How reporting in Arab states is eerily similar to reporting on evanglical Christian campuses

Review: The Doha Debates

I know this sounds far-fetched. But similarities are striking between the struggles a journalism student faces on an evangelical Christian campus and a working journalist faces in the Arab media. The "ah-ha" moment came during a viewing of the Jan 31 2006 episode of the Doha Debates, "This House believes that Arab media needs no lessons in journalism from the West."

Arab media expert and academic Marc Lynch noted in the debate that Arab media in the last few years had improved leaps and bounds. And said that while the Arab media in a given state can't cover their own state, they're remarkably good at covering neighboring states. The host, Tim Sebastian took him to task:

TIM SEBASTIAN: They do the easy things, they criticise other people. You'll never get an Arab station criticising its own leadership on its doorstep, do you?

MARC LYNCH: That's true but if you look at the range that's out there, if you want to find someone criticising Qatar , just go to Abdallah's station, it's easy enough to do.

TIM SEBASTIAN: That's the point, you have to go somewhere else. It's easy to throw stones over the wall and then escape, isn't it?

MARC LYNCH: The difference is that in the past, nobody could criticize Saudi Arabia because there was no place to do so. Now there is, and if anyone wants to criticise Qatar , there's a place to do it.

TIM SEBASTIAN: But it's neither in Qatar nor in Saudi Arabia.

MARC LYNCH: Does it matter? These are pan-Arab debates for pan-Arab audiences. Does it really matter where the studio is located?

TIM SEBASTIAN: But isn't the point of journalism to act as watchdogs on your own turf?

MARC LYNCH: I think that's the next step. The next step has to be local media, local media which takes on the hard problems and holds local leaders accountable. Al Jazeera cannot do that, Al Arabiya cannot do that (Doha Debates).

Let me list some of the similarities:

(1) In Arab Media, you can criticize other countries, but it gets more dicey when it comes to criticizing your own government. In Christian schools, you can talk about scandals on other schools no problem, but when it comes time to report on your own Christian school, it also becomes problematic. This becomes especially true if the Arab state/Christian school helps fund the news outlet.

The difference here of course is quality of response. The stakes are higher in Arab media, where you can be detained, or in some cases assaulted and killed (Doha Debates). In the meantime, Christian Schools face prior restraint, news outlet closing or expulsion at worst.

(2) In Arab Media, it's perceived as easier to write an opinion piece critiquing something in government than a news story because in a news story, people either don't want to be quoted or you'll find yourself perpetuating governmental spin. In Christian schools, many of which are private institutions that can fire on the spot, professors don't want to be quoted. Because they don't want to get fired. So it's easier to write an opinion piece critiquing the school.

(3) In Arab Media, journalists at times practice self-censorship for their own safety, and oftentimes because they don't want to be perceived as "hurting" their country (Rugh; Ayalon). In Christian schools, journalists at times also practice self censorship because they don't want to make waves with their professors/other students or perceived as hurting a "Christian brother."

I'm sure I'll find more...

100 Confessions: Celebrities

(57) Celebrity craze is weird to me. This may seem odd coming from an avowed media bug, but I don't go crazy over celebrities that same way others do.

Case in point: Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, and Jack Nicholson are all in town filming a movie. DC came out in droves to celebrity watch. My wife forced me to walk home that route so she could see if she could get a glimpse of Reese Witherspoon. I dragged my feet and acquiesced. Along the way a woman claiming to be in the movie asked me to carry some of her stuff to the set. Mimi talked her up, played nice, etc.. I didn't talk because I don't believe she was in the movie. I think she was lazy. The people on set seemed to recognize her, but that doesn't mean much. She said she'd tell Jack Nicholson how helpful we were. I was like "uh...thanks." I've waited all my life for Jack Torrence to be thankful for my work. (Name dropping seems to indicate she's not a big deal)

That said, there are people I would fawn over if given the chance, but they're not exactly "celebrities." They don't appear in the tabloids. They're writers. I would totally get an autograph from Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cruse, Stephen King, and David James Duncan. But I can't really think of anyone else.

