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| Skyline of Charlotte, North Carolina (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Over the years I've spent a good bit of time in Charlotte, North Carolina and I have a fondness for the city. The company I worked for most of my working life was based in Charlotte. When I was working with the World of Fantasy Players touring stage production, our show preparations and rehearsals were in the warehouse of the Morris Costume Company which owned the show. Most of our performers came from the Charlotte area so I became close to many of them as well as having a deep love and respect for the Morris family.
Charlotte is a lovely city and what we've seen over the past week is not a good representation or reflection on this metropolitan area. Thankfully most of the protest demonstrations have been peaceful and the city officials have shown reasonable restraint in highly tense circumstances. Though saddened and fearful of some of the events that unfurled, I was relieved to see an attempt to let the justice of the system take its course rather than unraveling under mob rule.
At this point there seem to be many many unanswered questions that hopefully will be addressed in days and weeks to come. Changes need to happen on both sides of the fence. Solutions may not all be simple. However one thing that the city does not need is professional agitators from the outside. Hard for me to say how these interlopers are funded or organized, but all indications are that they are giving Charlotte a black eye. The media isn't helping that much either. I would wonder how bad things would have turned out if the media hadn't been covering the demonstrations at all. Then on the other hand one might wonder if justice would ever be served without the pressure from the media and other external forces.
I suppose this will be an ongoing debate.
And then there is THAT DEBATE...
Do you feel that the U.S. news media does a more effective job at reporting the news or creating the news? Have you any experiences with the city of Charlotte to relate to readers? Are you interested in the U.S. presidential debates?
They were worried the demonstrations would disrupt the game, but they didn't.
ReplyDeleteThe media used to report the news. Now their job is to stir things up and create fear.
Alex, seems like media used to report the news, but maybe we've been deceived for far longer than recently.
DeleteLee
I believe that part of the problem is that as budgets for newspapers and local stations are cut, there is almost no reporting and investigative journalism.
ReplyDeleteIt's mostly just setting up cameras for sensationalist images that will get a lot of clicks online.
I hated to see what was happening there because no message gets out and nothing gets accomplished once it starts.
Nasreen, you are probably correct to some extent, but still I think sensationalism sells more media product than simple straight-forward truth.
DeleteLee
I agree with Alex. The media basically just stirs things up. Good investigative journalism seems have gone the way so many other good things of the past have gone.
ReplyDeleteAnn, good investigative journalism answers questions and wraps stories up while much of today's "journalism" keeps the stories going for as long as the media outlets can milk them. Part of the problem may be the over saturation of media outlets--they have to create as much content as they can and expand the stories to make them bigger even if they are relatively inconsequential.
DeleteLee
Lee, whilst on my way to Nashville TN a few years ago we had to disembark the plane at Charlotte, would that be the same Charlotte you wrote about? We then had to wait a few hours to board the Nashville plane. The airport staff were extremely pleasant to us English people.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the news media, here we only get to know bad, sad news not the sort that would brighten one's day.
Excellent post.
Yvonne.
Yvonne, same Charlotte--it's a hub airport so many flights stopover over there. I've stopped in Charlotte on several flights to Knoxville. Bad and sad news is usually what we get as well--I guess that is what we consider news.
DeleteLee
It's such a shame what's happening in this country, and the news networks have a bad habit of making a bad situation much worse. I've never been to Charlotte but I've been to Chicago and had the time of my life. Of course everyone hears about the violence in these cities and if you've never been there the media pains this broad-stroke picture in your mind (Charlotte=bad, Baltimore=bad, Chicago=very bad) when, as you said, the vast majority of protests have been peaceful. I wish they were all peaceful, but that's just not human nature unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm not going to watch the debate tonight. I'm pretty sure the media has already declared a winner anyhow.
Chris, from the media prognostications either one is going to come out a winner. I'm going to watch so I can judge for myself as anything the media says might very well be a lie or merely the perception of which commentator is doing the analysis.
DeleteLee
While the media is not what it used to be. Foreigners like myself need it to know anything about what's going on in places like the United States.
