Catch 22
I think it's interesting that we get information from media, but we inform media--or do we??
I was out in Washington DC a few years ago, and I was listening to a woman speak at the Watergate Hotel about her experience as a journalist in a 'hot' city like DC. She told stories about meeting people in 'dark alleys' and driving by a certain corner at a predetermined time to get information dropped through an open car window. This was how she got 'dirt' on the world and learned about the underside of Washington. She was willing to ask the hard questions and get the interesting answers.
It seems today that we do not have the motivation to ask the tough questions. "Investigative Reporting" is a joke in most cases that is motivated by bordem and the need to poke fingers in other peoples pudding. I'm not sure when we went from being active and involved in INFORMING the media about what we want and when the media started informing us what we want. Not a healthy relationship...
About class stuff this week...
1. The first video about politics was interesting but felt old. I watched it when it was 'hot' back in 2004. The idea that we can all get involved is a good one and nice that it seemed neutral.
2. The second video was kind of boring. I'm sure that kind of thing happens from time to time, but does it happen in such a BOLD way? I'm not sure. Plus, is that really the best way to go about resolving that issue??? I'm not sure. They'd never actually air her rant--good as it may be.
3. The "history" video is really interesting to me. We did take big steps backward when education started using video AS education rather than a SUPPLEMENT to education. Lots of people got the idea that education had turned into a 'filmstrip' fest where any idiot could show up and play a movie. Media got a bad rap, but now that we have higher quality and standards in media and it's use, it might be time to re-examine that idea and stop seeing it as a supplement.
I'm not sure that just because we HAVE free speech doesn't mean everyone is qualified to use it... :)