Why is an advocacy organization writing for the Washington Post?

Apparently, this has been going on for at least the past week, but I only noticed it this morning. I was reading an article on "How a Loophole Benefits GE in Bank Rescue", and realized the byline was a bit odd. It was a double byline that looked like this:

By Jeff Gerth and Brady Dennis
ProPublica and Washington Post Staff Writer

On their website, the Washington Post explains the shared story:

About This Story

This article was reported jointly with Jeff Gerth of ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. ProPublica is supported entirely by philanthropy and provides the articles it produces, free of charge, both through its own Web site and to leading news organizations.

What does it mean when an advocacy organization can write for the Washington Post? "Hey yeah, Woodward, we want you to do this investigative piece on theft of campaign documents. We're going to team you up with a journalist from the Heritage Foundation."

Now Heritage Foundation isn't ProPublica, but I think you see my point (It's hard to make an equivalent, because I don't know of any right-wing journalist advocacy organizations. I'm not sure what that says about conservatives or journalism). How will this affect coverage and the framing of stories?

ProPublica hasn't not been immune to attacks of bias. In fact the second heading on their wikipedia page is "Concerns about bias":

Because ProPublica received the vast majority of its initial funding through the Sandlers – known for donating heavily to left-wing advocacy groups – there were concerns that the organization would not maintain an independent and non-partisan editorial stance toward the subjects it investigates. In addition, Slate senior writer Jack Shafer noted that Herb Sandler has given "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to Democratic party candidates over the years, as well as millions to left-leaning or progressive political advocacy organizations such as MoveOn and ACORN. The Sandler Family Supporting Foundation has also made grants to Oceana, Rocky Mountain Institute, Environmental Defense and the Tides Foundation.

Of course, where do you get funding for journalism nowadays? Well, unfortunately, I'm not sure you can get it from a place that isn't pretty civicly involved on one side of the aisle or the other. Wearing an intern directors cap, it's neat to think about putting an intern to work at ProPublica and seeing their work appear in the Washington Post (you can't do anything but a coffee-fetching internship in the Washington Post newsroom because of union regulations. You can do a bit more in the WashingtonPost.com--it's in northern Virginia, out of union territory). But this is worrisome in terms of the future of journalism. I would suspect that the Post is embracing ProPublica as a result of short staffing. But what is lost in this arrangement?

Vegan? Carnivore?

Hmmmm.

H/T Alex Pearson

100 Confessions: Haircut

(56) I have no pride in haircuts. To me, spending more than $15 on a haircut is atrocious. I have the same philosophy with haircuts that my dad taught me for lawn mowing: you cut everything down to size then get the details with a weed-whacker.

My stylist today drove me nuts. She's grooming the back of my head (so minutely she might as well have used tweasers), while the top of my head hasn't even been touched yet.

I frequently get complaints at hair salons that my hair is too thick. One time, my hispanic woman began cursing in Spanish and then said, "Your hair break my scissors. Next time, you come sooner." Oh yeah, so I can pay you more. No thanks.

Why Twitter shouldn't be confused with Journalism

@Woodward: Gas is Xpensive.
@Bernstein: 4 Real
@Woodward: OMFG! Prez is bugging some cribz!
@Bernstein: No Way! WTF?
@Woodward: 4 Real. Nixon is Rediculus!!!!! G2G. Lunch. Vietnamese. mmmm

H/T Monty Hobbs

100 Confessions: Babies

(55) I don't know anything about babies. I mean I know the essentials:

(a) Babies cry. It's not like when adults cry. They do it all the time. People see it as normal.
(b) Babies drink their milk out of sucky bottles or breast feed. Not typical for adults.
(c) Babies generally keep their conversations fairly simple. If they can be understood at all.
(d) They have bladder control/bowel control issues. It's everyone else's problem.

