and a living embodiment of Britain’s past, which includes centuries of planning and profiting from colonialism and slavery — which they’ve never formally apologized for.

“Meanwhile, the newly proclaimed King Charles III has said he plans to scale back on the pomp and circumstance. This means fewer working royals, reducing the taxpayer money needed to support them. But in the 21st century, it may become more difficult to justify the public footing any bill. Especially as the UK faces its most serious economic threats in a generation… And as scandals (think: Prince Andrew) continue to tarnish the royal family.”

God save the 73- year-old King.

June rambling: Until Proven Otherwise

green sneakers

Back In My Day
From https://wronghands1.com/2022/06/03/back-in-my-day-millennial-edition/

Assume Every Child Has PTSD These Days Until Proven Otherwise

Chaos in John Roberts’s Court

Dobbs Decision Punctures the Supreme Court’s Sacred Mythology

The 1883 Civil Rights Cases, the 14th Amendment, and Jim Crow New York?

Gov. Ron DeSantis begins recruiting for his own Florida army

How Diversity Became a Bad Word at One State’s Public Colleges

How Milton Friedman Fought Segregation through the American Economic Association

I miss our old futurists

New York’s Redistricting Chaos Is Part of Andrew Cuomo’s Legacy

Insinuendo

New York Passes Nation’s First Electronics Right-To-Repair Law cf  malicious compliance

Rocks: John Oliver

It’s Time to Bring Back the AIM Away Message

Measure Twice, Cut Once by Norm Abram

City Lights was the greatest film ever made

Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Oscar Isaac, and the THR Drama Actor  Roundtable

THR Tony Nominees Roundtable: Hugh Jackman, Ruth Negga, Jesse Williams, Mary-Louise Parker, and Sam Rockwell on Broadway in the Time of COVID

Now I Know: The Town That Keeps Tooting Its Own Horn and Here’s Something About Gary and I Guess You Could Say He Was Too Sharp and When North Dakota (Briefly) Tried to Secede From the United States and
How to Turn Donuts into Dough?

Four days in the Finger Lakes

The Crooked Forest: A Mystery Worth Exploring

A backyard train layout

GUNS

America’s guns have changed in my lifetime. “Comparing the United States to other countries is one of the most powerful arguments for gun control. Recurring mass shootings are a problem unique to the US, requiring an equally unique explanation. Other industrialized countries also have… all the other factors NRA-sponsored politicians and pundits raise to divert attention from guns. “

Cruz’s suggestion of one door entrance to schools for safety is problematic. But having one EXIT to a building is a fire hazard. (See any number of factory and nightclub infernos.)

Cruz says, if we limit guns, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome in Uvalde or Buffalo and that we need to do more about mental health. What if we raised the age to 21 to buy these AK-15-type weapons? 18 y.o.’s brains are not developed. The shooters in Uvalde, Buffalo, Newtown, and too many others were under 21. New York State just passed such a law.

If banning them outright seems like too extreme a solution to be politically palatable – and the US even banned at least some assault weapons for ten years, from 1994 to 2004 – here’s another option: Reclassify semi-automatic rifles as Class 3 firearms. Still, The AR-15 Has No Business Being in the Hands of Civilians.

These weapons exist for exactly one reason — to kill multiple people as quickly and violently as possible. 60 Minutes reran a story about high-velocity guns such as the AR-15. Its use in the Uvalde, TX school massacre is why families needed to offer up their DNA and why one girl was identified only by her green sneakers.

Hit the fan

Yet the Congressional talks appear to be unserious, as though mass shootings are just “Something We Have to Accept”

Do we need an Emmett Till moment, or more likely, a variation on it?

What drives mass shooters? Grievance, despair, and anger are more likely triggers than mental health, experts say.

“Mass shooters’ desire for death and destruction, experts have found, stems from a variety of circumstances and is rooted in an entrenched grievance, despair, and anger, regardless of whether they experience symptoms of mental illness.”

School Police: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. NOT the end-all

MUSIC

Kate Bush’s 1985 classic Running Up That Hill has re-entered the chart at No. 8. The revival of the track is from the new fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Returning Waves by Mieczysław Karłowicz.

Subterranean Homesick Blues – Bob Dylan (2022 Remake)

Le boeuf sur le toi by French composer Darius Milhaud.

Oye Como Va ft. Carlos Santana, Cindy Blackman Santana, and Becky G

Beethoven-Liszt Symphony No. 9, Op. 125 (Sheet Music) (Piano Reduction)

The Kids Are Alright – MonaLisa Twins

Coverville 1402: Cover Stories for Oasis, Fine Young Cannibals and Siouxsie and the Banshees and 1403: The Three Dog Night Cover Story II

Jungle Boogie – Muppets

Forty years of Come On Eileen – Dexys Midnight Runners

Themes from the Flintstones TV show with Lego stop motion animation

A Chinese reed instrument called the Sheng 

Pink Glasses – Randy Rainbow

Love theme Splash by Lee Holdridge

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