The State has a budget gap of $2.3 billion and counting, my portfolio is in the toilet, the Miami Herald might be bought by the very people we write about and, locally, Parkland goes before the County Commission next week, December 18th. Which has me most upset?
I have been kidding around about the newspaper but it really has me distressed. As much as I criticize the Miami Herald, I can’t imagine life here in Miami without it: an independent news source that actually pays reporters to dig up evil doings. Well, I guess I can imagine what it would be like, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News. I wonder how editorials are doing over at the Wall Street Journal now? We would be seeing news through the eyes of whomever has the money to spare to buy the paper. That is not news. That is propaganda.
Governor Blagojevich of Illinois, among other things tried to intimidate a failing newspaper. He told the Chicago Tribune that the Illinois Finance Authority would only assist in the sale of Wrigley Field (one of the Tribune’s cash cows) if the paper fired its editorial board. Newspapers need to be independent, this is an example of what money woes can do to our quest for truth. What if the paper had agreed to his demands? He would not have been criticized any longer, the public would not know the truth about him.
I am not much for actual thinking today, but you get my drift, my fear: A Lobbyist/Developer/Power Broker owned newspaper. And, maybe worse, all the money woes today will influence the career choices of brilliant students, away from journalism tomorrow.
9 comments:
All else will pass, but the bad people owning our newspaper would be a terrible thing. If we can do anything to stop it we must.
Am i dpressed this Holiday Season? Heck No!
I'm employed, I don't have any severe chronic illnesses that are going to kill me within the next year, my family is healthy, no one I care about overcommited themselves during the bubble and therefore are not in danger of being foreclosed on, any money I invest monthly will buy more shares of whatever IRA or mutual fund they are invested in, and if the housing market falls much further maybe I can buy more home.
Unless you are currently retired, or plan to in the next year, you'll probably be just fine.
You strike me as a "Glass Is Half Empty" type of gal G.
m
First, I want to thank you for caring so much about these important issues. Now, I want to remind you of the same thing I remind my children. When it comes to where we were born and/or where we live on this earth, we have won the lottery! The odds of being born here over anywhere else on this earth certainly were in our favor. You can write what you want, eat when you want, and complain when you want. You can have as many children as you want, and you can believe, or not believe in whatever religion you want. There are very few places on this earth that that is possible.
I too get depressed when I see our rights depleted one by one, but then I remember this: My main worry of the day isn't about how to feed my hungry children. As citizens of the world, we are members of the elite. There are so many people on this earth that have no time to be concerned about government, rights, free speech, etc., because they must deal with meeting their basic needs.
Please understand that I am in no way putting down your "depression". I just want to remind you about your win in the "your place on this earth" lottery. You have beat the odds.
Blogger geniusofdespair said...
Thanks everyone for trying to cheer me up -- except for not a moderate.
But I chose my name for a reason: Despair, remember? It fits. If I get too cheerful I will have nothing to write about that will be the least bit interesting. I will just be like another Neighbor's section writing about fluff. And, damn I hate Neighbor's. I also hate people sending me inspirational emails, I hate all that stuff. I'm not corny. Sometimes I am just content being miserable for a while. Then I snap out of it and go to my other state: less miserable.
hey, hey, hey...
GoD, you can't steal my whines. Not fair.
I am more than depressed. So. There.
:(
Riley says:
GoD, & others,
No, you don't hate people who send you inspiration e-mails: they're feeling your sensitivity &
want to help you out of it. Just
enjoy the good words as we appreciate your knowledge & spunk!
Gratitude is riches, complaint (depression etc.) is poverty.
With that GoD, you will have much more to write about.
Does the County commission control the press in Miami-Dade? I think they do. Small community papers are at the mercy of county ad dollars. Has anyone noticed the amount of county ads in Community Newspapers? The reporting in Community Newspapers has deteriorated into fluff; nothing controversial about county government. At the same time county ads have mushroomed. A coincidence? I think not. Remember the county commission periodically tries to have their own propaganda newspaper. It's never any good. No substance. Now they have the community newspaper doing their dirty work. Dictators have to control the military (police/state attorney) and the press.
Thank you reader for returning the comments to the subject at hand:
Newspapers.
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