But past the essentials, things get a little shaky.

"Oh that's a cute baby!...Oh two-months huh? Wow, so she's probably walking and talking huh? ...No? Oh. Well, I wouldn't worry about it, she'll catch up."

Also when people pass me babies the babies usually start to scream. If I can get them to stop screaming, I usually end up awkwardly holding them like a sack of potatoes/bag of rabid venomous snakes.

Reflections on the Red Line Metro Crash

It wouldn't seem right not say something about the metro crash here in DC. I'm not sure I can add much to the conversation, except to point out the obvious: sober looks on the metro, metro operators arguing about what went wrong, the metro headquarters bathed in black banners.

The Washington Post did a powerful feature worth your attention here.

But let me just give two of the strong human interest anecdotes included in the story, which profiled each of the nine dead:

LaVonda "Nikki" King, 23, of Northeast Washington

LaVonda "Nikki" King, 23, of Northeast Washington had boarded the Metro chattering away about her new career. She was on the phone with her mother, talking about the fliers she wanted to make to promote her new business, LaVonda's House of Beauty.

"I was talking to her as she entered the train," said her mother, Tawanda Brown of Upper Marlboro. "She was so excited. She had so many dreams about the salon." King had signed the paperwork for the Forestville salon space just Friday and was headed to pick up her sons, ages 2 and 3, from day care.

When Brown saw the crash coverage on TV, she knew: "My daughter's on that train." She spent a sickening night visiting six hospitals before authorities knocked on her door at 3 a.m. to tell her King was dead.

Dennis Hawkins, 64, of Washington

Scores of children in different parts of the District were affected by the loss of Dennis Hawkins, 64, of Washington.

Hawkins had no children of his own, but he was beloved by kids at the school where he worked and in the church where he taught, friends and relatives said.

He was on his way from work at Whittier Education Center in Northwest Washington to teach vacation Bible school in Ivy City when he was killed in the crash.
...
Members of Bethesda Baptist Church waited and waited for their Bible school teacher to arrive Monday night. Cobb's grandmother was enrolled. Finally, word from Hawkins's family reached a church official. And they began to mourn.

Nicole Clifton, principal at Whittier, said Hawkins was a retired teacher who worked as Whittier's right-hand man.

"He was the heartbeat of the school. He was my go-to person," Clifton said.

Review: The Arab Press

For the basic themes of this book, read this, then subtract two decades.

That said, “The Arab Press” is the original study of press in the Arab world. Rugh notes in this book, which looks across sixteen Arab countries, that the press in the Arab world reflects and takes the shape of the country it’s in.

There is an intimate, organic relationship between the media institutions and society in the way those institutions are organized and controlled. Neither the institution nore the society in which it functions can be understood properly without reference to the other.

This is certainly true in the Arab world. The news media there, in fact, are particularly interesting in this regard because of the roles they have played during the third quarter of the twentieth century as most of the Arab countries gained their full independence and developed their own national institutions (Rugh xxvi).

The main thesis of Rugh’s book is that arab news organizations take the shape of, and reflect the country their in. It’s hard to generalize about Arab press because there are some countries with significantly freer press than others.

The Four Models of Journalism make an interesting appearance in this book however (though they’re slightly altered). Rugh asserts that, in the arab press, there are four basic press models:

(1) Authoritarian-

“the media support and advance the policies of the government, which controls the media either directly or indirectly through licensing, legal action, or perhaps financial means. The regime allows the media some discussion of society and the machinery of government, but not of the people in power” (Rugh 25).

This system arises from the assumption that truth arises not from the masses, but from the elite few. This press model is perhaps similar to public relations model in the United States, though in the U.S. few people would consider this legitimate journalism.

(2) Libertarian- holds that

“the media must be completely free of government controls and provide the consumer with sufficient objective information and variety of opinion so that the consumer can make up his or her own mind. The libertarian media are both an outside check on government—the watchdog function—and a vehicle for what Milton called a “free and open encounter” of ideas which should help reasoning people distinguish truth from error” (Rugh 26).

