Intro, Disclaimers, Formalities and some fart jokes
September 6, 2006
In an attempt to make my blogging life as bland as possible, Jeff Jarvis, my lanky Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism professor has assigned that we create a blog. The idea being we’d post our work online. I can imagine nothing more mundane than reading graduate work, so it is my pledge to bring the entertainment along with homework. Professionalism be damned - I just want to perfect the medium and have a little fun.
First topic: the unique value of the news. Something so broad, it rivals my undergrad thesis: “The Color White.” Well, my mouse grappling friends, the news can be Sesame Street for adults. Think about it.
#1: It sets the parameters for your knowledge intake. Just like Sesame Street had the letter of the day, a news outlet can only give a limited amount of info covering most topics. What gets cut out of the paper or program is much like the other 27 letters of the alphabet. Today, the letter of the day is J, and the top headlines are… (Remember there’s only so much you can report before you get to the “kitty in the tree” story).
#2: It allows you to be selective. Remember how Ses Street (as we cool kids call it) used to have those montages? Those lame ones where kids would dance and sing about the arches of their feet and Oscar the Grouch would habitually scream “Give me my liquor. I quit!” Remember that? I always used to skip it and watch The Price Is Right. Well the news allows you to skip as well. If Wolf Blitzer has been droning on for so long he actually begins to resemble a wolf, you can always pick up the New York Times and be angered by Thomas Friedman’s existence.
I’ve run out of ways to connect the news with Sesame Street, although Paul Krugman does look a tiny bit like Oscar the Grouch.
A stretch? Maybe it’s just me.
I’ve exhausted my laptop battery, so I’m guessing my laptop will be engulfed in flames soon.
I would like to take a moment to just say how much I love Europe. Only in Europe could the following video be passed off as children’s entertainment. We are still too conservative a nation to ever see this on our TV screens - but a man can dream for a better day.
