In Other News, R.I.P. Fourth Amendment
Hi everybody. Sorry I missed yesterday. I watched, but was not feeling very bloggy. Well, I am never going to get my issue-driven campaign coverage, am I? Because some surrogate somewhere always has to say something stupid. And then of course the media, who apparently can't help themselves, get whipped up into such a tizzy you'd swear someone found the friggin cure for cancer. Case in point, today I happened to flip on The Situation Room and the Wolfbot's circuits are shorting left and right over the BREAKING NEWS that Jesse Jackson had said something "crude" about Barack Obama. Knowing immediately that the kerfuffle was going to be 360's top story, I have to say, the word that came out of my mouth was pretty crude as well.
What's funny (and/or stupid, depending how you look at it) is that the Wolfbot would not spill on exactly what it was that Jackson said, leaving me to wonder, "why am I even watching this, then?" So I turned off the tube and took to the Internets, because at that point I was thinking of all kinds of obscene things he could have said. The 360 blog was a little more specific, but there was still a blank. Finally, during the 360 broadcast we learned that the missing word was "nuts," which turned out to actually be a lot milder than the word my brain had put in that blank. So, Jesse Jackson expressed a desire to go all Lorraine Bobbit on Obama because he thinks Obama is talking down to black people. Disgusting and offensive? Yes. But too "crude" to put on the air (or in a blog post)? Really? Aren't these the same cable news shows that like to give us every gory detail of the latest sensational murder? Or remember those disgusting Cho pictures they bombarded us with after Virginia Tech? Now suddenly they have standards.
So anyway, of course 360 had to whip out a panel with Campbell Brown (in for Anderson Cooper) to talk about all this and blah, blah, blah. Whatever. But I do have to note that David Gergen might just be the most reasonable person on earth. Seriously, we need to appoint him Reasonableness Czar or something. That way when the country starts to go all crazy he can just say, "hold on a second folks, I've got some reasonableness to lay down on you." There would be a lot less yelling in the world if everyone was like The Gerg, I'll tell you that.
Then the show goes into even more political non issue stuff and at that point I was actually lying down with my finger on the remote to turn off the TV . . . when suddenly Reza Aslan appeared. Ooh and he brought actual insight into an actual issue! Yay! That discussion with him and The Gerg was actually informative. Two points, 360.
After that, Campbell talks with The Gerg about Obama's regrets over letting Access Hollywood interview his daughters. I don't see what the big deal is. He let America see his kids, who are adorable. If he was doing this every week it would be different.
Then we're on to Gary Tuchman with an update on polygamy dude, Warren Jeffs. Apparently they thought he was dying or something and took him to the hospital. But it turns out he wasn't dying, at least not right then. All I have to say is no fair dying before you do your time. I'm looking at you, Ken Lay.
The final story of the night is about--wait for it--the murder of JonBenet Ramsey! You ever get the feeling at some point that the news cycle is just messing with you? No? Just me then? Well, it is all about me. Seriously though, what the hell? This case won't go away. I mean, I know what happened was horrible, but it's been over a decade and it wasn't exactly newsy news to begin with. I will give 360 props though for sticking it at the end where it belongs because I wouldn't have been surprised if they stuck this puppy at the top and went all BREAKING NEWS with it.
The fact that this story broke today is kind of perfectly fitting. In 2006, there was an out and out newsgasm when some freak named John Mark Karr confessed to killing the beauty queen. And while all our reporter friends were bringing us the very important details of what Karr ate on his plane ride, a little bill called the Military Commissions Act of 2006 quietly became law . . . and killed habeas corpus. Today, the Democratic-lead senate capitulated on the FISA vote . . . sending the fourth amendment to its grave. Since 360 gave this extremely important story all of about 30 seconds, you might want to read up on what just happened.
I don't know what to say about the show anymore. They're doing a wider variety of topics, I'll give them that, but they don't seem to be covering hardly anything I care about anymore. What's funny is that I started watching this show in the first place because it seemed like 360/Anderson cared about many of the same things I do. Now most of that stuff seems to be gone. I know a lot of long time loyal fans have stopped watching. A lot of others are waiting it out until after the election. The problem with that is by that time the show is going to be so used to easy ratings, I don't see them ever going back to the great coverage that we now miss. It kind of sounds like I'm give the "it's not you, it's me" breakup speech, doesn't it? Except, well, it is totally them. But don't worry people, I'm not for sure tossing in my blogging towel yet. 360 goes in quality cycles. They're due to get better soon, right? Right?
