3 posts tagged “south carolina”
I am all over the map today. Hang on.
Media as Tools
The Savannah Morning News ran a love letter to itself and other newspapers today.
Walter C. Jones attempts to make the case that it was good old fashioned, hardnosed, Woodward and Bernstein type journalism that got to the bottom of the Mark Sanford Mystery Tour.
“Mark Sanford might have finished out his tenure in office and mounted a stellar campaign for the White House without anyone learning of his extramarital affair, separation from his wife and lies to his staff and colleagues - if only tenacious newspaper reporters had not been on the job.”
Well thank GOD! I mean, really, we might have had a philanderer in the White House! The horror!
Beyond the dubious assumption that Sanford could have contended for national office, what Jones describes has nothing to do with Journalists doing their jobs. It is more about Journalists being used as tools for the political gain of Sanford’s rivals.
“The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., had been probing into his behavior after receiving copies of romantic e-mails…”
“The paper's break came when alerted by Sanford's political enemies…”
“That story most likely generated the tip from an unknown individual that Sanford was returning to Atlanta on a flight from Argentina…”
So basically, what you’re saying is, the paper was led around by the nose and handed the story complete with email evidence to back it up? Where is the reporting in that? They simply went where the Governor’s enemies sent them and reported what they saw. There was no investigation.
There is no evidence that laws were broken, there is no evidence that the Governor lied to the public. So why is this news exactly?
He did lie to his employees but when did that become a crime? What Mark Sanford did is a sin but, then again, so is misplaced pride in oneself so perhaps SMN needs to say a few Hail Mary right along with the Governor.
Miley Gets a Break
I’m sure Miley Cyrus did not wish any harm on Michael Jackson but his death has resulted in a cessation of the STALK MILEY campaigns promoted by two local media outlets.
All news of the tween dropped from the local headlines on Friday and was replaced by “I once held the door open for Michael Jackson’s best friend’s playcousin” remembrances of the King of Pop.
These “We Miss Michael” stories are also not real news, but the Savannah Morning News and others apparently feel they need to report something and there isn’t much actual news coming out about his death so they fill up the space with the pabulum.
And because nature abhors a vacuum some in the industry have found a way to combine the Miley/Michael stories into twisted rumors.
Media General’s worm has turned once again.
When last we reported on WSAV’s Deadbeat Dad, things were looking up. Back in January the stock reached the peak of $3.45 a share it then dipped to a buck 25 in March but managed to climb back to near its 09 peak again in May then the bottom fell out again this month with a drop back down to a buck 88 in suspiciously high volume on Friday.
Of course all this looks like a midget jumping in the bottom of the ravine compared to the stocks highs of yesteryear. Oh to return to the good old days before Marshal “Morty” Morton pushed the company off the cliff of $60 a share with his winning strategy of “Everything BUT What We’re Good At!”.
Now we get word out of Tampa that the company is so strapped
for cash its Florida Flagship put a Gay
Bashing infomercial on in early prime. I think it is clear that they were
simply not in a position to say no to the money. I guess we've moved on from the days when MG could refuse to run an ad simply because it included the sponsorship of a competitor. or when they could nitpick the ads of candidates and refuse what they see as attacks. Next they'll be advertising hard liquor and sex lines... oops.
Kudos to WSAV for following up the erosion story.
They still focused on the crying land leasers but at least they mentioned the state policy.
Of course the guy from the state came off looking like a bad guy.
How could he not?
Emotionally we don't want folk to lose their homes, but the state owns the land and the state's policy is to let the land return to nature. The people living there have known that for years.
It is they who are being unreasonable.
The guy from the state is just following the law of the land but comes off as a mean spirited bureaucrat on television.
If you don't like the law, stop whining and looking for a villain, work to change it.
Missing the Point
Two Hunting Island erosion stories ignore a key point, SC wants those cabins gone.
Both WSAV and WTOC have been spending time on this Hunting Island story. Cabins along part of the shoreline are washing away in the recent high tides and the folks who stay there are crying about it.
Since 1977 South Carolina has a stated policy of not allowing any structures that close to the water meaning the cabins are non-conforming.
Of course if you just watch the stories on TV you get the impression of bureaucracy gone mad, desperate residents begging the government to allow them to protect their homes and being denied.
They know the state's policy and have chosen to live there anyway. Instead of thinking long term and working to change the policy; they sat around until trouble literally beat their door down and now want to blame someone else for their choice.
Once again the media paints over the details with wide strokes of emotion.
Would the pictures of the houses falling into the sea be any less dramatic without the angry person shaking a fist at the tide?