ReplyDeleteSheena-kay, I want to be aware, but not deceived or misinformed. The media has a great responsibility which often they do not do properly. I have found that some media from other countries seems to be more truthful in what they report. U.S. media is primarily entertainment--they report what sells and what they say has to be marketable or provocative enough to keep people coming back for more.
DeleteLee
The media does a fine job of reporting the things they want you to see and of spinning things the way they want you to see them. If you want to know what's really happening, you have to find i yourself.
ReplyDeleteJohn, your statement sums things up well.
DeleteLee
Interesting reading the complaints about media, who have always gone for the sensational. They are accused of taking sides (as is Facebook now according to the news). The conservatives whine that their side isn't taken, then the other side (liberals) do the same. Media is for reporting not judging, but in this day of everyman's opinion (or everyperson?) you can expect that some personalization will creep into the news and what we hear or see. I think it's important that we see 'on the spot' news since there have been so many coverups for brutality and racism by the police.
ReplyDeleteNever been to either of the Carolinas only passed through. One southern state is much like another southern state, IMO as a former resident. I can understand fondness for those places we sync with, though, and I worried about Paris like you worried about Charlotte. There are just two many of these shootings. I read about a 'lawyer' (former) shooting randomly this morning at a mall as people were going to work. He was killed by police. So more deaths. . .to innocent people. Where does it end?
Forgive my spelling: 'Too many of these...' sheesh and 'never have been'. . .
DeleteDG, the media outlets in the U.S. do display an overt bias that is difficult to deny. I can't think of a media outlet that does not seem to lean in one direction or the other. Much "on-the-spot" news reporting appears to be staged if you watch closely enough and I often don't know what really to believe anymore.
DeleteTo say "one Southern state is much like another" is an unfair generalization. I have traveled all extensively and find there to be a wide range of diversity in people, culture, and geography. The South is a place with a rich heritage and fascinating history--some good, some bad. Give me the South over Los Angeles any day.
Lee
OK, Lee, I understand that I did paint the South with a broad brush there based on personal preference. I appreciate you saying so with a gentleman's touch. I concur about Los Angeles, btw.
DeleteHopefully, streaming TV will eventually bring us major news channels and, hopefully, we will watch them in preference to the current circuses. If you can watch the news item you want when you want it, TV news will become more like the newspaper. You won't read the same item over and over, and you won't have the same item fed to you when you flip channels in frustration. A federal administrator or commission member once labelled our commercial TV system a vast wasteland. Again hopefully, competing channels on streaming TV will lead us out of that desert. We may still have advertising, but it will not control content, as it now does. News is not presented as entertainment in newspapers.
ReplyDeleteJack, not sure how any media source can be detached without bias unless there are only images with no commentary, but then we'd mostly understand less and add our own bias to what we see.
DeleteI've lost my love for newspapers with the extreme bias show by the L.A. Times. I cancelled my subscription a few months ago and don't miss it other than the crossword puzzles and not even those that much.
Lee
I am referring to the rise of a new form of presenting news, possibly from the same channels or from new entities. In any case, you get your choice of what you watch and when you want to watch it, hopefully. Newspapers have always been biased but have generally kept it on the editorial page. I have found coverage of straight news in the L.A. Times to be fair and balanced. You can't say the same for MSNBC or Fox.
DeleteJack, Fox makes some attempt to be unbiased depending on who the host is, but forget MSNBC--they are so biased that sometimes it's intolerable for me to watch.
DeleteSome of the stories in the L.A. Times have been excellent, but I've been annoyed by many of the stories they select to report and a certain angle of bias they take especially where it applies to anything related to Christians. What has really annoyed me the most are the politically biased slants many of the reviewers take in regard to film, books, music, and other arts. They seem to think that it's important to interject political commentary in places where there is no cause to do so.
Also regarding the business of the Times, I hate how they (like so many U.S. businesses) have outsourced their phone calls and possibly some article writing. Call the Times and you get a very nice and professional rep from the Philippines. Maybe they can't find good telephone people in our country to do the job, but I don't think so. But this is just an aside that is another pet peeve regarding the Times. I think probably most large papers do this now. Sad.