What's funny (and/or stupid, depending how you look at it) is that the Wolfbot would not spill on exactly what it was that Jackson said, leaving me to wonder, "why am I even watching this, then?" So I turned off the tube and took to the Internets, because at that point I was thinking of all kinds of obscene things he could have said. The 360 blog was a little more specific, but there was still a blank. Finally, during the 360 broadcast we learned that the missing word was "nuts," which turned out to actually be a lot milder than the word my brain had put in that blank. So, Jesse Jackson expressed a desire to go all Lorraine Bobbit on Obama because he thinks Obama is talking down to black people. Disgusting and offensive? Yes. But too "crude" to put on the air (or in a blog post)? Really? Aren't these the same cable news shows that like to give us every gory detail of the latest sensational murder? Or remember those disgusting Cho pictures they bombarded us with after Virginia Tech? Now suddenly they have standards.
So anyway, of course 360 had to whip out a panel with Campbell Brown (in for Anderson Cooper) to talk about all this and blah, blah, blah. Whatever. But I do have to note that David Gergen might just be the most reasonable person on earth. Seriously, we need to appoint him Reasonableness Czar or something. That way when the country starts to go all crazy he can just say, "hold on a second folks, I've got some reasonableness to lay down on you." There would be a lot less yelling in the world if everyone was like The Gerg, I'll tell you that.
Then the show goes into even more political non issue stuff and at that point I was actually lying down with my finger on the remote to turn off the TV . . . when suddenly Reza Aslan appeared. Ooh and he brought actual insight into an actual issue! Yay! That discussion with him and The Gerg was actually informative. Two points, 360.
After that, Campbell talks with The Gerg about Obama's regrets over letting Access Hollywood interview his daughters. I don't see what the big deal is. He let America see his kids, who are adorable. If he was doing this every week it would be different.
Then we're on to Gary Tuchman with an update on polygamy dude, Warren Jeffs. Apparently they thought he was dying or something and took him to the hospital. But it turns out he wasn't dying, at least not right then. All I have to say is no fair dying before you do your time. I'm looking at you, Ken Lay.
The final story of the night is about--wait for it--the murder of JonBenet Ramsey! You ever get the feeling at some point that the news cycle is just messing with you? No? Just me then? Well, it is all about me. Seriously though, what the hell? This case won't go away. I mean, I know what happened was horrible, but it's been over a decade and it wasn't exactly newsy news to begin with. I will give 360 props though for sticking it at the end where it belongs because I wouldn't have been surprised if they stuck this puppy at the top and went all BREAKING NEWS with it.
The fact that this story broke today is kind of perfectly fitting. In 2006, there was an out and out newsgasm when some freak named John Mark Karr confessed to killing the beauty queen. And while all our reporter friends were bringing us the very important details of what Karr ate on his plane ride, a little bill called the Military Commissions Act of 2006 quietly became law . . . and killed habeas corpus. Today, the Democratic-lead senate capitulated on the FISA vote . . . sending the fourth amendment to its grave. Since 360 gave this extremely important story all of about 30 seconds, you might want to read up on what just happened.
I don't know what to say about the show anymore. They're doing a wider variety of topics, I'll give them that, but they don't seem to be covering hardly anything I care about anymore. What's funny is that I started watching this show in the first place because it seemed like 360/Anderson cared about many of the same things I do. Now most of that stuff seems to be gone. I know a lot of long time loyal fans have stopped watching. A lot of others are waiting it out until after the election. The problem with that is by that time the show is going to be so used to easy ratings, I don't see them ever going back to the great coverage that we now miss. It kind of sounds like I'm give the "it's not you, it's me" breakup speech, doesn't it? Except, well, it is totally them. But don't worry people, I'm not for sure tossing in my blogging towel yet. 360 goes in quality cycles. They're due to get better soon, right? Right?
posted by eliza at 11:30 PM
1 Comments:
Hi Eliza,
This is a funny post you wrote tonight. It's been so long when 360 was really great, I've forgotten what it was like. It doesn't take much to be a hot topic anymore. I laughed about the Gerg being the
Reasonableness Czar. Surely soemtimes he feels the topics that are thrown at him could be of better substance. I am totally with you regarding JonBenet Ramsey. I remember the non-stop coverage of that story that went on for months. About the quality cycles, well....
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