This press model is perhaps most similar to the American model of the press. Multiple, competing viewpoints. Objective, independently verified facts as a foundation.

(3) Social Responsibility- formed in response to the libertarian model, Rugh said this model has had a harder time taking hold in the Arab world in it’s pure form for both cultural and economic reasons. There are segments of society that didn’t have either the funds or the reputation to create their own press in the 20th century that was strictly their viewpoint. They had a better chance of being heard in the libertarian model.

This is the party press. The press with a bias, presented openly and delivered unapologetically. The press has a social responsibility to back a certain viewpoint (Rugh 26). This model corresponds with the European model of the press.

(4) Totalitarian- this is press model that perhaps isn’t even worth consideration in American, but overseas, it is.

“Under the totalitarian system, all information media are centrally controlled by the government, whether they are in private or public hands, and unapproved foreign or other competing media may not be distributed at all in the country. Unlike the negative controls of an authoritarian media system, which merely restricts anti-regime content in available media, totalitarian controls are intended to force the media into a positive, active role of agitation and propaganda within an overall scheme to mobilize the population. Most importantly, while the authoritarian system generally is concerned only about mass media and outward obedience and allows free speech in private, in the totalitarian system, the rulers attempt to control all aspects of a person’s life, demanding an individual’s positive, active commitment in public and private to their goals” (Rugh 27).

This is the PR Model on steroids. This is the Stalinist USSR. This is 1984. Thankfully, this has few homes in the world today, but in previous imperialist days, the Arab media saw this press model in their homes.

100 Confessions: A Urinal Typology

(54) I'm a businessman urinal user. This may sound confusing (especially for you ladies, as there is not, to the best of my knowledge, an equivalent experience). The urinal has it's own culture. For example, when there are multiple open urinals, it's socially required that you put a urinal's distance between you and the next dude. Only when forced to by crowds or an overextended bladder, may you pull up in the urinal directly next to another dude.
So I have prepared a typology of urinal behavior. There are four basic types of urinal users:

1) The priest- When he's at the urinal, he's staring up at the heavens. This is "I'm-too-good-for-this" guy. He will likely not talk during his stay in the bathroom. This is even true if you know the dude. He doesn't need to stare down into the urinal, he has faith everything will turn out okay.

2) The businessman- When he's at the urinal, he stares straight ahead. This is "Takin'-care-of-business" guy. You go in, you do your business, you get out. However, the businessman will be willing to have slightly more communication that the priest. For example, at a rest stop in New Jersey, there was a more than awkward moment where a dad brought his son into a stall to change his diaper and the son let phrases rip like "No, Daddy don't!" "Please leave my pants alone!" "Why is the door locked?!" and "Mommy help me!" In this situation, it was socially acceptable for the businessman to chuckle at the urinal, but the dude doth not engage in conversation until away from the urinal. Once at the sink, conversation may resume with "poor guy" exclamations.

3) The Scientist/Sharpshooter- When he's at the urinal, he's staring down. This is "What's-going-on-down-there" guy. It's hard to differentiate whether this dude is a scientist, making sure everything checks out; or a sharpshooter aiming for the urinal cake, hoping hit just right so the flush water turns pink. Generally, this dudes are as a reserved as the priests. They're either thinking "Gray's Anatomy" or "Parker Hale Model 85".

4) The Networker- When he's at the urinal, he talking with the people beside him. This is "Way-too-comfortable-at-the-urinal" guy. People beside him may think he is a Peeker (secret fifth member of the typology, but my typology doesn't include freaks), but nah, he just feels like talking to the people beside him. He figures, hey if I'm going to be in here, might as well chat it up. It is unlikely, however, that he will exchange business cards in the bathroom.

