In this story, the blog "Mountain of Evidence" finds a proxy for much that is fatally wrong with the media in the story of the death of a porn star.
(h/t Windy Citizen)
Chicago Tribune says Dead Porn Stars are News
Porn star Marilyn Chambers has died, and foul play is not suspected. This "news" is reported by the Chicago Tribune, through its breaking news blog.
It didn't happen in Chicago, or even Illinois, or even the Midwest. There is no larger policy issue at stake. There is nothing you can or should do to avoid death in the same way she suffered it. The only reason this is in the news is that it's salacious.
...
Bingo.
7 comments:
I disagree. The only reason that it's in the news is that Chambers is a well-known individual. The *reason* that she is well known is "salacious", but there are fucktons of people whose activities--were they well known--would be considered equally "salacious" who die every fucking day and are not covered by the press at all.
And just to be clear, I do agree that this represents a pathology of the press: that it covers people and events that are well-known and that require no investigation to figure out, rather than ones that are important and require investigation to figure out. "Salaciousness" is just one species of this pathology.
Susie Bright's current piece on Marilyn Chambers is well worth the read.
Well, there is this third possibility that some people -oh, certainly not me, because I would never go for that kind of thing - but some perverted, twisted souls out there, may actually have *liked* Marilyn Chambers, and are shocked and saddened to hear of her death at such a relatively young age.
I agree, Dg.
I was saddened to read this news and wondered why, if it were news, more substance about it wasn't available. Or why this couldn't have waited for national release until something about it was national in scope.
And then I remembered that they are all FAUX news now.
Thanks for your commentary.
S
I recall Marilyn, the Mitchells, The Green Door.
It was up the road in The City, from The Peninsula.
She was famous for her pic, as were the Mitchell Bro's, who also owned and operated one of the greatest music halls in the Bay Area: Great American Music Hall.
What's the issue?
She lived, they lived. She died, they have died.
What's the issue?
There IS no issue.
A person of fame died.
Bless her for living.
End of story.
Geez . . . . all this and the shit bout a dog in the White House?
Pure bonkery.
Harumph.
I am the author of Mountain of Evidence - thanks for reading!
The purpose of this post (with related ones) is to point out the gap between what corporate news says about its coverage, and what its coverage really is. To be clear, I have no problem with covering porn news, on its own. What I do object to is the Tribune claiming that it is some kind of useful "watchdog" or "pillar of the community" or worst of all, that it deserves a government bailout, if it covers porn. We do not need to subsidize porn.
Post a Comment