🚀 go-pugleaf

Thom Gillespie says:

> This was and is not 'REAL news' no matter how you stretch it.  This war
> started with CNN running all this 'unedited Army footage' and it
> continues with US sound bites constantly being delievered during prime
> time.  I think a quarter of a million peace marchers are more news than
> a 'gas jockey' any day of the week.

Then I'm afraid you don't have a very clear picture of what television
defines as "news".  As has already been stated, the television concept
of "news" is *not* necessarily what is "important" on some (nonexistant)
absolute scale.  "News" is what the viewers want to see.  And quite
frankly, right now in America, more viewers want to see their
boys-on-the-line as they're doing their job than .25meg peace marchers.
Most of America, in case you ain't noticed, still thinks that this war
is a good idea--either because they honestly believe Bush's rhetoric or
because they feel (as I do) that now that we're IN it we'd best win it.
All a peace march is going to do is make several million viewers find
another station (say, CNN) to which to turn.

And finally, utilizing a more generalized definition of news as "what's
important", neither your march nor the story they 'cast instead are
qualify as real news.  You are correct--the film of the gas-jockey was
undoubtedly encouraged by the Army PR folks.  However, the march was an
equally staged pseudo-event, whether you're in favor of it or not.
Thus, utilizing this definition, *neither* story should get coverage.

MSS