“Protecting the press would matter a lot more to me if they were worth a damn. “
That’s about the speed of it, right? I mean, does anybody seriously think we should tolerate routine leaks of classified information? If it’s not important to keep it secret—release it in the normal way. That’s transparency. If it is important to keep secret, don’t release it. I don’t see room for This is a Secret But You Get Access Because Good Old Boys.
(Yes, I know that whistleblowing is a different thing. We can talk about that later when there’s a case that actually involves a whistleblower.)
Stop the leaks. Open the faucet. That’s transparency. That way anybody can have access to the information everybody should have access to. “Stop cracking down on leaks” is not about free information. It’s about dinosaurs squabbling over exclusive grazing.
If the occasional leak was leading to a golden age of jouralism, I’m sure I’d feel differently. Maybe I’d feel that a select few news outlets were doing such a great job of disseminenting information in a socially responsible manner that nothing should be done that risks upsetting the balance. Maybe I’m missing a golden age of journalism behind the celebrity trial and the news report on what’s trending on Twitter.
Let me tell you a story. The day after Columbine, I was interviewed for the Tom Brokaw news program. The reporter had been assigned a theory and was seeking soundbites to support it. “Wouldn’t you say,” she asked, ‘that killings like this are influenced by violent movies?” No, I said, I wouldn’t say that. “But what about ‘The Basketball Diaries’?” she asked. “Doesn’t that have a scene of a boy walking into a school with a machinegun?”
The obscure 1995 Leonardo DiCaprio movie did indeed have a brief fantasy scene of that nature, I said, but the movie failed at the box office and it’s unlikely the Columbine killers saw it.
The reporter looked disappointed, so I offered her my theory. “Events like this,” I said, “if they are influenced by anything, are influenced by news programs like your own. When an unbalanced kid walks into a school and starts shooting, it becomes a major media event. Cable news drops ordinary programming and goes around the clock with it. The story is assigned a logo and a theme song; these two kids were packaged as the Trench Coat Mafia. The message is clear to other disturbed kids: If I shoot up my school, I can be famous. The TV will talk about nothing else but me. Experts will try to figure out what I was thinking. Kids and teachers at school will see they shouldn’t have messed with me. I’ll go out in a blaze of glory.”
In short, I said, events like Columbine are influenced far less by violent movies than by CNN, “The NBC Nightly News” and other news media, who glorify the killers in the guise of “explaining” them.
The reporter thanked me and turned off the camera. Of course the interview was never used. They found plenty of talking heads to condemn violent movies, and everybody was happy.
A Roger Ebert quote that sticks out in my mind
From his review of Gus Van Sant’s Elephant
(via srirachahot)
TRUTH.
Source: yeezytaughtme
Pool report: “As the president walked close by, a group of reporters yelled, in unison, “Did you beat Tiger?!?
Beyonce lip-syncing at the inauguration: Musician Mike Doughty says she was singing live.
If she was indeed lip-syncing at the inauguration, give her the Nobel Prize in mime.
Yep.
More validation for my defense of Beyoncé… a retweet by Greg Wells (a production hero of mine, as well… so, yay me). Greg’s resume includes Adele, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Mika, and on and on and on…
And next to a reply to the one and only KD Lang. Righteous.
What about the Marine band confirming Beyoncé lip-synched being reported by The Times and Washingtonian?
1. they don’t know what they’re talking about, as confirmed by a more recent Marine Corps Band spokesperson (check back in my blog a few posts ago).
2. your use of the word “reported” is suspect, at best.
3. I say they were covering for the fact that the band was the part of the presentation that you didn’t hear live. No, really (I mean about them being pre-recorded, not a “cover up” which is just me being snarky).
There’s no story here. NONE. Beyoncé recorded a vocal to have on hand as a backup in case of weather, technical glitches, personal health, and other unforeseeable events. This is standard operating procedure, and anyone with experience in live audio on the level of a Presidential Inauguration will confirm this.
She sang her ass off. Period. Those who are attempting to slander her performance as though she were the second coming of Milli Vanilli are supremely idiotic.
Ok, I'm happy with the fact that NPR mentioned my blog re: Beyoncé.
So, yay. Happy that at least some outlets aren’t just buying the repeated “news” … shame on Billboard, The New York Times, and especially The Times UK for (I believe) starting this fiasco.
It’s like I’m Andrew Sullivan with Palin’s baby or something…. or a truther or birther. Argh.
Regarding Ms. Knowles-Carter’s vocal performance, no one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded.
Capt. Gregory Wolf — About-Face: Marine Corps Spokesman Says Beyoncé Lip-Syncing Claims Are False
AS I SAID multiple times earlier today.
Source: Gawker
[previously: CLICK HERE for all my Beyoncé-related posts on this “scandal”]
Here’s a different broadcast of Beyoncé’s performance of the National Anthem where the backup (pre-recorded) lead vocal is clearly audible behind (or next to) her live mic.
Every other mix I’ve heard had her live mic absolutely prominent, if not soloed. Today’s ridiculous charges of fakery are simply being exacerbated by “news” outlets repeating other news outlets as “hard journalism”… lame and incorrect.
Sent to me by my mate (and fellow music industry insider, though his foodie-blog wouldn’t tell you that)… supernavin.
Just to clear the air…
I don’t actually care if Beyoncé lipsynced the National Anthem.
I care, deeply, that the truth gets reported.
I don’t believe that the media outlets who are merely confirming what the Marine Corps spokesperson said are actually doing any reporting on this. They’re just repeating, and even the New York Times is doing it. That’s pathetic. To me it’s the same thing as those journalists who let Manti Te’o get away with pretending to have a dead girlfriend for months on end.
And we won’t know if she lipsynced until we hear from her or the people in the production truck for the event. I’m weighing in here, casting my vote. An opinion. That’s all I’m doing. I mean, I think it’s a fairly unbiased and educated one, since I’m not a Beyoncé fan and I’ve got, oh, 20+ years in the recording studio and live sound business. I maintain that ifffffff she lipsynced… it was still an absolutely spectacular and breathtaking performance, because it was perfection.
But she didn’t. Or else I’m Jay-Z.