100 Confessions: Daydreaming

(53) I daydream about doing heroic acts. I think these daydreams compensate for this problem. But these daydreams at times are very in depth. In one, I rescue President Barack Obama from a terrorist attack. After publicly praising me in a White House Press Conference, he asks me to be his running mate in the next election.

I also occasionally have the ones where I discover I have latent superpowers. Nothing lame like shooting webs, but super strength usually. I wouldn't want to be able to read minds--I think that's the worst ability ever. If we all knew what our friends thought of us, I think we'd have pretty low self-esteem. I've never understood why the telepath superhero doesn't ever commit suicide in the comics. Is he just that pompous?

100 Confessions: Lifetime

(52) I think Lifetime movies are ridiculous. There are only three plot lines in Lifetime movies: murder, rape and family dysfunction. And it's always the man's fault. Occasionally, they do mix them up. At my grandmother's house, I sat through one with a mean female protagonist who was causing, you guessed it, family dysfunction. (But how is this the man's fault?) Lifetime answered the question with a flashback. Sure enough, she'd been raped as a child. By a man.

100 Confessions: Channel Changing

(51) I'm a channel changer. This especially occurs with channels that have obnoxiously loud commercials (yes, ESPN, I'm talking about you). Some people would play the game of turning down the volume, then turning it up again. Or muting the commercials, then turning it back on.

I don't play games. You give me a loud commercial, I'm changing the channel. That's how I roll.

I will also change the channel if people are crying and there's sad, weepy music--sure sign of a chick show. I will however linger on a channel if there are explosions.

Arlington: The Rap

Why Sony wins the video game wars

Yes. I think Sony wins the video game wars. You will either find this statement (a) entirely credulous since I already sunk $600 into a 60GB Playstation 3 (personal bias revealed) or (b) entirely incredulous, because the Wii is clearly the fastest-selling system, and the XBox 360 has the most marketshare of next-generation games.

Let me start by saying that there is nothing wrong with either of the other two systems. But here are my reasons for this statement.

(1) The Playstation 2 is still the most popular video game system. Recent tech news indicates that Playstation 2 won the video game wars of 2008-2009. What? That thing is nine years old! The Playstation 2 is still benefiting from the same phenomenon, that, frankly, is killing blue-ray movies. The advent of blue-ray has made DVDs even cheaper. And Playstation 2 operates with DVDs. Sony has either been ingenious or downright stupid by releasing a large majority of their new games both on Playstation 2 and Playstation 3. So when both versions are available, you suddenly have a completely awesome $40 PS 3 game also available for $20 on PS 2...

The most popular game console -- based on minutes spent playing during the course of the month -- is none of the current consoles but rather Sony's venerable PlayStation 2. That's a real testament to the phenomenal staying power of the little black system, with 21.6 percent of all gaming minutes during the month spent playing it.

(2) The Playstation 3 allows you to play the games you already own on Playstation and Playstation 2. I am aware that the Xbox 360 allows you to play some games from the original Xbox. But it is not nearly as broadbased a support for the video game dollars already spent as with the Playstation. This allows you to have a single video game box rather than have several. (It's dorky enough to have one video game console in your home--but several? Dates will fail.)

(3) The Playstation 3 has the capability to everything and more on the Wii and Xbox. What does the Wii have going for it? Not graphics. Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 are far superior. It's ease of play. You can use a Wii-mote and feel like your doing something natural. None of this messing around trying to learn a controller. Controllers suck. Remember the N64 controller? Bleh. The Playstation 3 has always had motion-sensor capability but has never taken advantage of it. And in recent news, Sony has designed a "wand" that they will be releasing in 2010 to go head-to-head with Nintendo.

(4) Convergence Culture is the future. Come on folks, we know that discs aren't the future. Direct internet-to-console downloads are the future. At least, according to Jenkins. All three systems allow you to download things from varying degress onto your harddrive. Skins for your desktop, patches for games, extra levels, old Castlevania games from the original Nintendo. On my PS3, not only can I download Street Fighter 2 and the most recent episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," but I can go online and check my email, watch YouTube and Hulu. I don't have a DVD player or a Blue-ray player or a cd player in my house. I have a Playstation 3 and it does more than all three.

