Turning BiT, I think I'm turning BiT
Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 1:17 pm
I really think so.
I was at the gym last night (yay, me!) and watching CNN. Actually, I was scanning four channels while listening to Steve Earle and Billy Joe Shaver music, but that's beside the point. CNN did a story about all the airports that "failed" their double-secret security check from the TSA.
OK, I thought. Legit news story. Shame on the airport security staffs, but again, they're expecting some of the lowest-paid workers in government jobs to do highly discriminating, difficult duty under poor conditions and lots of hostility from the public. (That's not the BiT part, in case you couldn't tell.)
Then they started talking, in great detail, about exactly what the covert tests entailed, including bullet points ON THE SCREEN (I wasn't listening, remember?) about the types of bomb materials they carried, how they were easily purchaseable at hardware stores, instructions for assembling are easily available on the internet, and were "capable of causing significant damage to an airplane."
I'm usually an apologist for the news media, but this infuriated me. I felt like yelling at the screen "OK, now even the stupid psycopaths can threaten all our safeties." Those bullet points added nothing to the newsworthiness of the story, added no human interest, and AFAICS, added nothing but fear-inducement.
In retrospect, I guess it's usually Flock making this kind of critique of the media, but his screen name didn't scan with The Vapours. So I'm leaving it.
I feel better now.
I was at the gym last night (yay, me!) and watching CNN. Actually, I was scanning four channels while listening to Steve Earle and Billy Joe Shaver music, but that's beside the point. CNN did a story about all the airports that "failed" their double-secret security check from the TSA.
OK, I thought. Legit news story. Shame on the airport security staffs, but again, they're expecting some of the lowest-paid workers in government jobs to do highly discriminating, difficult duty under poor conditions and lots of hostility from the public. (That's not the BiT part, in case you couldn't tell.)
Then they started talking, in great detail, about exactly what the covert tests entailed, including bullet points ON THE SCREEN (I wasn't listening, remember?) about the types of bomb materials they carried, how they were easily purchaseable at hardware stores, instructions for assembling are easily available on the internet, and were "capable of causing significant damage to an airplane."
I'm usually an apologist for the news media, but this infuriated me. I felt like yelling at the screen "OK, now even the stupid psycopaths can threaten all our safeties." Those bullet points added nothing to the newsworthiness of the story, added no human interest, and AFAICS, added nothing but fear-inducement.
In retrospect, I guess it's usually Flock making this kind of critique of the media, but his screen name didn't scan with The Vapours. So I'm leaving it.
I feel better now.
