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It's 6 am, and I'm at work. Do you realize how bad that is. I was up at 4:20 (and there's something inherently wrong about the fact that I couldn't find a breakfast place open anywhere on the way to work...I'm up, a cook somewhere should be too).
And the air isn't on. Hasn't been all weekend. It's *roasting* in this joint.
So...you want to know why I'm here this early? Because I'm a lazy ass procrastinator who puts off things to the last minute, like research papers that are due by 5:00 today. Less than 11 hours. Bleh. So no online time for me today. I have to be good and concentrate. Believe me, if you see me post, smack me down. If I comment, tell me to go away. It means I'm procrastinating more.
Oh, and for anyone who might find this interesting - go find the book Bias by Bernard Goldberg. Besides the fact that I would so happily have this man's babies right now, it's a very inciteful look into bias in the media from a media insider. Wanna know why I love it? Besides the fact that it's entertaining and well written, there's the fact that I have always considered myself a conservative. That's the environment I was raised in, that's what some of my beliefs are, so I must be. Reading this book made me realize though what standard I was measuring myself against: the media. They were the ones giving me the "unbiased" information (and really, why did I ever trust them considering I've known for a while that the media is biased...as do most Americans). I had already experienced some surprise that in my hometown, upon discussing controversial issues, I was far more liberal than anyone I talked too (with the exception of my best friend, who is straight up liberal on most things, but hard core conservative on a few). After reading this book, I now realize...I'm as moderate as they come. I'm moderate moderate. I'm not affiliated with a political party of any sort, because about half of my beliefs lean toward the liberal side, and half toward the conservative side.
Do you know how weird it is to explore things from a perspective you never had before? It's very disconcerting. I thought I had a clear picture, but really, the only picture I get from the news media is the picture they want presented. I can understand the notion that the bias is not intentional (Goldberg goes into that in depth in the book). These are just the beliefs that everyone in the media is raised with. This brotherhood of men (and some women) was raised in a very liberal environment and don't *realize* that their beliefs aren't believed by everyone else in the country (with the exception of those deplorable red states that tend to vote Republican). They honestly think that they are middle of the road instead of left-wing. Dan Rather thinks the op-ed page of the New York Times is middle of the road.
There are examples used in the book that are so blatant yet so simple as to surprise. And there is a certain delicious humor to reading about the Media Mafia, with the CBS don, The Dan (cross The Dan and you're dead to him - I'm not joking when I say that people close to him in the industry actually told Goldberg that The Dan had turned into the one person he hated the most - Richard Nixon - trusting no one and taking a difference of opinion as treason).
So I suggest reading it. It's insightful in that it doesn't promote conservatism, it doesn't say journalists shouldn't have political views, it just points out that too often, journalists let their personal feelings and political views pervade the stories, presenting a distorted view of the facts (or flat out exaggerating the facts, but that has to do more with the total ass kissing that's done by and too special interest groups).
And the air isn't on. Hasn't been all weekend. It's *roasting* in this joint.
So...you want to know why I'm here this early? Because I'm a lazy ass procrastinator who puts off things to the last minute, like research papers that are due by 5:00 today. Less than 11 hours. Bleh. So no online time for me today. I have to be good and concentrate. Believe me, if you see me post, smack me down. If I comment, tell me to go away. It means I'm procrastinating more.
Oh, and for anyone who might find this interesting - go find the book Bias by Bernard Goldberg. Besides the fact that I would so happily have this man's babies right now, it's a very inciteful look into bias in the media from a media insider. Wanna know why I love it? Besides the fact that it's entertaining and well written, there's the fact that I have always considered myself a conservative. That's the environment I was raised in, that's what some of my beliefs are, so I must be. Reading this book made me realize though what standard I was measuring myself against: the media. They were the ones giving me the "unbiased" information (and really, why did I ever trust them considering I've known for a while that the media is biased...as do most Americans). I had already experienced some surprise that in my hometown, upon discussing controversial issues, I was far more liberal than anyone I talked too (with the exception of my best friend, who is straight up liberal on most things, but hard core conservative on a few). After reading this book, I now realize...I'm as moderate as they come. I'm moderate moderate. I'm not affiliated with a political party of any sort, because about half of my beliefs lean toward the liberal side, and half toward the conservative side.
Do you know how weird it is to explore things from a perspective you never had before? It's very disconcerting. I thought I had a clear picture, but really, the only picture I get from the news media is the picture they want presented. I can understand the notion that the bias is not intentional (Goldberg goes into that in depth in the book). These are just the beliefs that everyone in the media is raised with. This brotherhood of men (and some women) was raised in a very liberal environment and don't *realize* that their beliefs aren't believed by everyone else in the country (with the exception of those deplorable red states that tend to vote Republican). They honestly think that they are middle of the road instead of left-wing. Dan Rather thinks the op-ed page of the New York Times is middle of the road.
There are examples used in the book that are so blatant yet so simple as to surprise. And there is a certain delicious humor to reading about the Media Mafia, with the CBS don, The Dan (cross The Dan and you're dead to him - I'm not joking when I say that people close to him in the industry actually told Goldberg that The Dan had turned into the one person he hated the most - Richard Nixon - trusting no one and taking a difference of opinion as treason).
So I suggest reading it. It's insightful in that it doesn't promote conservatism, it doesn't say journalists shouldn't have political views, it just points out that too often, journalists let their personal feelings and political views pervade the stories, presenting a distorted view of the facts (or flat out exaggerating the facts, but that has to do more with the total ass kissing that's done by and too special interest groups).
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