Lee
I find MSNBC and Fox equally biased, each to their own causes. I can tolerate either, but filtering out its bias can be frustrating. I don't recall any general bias toward Christianity in the Times except toward radical extremes: plural marriages in renegade Mormon communities and death-wish communities like the one in Guiana and the armed insurrection in Texas, both many years past. I agree that their art reviews often show a liberal bias, but that's where most reviewers come from. The Times/Tribune editorial outlook is generally conservative and reflects its ownership. Some of their in-depth investigative articles show bias, but most go after worthwhile targets, and they've received impressive awards.
DeleteAs to their out-sourced phone reception, I find this prevalent in all large corporations, not just the in Times or other newspapers. They all seem to think they can substitute honeyed phrases for shifting us between robots after long waits. Sad indeed.
I would give a foot (or at least a toe) to see anything approaching objective, non-agendized (my new word)reporting again.
ReplyDeleteCW, I think your feet, toes, and any other body parts are safe. Agendas are assaulting us from all sides.
DeleteLee
The media is definitely driving the whole 'I'm offended' movement here. They like to keep poking the hive and making people upset. Of course if the states in the south weren't so backwards, maybe this stuff wouldn't be so extreme. So many of those states have proved that they would have preferred to stay in the 1800s. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Lincoln should've just let them secede. I'm disgusted with the candidates and their supporters. No interest.
ReplyDeleteJoJo, how much time have you spent in Southern states? I think you would develop a great fondness for them if you went there for a period of time. I've seen as much and more backwardness in California and elsewhere as I've seen in the American South. You should go spend some time in East Tennessee--I think you'd fall in love with it.
DeleteLee
It's difficult to find accurate news and almost impossible to find non-biased news.
ReplyDeleteLove the song, but man, the movie was a tad creepy, no?
HR, actually I don't recall the film. I think I saw it years ago, but I couldn't tell you what it was about.
DeleteLee
Your first question is worth quite a lot of contemplation.
ReplyDeleteLiza, I think the answer seems pretty obvious. At least from my perspective as a news viewer.
DeleteLee
The U.S. media always stirs the pot, turns up the fire, and then reports it.
ReplyDeleteWe are watching the debate, waiting for profound
thoughts and comment sense. Still waiting.
Hush, Sweet Charlotte was an excellent movie. So much real-life animosity between the two actors made the movie intense.
Susan, the debate was okay, but not especially entertaining. Ha! Entertaining...I'm part of the crowd that the media caters to I guess.
DeleteI guess I need to see Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte for a memory update.
Lee
I think the media does both. When something major does happen, they report and do their best to make sure they have the facts since they burned themselves in the past but when the news is slow or they work up the public the. The media turns. They will stir things up and create further fear and panic in the average person. As for the debate...I watched it and I am one who can't stand Trump. He is a narcisstic blowhard who loves to filibuster. This is my humble opinion:)
ReplyDeleteBirgit, I think the media frequently sets a stage and then waits for the show to begin so they are on hand if something does happen. But when the journalist eyes is covering the unexpected events then it can be mighty compelling.
DeleteI'm still a Trump fan as I want something totally new to be tried in the U.S. I think the media and competing politicians have created a lot of misconceptions about the man that has created a false mythology. But that's my opinion based on my observations.
Lee
The media definitely has a history of painting sensational pictures of what really happened, even those so-called facts were deliberately skewed just to sell more papers or drum up sympathy for a given cause. I don't have a television at the moment, so I can't watch things like the presidential debates or the nightly news like my friends can. I know I could always catch it online these days, though I haven't been keeping up enough with watching the news lately. When I was younger and a lot more political, I used to love watching the State of the Union, the debates, and the nightly news. These days, I pretty much only watch live streaming on election night.
ReplyDeleteCarrie-Anne, you might be better off by having distanced yourself from the electoral process of the campaign. It's like a drug that devours the brain. But then again those who keep track of what is going on in the world might have a hand in writing the history for the future generations. History can become overly flexible in the hands of those who would like to change the narrative.
