Thursday, August 25, 2005
The Suckiest Suck That Ever Sucked
Our first nominee: NBC's Today, which teased the following three stories for this morning's broadcast: a report on the jail in Aruba where somebody having something to do with Natalee Holloway either is being held, or was being held, or something; Olivia Newton-John's missing boyfriend; and Scott Petersen's life on death row.
It's great to live in a country where times are so good that we can devote our attention almost exclusively to stories like these, ain't it?
The winner: Today's Katie Couric, for telling Ken Auletta of the New Yorker, "I always felt it was our responsibility as journalists to explore issues and talk about subjects and have serious stories that people need to know about to be informed citizens." And then, giving an example of a story of which she was particularly proud, mentioned her interview with the runaway bride.
(Blogger bangs head against desk, wonders if it's late enough in the day to begin drinking.)
Recommended Reading: Meanwhile, in the reality-based community, there's an interesting discussion going on at Political Animal regarding whether Bush takes the war in Iraq seriously or not--or if it's merely something that gives him the chance to play at being a "war president" the way kids used to play at cowboys and Indians. Although if Bush were playing cowboys and Indians, he'd have run all the other kids off by now because he'd always want to play it exactly the same way. The Quote of the Day is in the comments: "I'll believe he's serious about Iraq when he's willing to impose a war tax."
Also worth reading: Billmon, whose new modus operandi since returning to blogging is juxtaposition. This one is a beauty.
Our first nominee: NBC's Today, which teased the following three stories for this morning's broadcast: a report on the jail in Aruba where somebody having something to do with Natalee Holloway either is being held, or was being held, or something; Olivia Newton-John's missing boyfriend; and Scott Petersen's life on death row.
It's great to live in a country where times are so good that we can devote our attention almost exclusively to stories like these, ain't it?
The winner: Today's Katie Couric, for telling Ken Auletta of the New Yorker, "I always felt it was our responsibility as journalists to explore issues and talk about subjects and have serious stories that people need to know about to be informed citizens." And then, giving an example of a story of which she was particularly proud, mentioned her interview with the runaway bride.
(Blogger bangs head against desk, wonders if it's late enough in the day to begin drinking.)
Recommended Reading: Meanwhile, in the reality-based community, there's an interesting discussion going on at Political Animal regarding whether Bush takes the war in Iraq seriously or not--or if it's merely something that gives him the chance to play at being a "war president" the way kids used to play at cowboys and Indians. Although if Bush were playing cowboys and Indians, he'd have run all the other kids off by now because he'd always want to play it exactly the same way. The Quote of the Day is in the comments: "I'll believe he's serious about Iraq when he's willing to impose a war tax."
Also worth reading: Billmon, whose new modus operandi since returning to blogging is juxtaposition. This one is a beauty.
