October 6, 2000

12:08 PM

Flutterbywonders what the difference is between those who have faith in media and those who see them as "an unending stream of barely edited press-releases."
posted by Mo Nickels (5 comments total)

The difference is those are two extremes of a pole. Aren't most of us in-between? I work for a newspaper (not the NY Times, I'm happily in the provinces) and know that the reporters and editors are fallible, that the work turned in can be great, or terrible, or in-between, Yes, closer to the raw water is good. Read your local rag, your local alternative rag, your weblogs. No one has a monopoly on the truth or a comprehensive understanding of an event.
posted by jhiggy at 12:45 PM on October 6, 2000

"No one has a monopoly on the truth or a comprehensive understanding of an event".
OK, I can't let bourgeois relativist tripe like that stand. First, I have an absolute monopoly on Truth. If I didn't say it, it's not true. If I did say it, it's a double-plusgood Eternal Truth and it will appear in the next edition of the Little Red Book.

Second, I also have a comprehensive understanding of every event. There is nothing that escapes my maleficent gaze. I am always watching over you, my loyal proletariat children. Rest easy in the knowledge that the Regime will take care of you (one way or another...)
posted by aramaic at 1:09 PM on October 6, 2000

There are precious few folks who have real faith in the media (ie, what they watch and read), and that's probably as it should be. Ask people which publications they trust, and they're likely to pick the ones with great personal or professional relevance and a history of consistent performance. Way too few of those type of publications out there, but people do recognize quality journalism (whatever it means to them) when they see it.
posted by thescoop at 2:01 PM on October 6, 2000

radically off topic, but also via flutterby, via metafilter, via flutterby (I'm dizzy):

this (a guy who plays with Tesla coil arcs) could very well get me to Burning Man next year. The 2nd and 3rd pages contain nighttime shots that are absolutely enrapturing.
posted by cCranium at 2:48 PM on October 6, 2000

There are better pictures (though none of the two-coil stage used at BM2K) at the official site.
posted by jjg at 5:15 PM on October 6, 2000