DeleteLee
I think the NEWS media only reports news if it is sensational enough on its own. Otherwise, they incite and create the news. Too bad you can't trust anything you see on tv these days.
ReplyDeleteDolorah, it is sad and somewhat distressing. I find news reports from other countries more trustworthy. All U.S. networks seem to be trying to feed us whatever agenda they are trying to push.
DeleteLee
Great title for your post! I immediately thought of the movie and then thought how clever that you alluded to it with your title.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a sad state of affairs out there in Charlotte and in the other cities we've been hearing about on the news. There is an awful lot of police brutality and I think that the police forces should invest in some more training. I had a cop go off on me for no reason whatsoever and I immediately spotted someone with anger management issues. (I called his boss and reported the incident and demanded an apology from the officer, which I did receive later that day). There are definitely some hyped up cops out there and those personalities need to be reigned in.
I did watch tonight's debate and will watch the others. My feelings about it matched pretty much what the initial reactions were as stated by NBC's commentators.
"Hush Sweet Charlotte": from your lips to God's ear...
Michele at Angels Bark
Michele, There are bad police and poorly trained police, but I think they are up against a lot more bad people and people who deliberately are going up against the law. The police have a job that I don't envy, but I'm glad someone is willing to do it. Better than the bad guys and agents of chaos running things.
DeleteI was flipping around the commentators afterwards and got a variety of views--the usual stuff from the usual suspects.
Lee
Being a former journalist for 30+ years I hate to say it but sometimes the media makes things worse. There's good news reporting that we need in order to know what's going on and keep things in order. But then there's the reporting that just goes over the same thing again and again and each time they try to build a little more hype.
ReplyDeleteThoughts in Progress
and MC Book Tours
Mason, I want just the facts without coloration from the reporter. So many media people want to put a spin that reflects their agenda and that's when my doubt radar goes into action--which is almost always anymore.
DeleteLee
Sadly the media skews things - and much misinformation is spread adding to fear. It behoves US to see between the lines.
ReplyDeleteSusan S, I wish all media people would be required to state from the outset which agenda they support so we can be aware that there might be a spin put on their reports. When something is being reported on then I just want to know what is happening. The commentary can come later and be labeled as such.
DeleteLee
The media used to have full control over what went out, so they could report actual news and still get ratings. Now with the internet everyone has info in seconds, so all they can do for ratings is create news and stir crap up these days.
ReplyDeletePat Hatt, the news amateurs on YouTube, Twitter, etc might get it right on occasions, but mostly they obfuscate what is really going on. If the news agencies are trying to compete with that then they are lowering themselves.
DeleteLee
Riots...??? This close to Home...???
ReplyDeleteWishing you the best, good Sir Arlee...
Dr. Theda, I guess they were not full blown riots, but damage was done and that is disturbing enough.
DeleteLee
I have driven through Charlotte a few times but never stayed. I think our news media is PATHETIC!!! I am interested in the election but get most of my information online.
ReplyDeleteKathleen, I think we should all learn to amalgamate information from many sources and then become more adept at filtering out the garbage like the lies, distortions, and biases. To me a good rule is don't believe anything you read or hear from the media--truth is usually somewhere in the middle.
DeleteLee
Professionalism is all but completely gone from the television media, which is frustrating since it was the last outlet I trusted. It seems as if every "news"cast is more a glorified Op-Ed of whatever subject they happen to be talking about, so you have to skip around to find what you think is the news - or is just what you want to hear? Sad.
ReplyDeleteIs it me, or is this the longest election ever? Perhaps I've been too interested, but I sure am tired of worrying about it.
Diedre, there will be a massive sign of relief when this election is over. Be prepared for wind damage after that exhalation.
DeleteI do a lot of channel surfing these days. Radio seems to have gotten really cynical and one-sided or no-sided so I don't listen much there like I used to. I've lost so much respect for the media during this election and all of the other reporting as well.
Lee
I think the media does an absolute fabulous job of creating the news.
ReplyDeleteGB, so true. And so sad.
DeleteLee