Monday, December 11, 2006

Where do I subscribe?

OK, everybody can go ahead and have as much fun as you like with Rick Santorum's farewell speech. HEADSUP-L being the sort of place where we talk about news decisions rather than ideology, we'd like to single out this graf:

Let's look at other interested parties as we look at how we solve the problem in Iraq and dealing with Iran. The American media seems to be very focused and spends a lot of time talking about how poorly things are going in Iraq. They report daily--not just recently but repeatedly for the past 3 years, daily--the body count in Iraq. It is the lead and has been virtually every single day for 3 years.

... and ask Sen. Santorum, R-Don'tletthedoorhityou, what news it is that he reads every day. Or what he smokes before reading it. Rick! Dude! It's football season! If your paper isn't leading with the NFL, it's because Milford High has capped its stellar run at the state championship by obtaining, um, peace with honor against Central Tech.* Or because there's a new coach at Moo U. Or because there's a basketball precede. Or because it's the first day of the Xpesmas shopping season. Or something. But don't accuse us of trying to provide prominent, consistent coverage of the salient foreign policy issue of the past four years. That dog won't hunt.

Let's spot Rick two points. He says the Iraq body count has been the lede "virtually every single day for 3 years." Let's count any Iraq story, anywhere on the front, rather than just body count in the lede, and ask him for his evidence. He isn't going to have any, because content analysis takes work, and making stuff up is not only quicker but way more fun.

Really, Rick. If your local paper has been fronting Iraq every day for three years, I wouldn't mind a subscription. And you have the sort of well-informed constituents you ought to be proud of. There's no "I" in team. But there are two in "res ipsa loquitur."


* Hey, how 'bout those Fighting Rampants, though?

3 Comments:

Blogger Katie Schwing said...

Despite having an entirely ridiculous mascot, that football team keeps winning. Who knew.

-Katie (a former Rampant)

12:47 AM, December 13, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In Daytona Beach, we have Iraq on the front every day. That doesn't mean our readers read it. And the body count, while a regular daily feature, is always inside, in the briefs on the "War in Iraq/Fight Against Terrorism" page, which seems to mean "Anything involving Muslims being naughty."

12:05 PM, December 13, 2006  
Blogger fev said...

Small world. I know we have some EZU grads who check in here occasionally, but you're the first fellow Rampant I know of (unless you count the Official HEADSUP-L Sister).

You'd better sing the first few lines of "Dear Old Greenville," just to confirm your bona fides.

Denise, I'm going to steal the "Muslims being naughty" thing.

12:05 AM, December 16, 2006  

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