European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 18, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes Friday september to 1987 letters to shows Usa today called comic Relief the Stair of the american Media is a must perplex ing one. It is Fror " Plush the Depths and explore the Heights four soul and a Linniel Exigence. When Vise in tic world and in what Day and age. Have do bunk is Anil iconoclast such As my Mencken in he earlier pan of he Century and Hunter s. Thompson More recently been Able to ridicule yet receive avid support from their Butts of criticism some of the Besl most outspoken and virulent critics of american life society character and govern ment arc americans themselves. Vol again where else. And in what Corner of inc world is there a press so committed to finding inc truth about inc nation How Ever morose and sullen As watergate and. More fittingly now the Iran Contra affair let it suffice to say that most self respecting americans revel in this Freedom arid Pursuit Oft Rulh. Despite fits of disbelief from allies who cannot understand Why we would cripple an administration in its Home Strelch just because a couple of Over jealous non elected officials took some Shady Steps to fund contras on the other Side one constantly hears clamor from conservatives about the Liberal this accusation is patently absurd so absurd that i believe it will stand tall in history with other slogans such As world War i As the War to end All wars and prohibition As the Noble Experiment indeed such Bally Hoo about our Media being inordinately Liberal must come from John Birch society members who read nothing but Greenpeace Magazine and Overlook the intelligent conservative periodicals. In Point of fact the american Media is better and Freer then it Ever has been As coins dentally Kun Klu cry Mccarthy ism and other such voodoo watch dog phenomenon have been on the Wane. One still sees pockets of Kun kluxcn1 in Back water villages and among desperately cowardly individuals but it ceases to be a political and viable entity. My Contention is that Many of the people who com Plain the most tempestuous by about this Liberal Media Are the same people who rely upon television for their political feed. In the first place no one who relics upon television for information can Call himself educated or rehearsed about inc affaire of stale at All second Here Are More worthy shows which present an impartial and searching overview of selected issues such As Ted Koppel if television is considered a Good medium for news then comic books Are literature. To Lake the Point further the Mel in new York ought to be. Stripped of All Art and have Graffiti put in place. To prove these bold assertions i will examine three american a aliens abcs today the Oprah Winfrey show and then to solidify my Faith in the sheer shop thai is much of what we Call news Usa today. The Peculiar circus of nothing that today rep resents is a Superb modes Operand id exhibit the Clow Nish Ness and tomfoolery thai television executives extol As news. Here Are three beings who devote All of their professional Energy attempting to promote an image of competence and knowledge when All Ameri cans can Sec through the facade. School begins at Home another school year has begun. Bright Hopes Shine again. The committees have been formed to improve our schools. A Good education is he key to the Good life it is said but before school comes Home. Before he student enters the building Many of his altitudes have already in Rcd. Parents As the primary and most important educators Are responsible for the attitude towards learning thai heir children bring to the classroom. The student should know thai the adult in his life Are dedicated to the student s Scholastic moral and social development. Speaking in derogatory ways about the school and the teachers in front of the student is Guaran teed to instill negative attitudes. How can a teacher Hope to teach guide and or inspire when these students have been taught at Home to distrust the teacher if there is a question go to the teacher. A difference of opinion should be addressed by those involved first la is not a matter for a pts meeting or a Sac com Mittee. Most often problems will be solved with Little difficulty if All enter into discussion openly and Hon Estly with the Good of the student Foremost. If you As parents Are positive in the Way you speak about the school and the teachers your children will come to school with positive attentive attitudes ready to learn ready to work eager to be challenged. No teacher could fail to respond no teacher can work effectively with less. A Parrot and teacher for Cha Mulc i can remember when Bryant Gumbel on today used to be a sports reporter alongside or Cal Musburger and Irv Cross a far less demand ing duty than reporting news and a duty which he performed with mediocrity. Is a sports announcer Ca Pable of reporting world events the producers must not think so they scarcely Ever entrust him with a really important interview or Story he handles inter views with victims of boating accidents quacks who have devised a new Miracle diet and of her More Mun Dane guests. Between each major segment and before station Breaks his primary Job is to invent Small talk nine tenths of which is Imp Cicilic mis cohort Jane Paulcyn follows in tandem and together we have inc most meaningless dribble and Backwash known to modern Man. If that is nol enough Gene Shalit is under the impression thai if he grows a Mustache wears thick framed glasses and in general cultivates the appear Ance of a Slob that he somehow takes on the Demeanour and hence inc insightful Ness creativity and intelligence of a first talc Art