On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 3:31 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote:
> > I shouldn't need to remind you we're only on our third televised war > in US history. Unlike car chases which occur with great frequency in > Southern California, the playbook on broadcasting a war has yet to be > written. And, as hinted at earlier, I believe that if somebody is shot > in a war zone on camera, the public whose government is actively > engaged us in that war has a right to see the violence firsthand. Not > to invoke the late George Carlin (though his words could easily be > planted on almost every aspect of this discussion), but he was one of > the first to speak of how the media, through language and visuals, has > softened war -- made it safe for family viewing. And this is a > horrible disservice to members of the military. The last thing I want > to see is a soldier shot live on TV, but if it happens in the course > of a news program, it should be a crime to hide that reality from > Americans. > I don't think that we have had much live coverage of any war, and certainly this is not the norm. Even with the much touted embedded program in Iraq, we had more delayed coverage than live. If someone is killed while a reporter if filing a story in a war zone, then I would be happier if the producers were able to look at the footage, think about it, and make a considered judgement about whether its news value justified airing it, rather than having it aired because a fetish for live coverage took the possibility of exercising any judgement out of the producers hands. Again, the point here is not that there is never a good reason to show someone dying on television news. The point is that showing this or not is a news judgement. Politicians often prefer and sometimes demand that interviews with tough journalists be done live, because they know that live television takes away the majority of editorial and news judgement and control. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
