Fox2 Should Be Ashamed

I wholeheartedly agree.

Well... everything else is mainstream now... this was bound to be next! Should be an interesting next couple of weeks or even months!

To clarify, I think we're talking more about Fox News (the cable network) as opposed to something that the local affiliate did.  I don't want to cast arrows at the wrong target :-)

That said, it is very bad.  We've moved from intelligent discourse to this crap - on both sides of the aisle.  Fox News, and it's counterpart on the left, MSNBC, both are intolerable.  But I actually watch debates - and make my own opinions and discuss them with trusted friends.  And I like to look at how foreigners cover our election - not that they're always right, but to get another perspective.

But do you want to know the sad reality?  That we, en masse, tune into this stuff.  Ratings skyrocket - political coverage pays, but only if it's partisan.  It gets viewers and advertisers.  That's what's the saddest part of this all.

People ask me as I used to be in TV news (behind the scenes) why is it that so many sad or deadly stories lead the newscasts. - "if it bleeds, it leads."  Here's the reality - it's because the ratings for bad news by a large multiple are better than for "good" or "soft" news.  It's not financially viable to do mass-market good news.

People consistently choose the negative... but that's a whole 'nother philosophical discussion.....

Responding to Jeremiah's great comment;

When I worked with a marketing consultant a few years back, he told me something I have never forgotten. He said that people who work in media are trained to be 'story-tellers.' Everything they learn at college and in the workplace encourages them to look at a news story from the classic protaganist-antagonist viewpoint. Therefore, a 'good' story is one in which a conflict between opposing forces is featured. So we have stories about people in foreclosure versus the mortgage industry, about auto companies versus the unions; about Kwame versus the City Council (among others) etc etc etc. Newspapers and broadcast media RARELY present stories about people working together to solve problems, or when politicians are conducting clean, issues-oriented campaigns, or when things generally are looking positive. WHY? No conflict-no story-no sales.  So, unfortunately, it's easy to see how news reporting can start to pander to our lower instincts.  The biggest conflicts involve death-murder, war, even natural disasters (man vs nature). The more death, the more sales. It's pretty sad, really.

That being said, all of us should express our outrage when people with access to media start making truly reprehensible 'joking' comments about things which should never be joked about. Otherwise, all we will get is an escalation of this kind of junk-and we'll all be worse off because of it.  And that goes for both sides-the right and the left-and for everyone with access to media-whether they call themselves a journalist, an entertainer, or a commentator.  At least that's my opinion!

Being less articulate than Debra, DITTO!

Search "Liz Trotta" at http://www.technorati.com and you'll see a long list of blog posts about her statement.

What is most disturbing to me is the number of people who have responded in the blogs with immense hatred, horribly foul language, and wishes for Ms. Trotta's demise. I found her statement reprehensible and feel Fox News should clean up their act as well. I find the hatred and cursing in the blog posts equally offensive.

At the same time, I oppose the censorship that could eliminate our First Amendment rights to free speech.  

I totally agree with you, Debra - storytelling is the basis of all good journalism. And I agree wholeheartedly with Jeremiah's statement: "But do you want to know the sad reality?  That we, en masse, tune into
this stuff.  Ratings skyrocket - political coverage pays, but only if
it's partisan.  It gets viewers and advertisers.  That's what's the
saddest part of this all."

MCC is all about changing the image of Detroit, expanding the economic opportunities in Detroit, and being the change we wish to see. So I wonder: can we turn this thread into a discussion of what we - as a business community and relationship-building network - can do to foster a political and media culture focused on peace, dignity, and understanding rather than a new civil war?