critic. He usually does not really criticize anything he lauds and almost always thoroughly advises us to read or Sec this or thai Book or movie. Almost any popular movie bears his Seal of approval which endears him to movie makers and actors and hence bolsters his image. Such Appeal though is scarcely flattering to a Good critic As Good critics often arouse the ire and contempt of actors moreover Gene s Appeal is that of a game show Hosier a Village idiot. Now address another show of somewhat differ ent format Bill equally ignominious rounded up by Oprah Winfrey who is More notably recognized for her part in the color on her show she entertains Bucsis who Are admittedly various. The justification Lor existence of the program is nine limes out of to to give her audience a Chance to Thor Apuli Cally air their personal problems in Hopes of finding a solution. Sometimes when she has an exceptional guest on e.g., recently Ann Lander this purpose is carried Forth to Success. But most of the Lime it flops desperately. Weeks ago for example Oprah it Al. Took it upon themselves to randomly select several teen age Moth ers with the intent to find the reasons and possible solutions for this National problem. Of course these mothers seemed nervous and awkward with the plethora of cameras and lights not to mention someone throwing such inane questions at them Why did you do it and would you do it differently if you had another Chance the first question seems quilt biologically and physiologically obvious to me they did it because any healthy Young person wants to and any higher Mam Mal must in order to service a rough darwinian Strug Gle unfortunate was their Lack of knowledge of contraceptives. To the later question one can presume thai they would do it differently Given a second Chance provided they did not have to appear on a show that belittles i hair toddlers level of knowledge. One misses Many things from our renowned Republic while overseas but i must say that the sight of a pen pals iaml9yaariold i Hetio re Inlow Nykl in knowing about ii Perl Jpn i. My Hoo btes a Tow tag no Hundt wiling in pal singing canting Aid iwo Nimg March a my Kew Fegion Usa 7ottay vending machine is not one of mine. On a Clear Day however one can Sec the covers from Europe across inc Atlantic As if they composed an Aurora boreal is on the horizon encompassing every color from the ultraviolet to infrared. If inc editors put As much Effort into Good reporting As they do to colourful graphics inc paper would be far better. I found in Peculiar about this paper that in found reason to try to condense local news from every state onto a single Page As if we Don t get enough local news from local newspapers and local television i must confess thai inc idea behind Usa today is a Good one it could have become the Wall Street journal of world and National politics but instead it lies As the epitome of nothingness just before i left the states months ago. The editors of Usa today saw nothing wrong with devoting Al most the whole of their editorial space to the tragedy and International importance of Acci dents. Perhaps a few High school coaches and adolescents found this particularly of significance but i double that the older men of any major City or the White House staff or even any of the fiery Greenwich Village intellectuals gave in even the slightest mention. The recently heralded Success Story of Usa today highlighted apropos on inc today show it a Celebration of vulgarity in is successful Only As Hula hoops and Leisure suits have been All three have been and the former is popular but the former wit fade quickly like the latter have. Every news breakthrough since inc creation of Usa today has been unravelled by other papers some with vastly smaller staffs. The issues thai Usa today addresses arc not Large and Complex but Gaudy and trendy anything that will lure an unsuspecting pedestrian into squandering two quarters into an avaricious and flashy stand. The american press if not immaculate is As close to Freedom As any Means of communication can become Given the circumstances. Yet with this Freedom we invite not Only the Best to become eloquent but also inc worst 10 blubber and Slammer. We must accept his and choose what we read and look at carefully. If anyone can build a sound defense for the argument that the american Media is Liberal then i wish to see in. Rather than spending Lime complaining that this or thai television show or paper is All but produced or written by bolsheviks i would like to Sec americans approach their news intake with inc same care and prevision that they use to formulate a diet. Read perhaps. The new Republic one week. The National review the next in general balance the educational meal As if you were at a Bullet sparing yams such As Usa today and the american press is a boundless smorgasbord of choices. With so Many Tine periodicals newspapers books and even television shows around there is no need to look upon the today show the Oprah Winfrey show and Usa today As sources of nothing More than pleasant if somewhat discreditable comic Relief Miles n. Gilmore Berl Nusu Iavan Gagarin Doro City. Pimp prov Lemdi l would like to ewr4pond win Pepin an Over m tto rid i am Iby Ai War adding. Wrim and i Refl of i Utt by id win to Haopt nil Marine i wow Olad it. R a Cihla Daquiado 59 Spah up Ritthi Siw a hnh1� Tuttan Oty. Manna. I Iti 21 Ivr m and he g and ironing l or n wet scr re to. Nouvion c4y. Myua. Vhf Tea Puc my Nav t in my of my hat it Art with Frog to and Annex la went Etc Lis sir. 4 7521 . Wait grm by Lou Toni in a Rupali Lam 1 i he Itow Toj. To Danang and huh chord Waguiu do 25. 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