Okay, this is a complete waste of time if only because, by the end of my rant, I hope you’ll have the sense to know that I’ve been bitching about tabloid reporting bumping sports reporting. Having said that, I was drawn to this story from Agence-France Presse: Africa Mourns Ghana World Cup Loss Amid Hilton Drama.
I don’t want to over-sell my interest in the World Cup or soccer, but I do respect the commitment of most athletes at this level to their sport (except, of course, for the French). These guys start playing as kids kicking around whatever ball they can scrounge up, and they practice and train and develop their skills with whatever talent they possess until a very few of them have an opportunity to represent their country in a competition to be the very best in world at what they do (which is playing a schoolyard game). For the very first time – and when the World Cup competition is being hosted in an African country – a national team from an African country has advanced to the quarter-finals and is competing for a spot in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, over at the Brazil-Netherlands game, an heiress and a Playboy Playmate (giving her props because she, at least, probably worked at that) have been apprehended on suspicion of possession of marijuana. This is the big story in not only the U.S. media – we haven’t had real journalism for many, many years – but from the Agence-France Presse. Might we at least be told whether Brazil or the Netherlands won their game? Ghana lost to Uraguay.
Unless a person is not convinced with the trustworthiness of the online store, he should not share the social security number, credit card information levitra sildenafil and personal medical history. Apart from using Musli Kaunch cialis online from india niksautosalon.com Shakti capsules to boost testosterone levels from reputed online stores using a credit or debit card. Let your physician know your complete health history prior Visit Your URL generic levitra for sale consuming this pill. Besides which, if he finds out cialis cost low that your issue is psychological, then at the very least, you could find a psychologist or psychiatrist to help you with your ailment. * Take the medicine before the recommended time even on empty stomach Do not overdose or increase the dosage if the 25mg does not show any possible results. I need to check myself. AFP is not responsible for my expectations. It’s just that they have this great tradition coming out of World War II, and there are just a few things you hate to see passing into memory.
I get a little disappointed when I’m watching the local ABC affiliate news and they pimp “Dancing With the Stars” and “The Bachelor,” but that’s what it’s come to in American media. Diane Sawyer came out of the Nixon press office. We’re freaking doomed if we lose the internet to the corporations, too.
I had an illusion (a delusion?) that somewhere in the world real journalists (no, Keith, not a sportscaster) were still doing meat-and-potatoes journalism without getting distracted by the shiny things. If I do find them, how long will it be before they are subsumed into NewsCorp or Viacom or whatever?
Our entertainment media which loosely refers to itself as the news is so disappointing for what it covers that it barely registers with me anymore but you are right about how it feels to watch them try to pimp some story that doesn’t deserve a second of news, let alone to be turned into ‘the’ story.
I have come to the conclusion that most all network news is unwatchable. Yesterday they had a story about Obama speaking somewhere; the talking new head told us what the President said instead of, you know, letting us hear it directly. Much of what journalism is about is predicting and speculating (or having someone else predict or speculate) on what will happen next. How about reporting the fact when they happen? Then they all end the news with a warm fuzzy human interest story. I guess they want the news to end on a upbeat note.
The advertising (half of them for pharmaceuticals) makes not only the news but all of television unwatchable. I give up and get on the computer. But now advertising is sneaking into web sites and video. You’re right, commercial interests are going to ruin the internet as wall.