100 Confessions: Parent Sayings

(50) I always thought parental "wisdom" statements were unbelievably funny.
(A Father's Day Post)

I never did well with scolding. My Dad usually did the disciplining and his face contorted oddly when he got angry. So usually when he started screaming, I burst out laughing. This usually brought about a murderous "oh, so you think this is funny?" Most times I ended up biting my lip and pinching myself to keep from laughing. I'm sure that was beloved.

-Response to making a mess: "What, do you think you were born on a barn?"
This seems discriminatory toward rural people groups. From my experience (watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and Northern Exposure), folks born in barns don't turn out all bad. How about that Jesus? Huh? Huh? Bet he could keep his room as dirty as he wanted as long as he kept changing the his parent's water to wine.

-Response to forgetting something: "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times..."
Actually having being told something once is very different from being told something a thousand times. It's a lot harder to forget something you've heard a thousand times. Like the five dollar, foot long song.

-Response to doing something at a friend's urging:"If (insert peer pressure agent) told you to jump off a bridge would you do that too?"
Hey, jumping off a roof is very different from buying a slap bracelet with my allowance. And ps. jumping off bridges is a fast growing sport, dad. It's called bungee jumping and people do it because someone behind them says "Jump!" Ditto skydiving.

-Response to asking for "dad" too much, usually with whining questions: "I'm gonna change my name."
You're right Dad. Please keep your name. I won't ask for your help anymore. Rather than calling for you I will take your silence for consent. I think I'll use that lamp as a football. And where's a good tattoo parlor?

-Response to an insubordinate act: "If you think I'm going to standby while you do (insert insubordinate act), you've got another thing coming!
What was the "other thing?"
I never did pose this question because I'd probably get slapped upside the head.

-Response to loud raucous: "I don't want to hear one more peep out of you!"
I really did think of peeps as those delicious candies from Easter. This elicited images of peeps flowing out uncontrollably from my mouth.

Review: The Press in the Arab Middle East

Press freedom was problematic in the Arab world for much of the 19th and 20th century. Press censorship wasn’t just legislated and economically motivated. Many times the harshest censor was the press itself.

Culturally, many Arabs saw freedom of expression as a weapon that could either be used beneficially or destructively. Rafiq- al-Maqdisi, a Syrian author, told the following story to illustrate it’s destructiveness:

It happened in 1908, following the restoration of the Ottoman constitution, in the Banyas district of the province of Ladhiqiyya. An angel walking from the town to the country met a villager on his way to Banyas, who asked him:
“What is new in town?”
“Freedom has been declared.”
“How come?”
“Our lord the Sultan has restored the constitution and imparted freedom.”
Whereupon the villager shouted at the top of his voice: “The world is free then!” and immediately grabbed a stick and started beating the angel for the world had become free! (Ayalon 132)

Ayalon’s history of the Arab Press makes the case that the Arab press was largely progressing along the western world’s path, albeit a century or two behind (Ayalon 249) until the fall of the Ottoman Empire which sent it back to tabula rosa. Ayalon proposes that the Arab press has always been a step behind the western press because of the religio-cultural obstacles that had to be overcome for press freedom. She noted that even among the most educated arab journalists, there is a desire to self-censor to protect their country (Ayalon 136).

This self-censorship is perhaps rooted in religion. Before the rise of news publications in the Arab world, the primary means of communication happened through the mosque (Ayalon 4). The mosque was not just a place for religious devotion but a locale to learn about current events. Well, with the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the people who took charge of countries in the Arab world, appeal to their constituents religious beliefs—but depicting themselves as faithful religious people. Those elected officials then at once affirm press freedom as long as it “obeyed the law” and also largely supported or disapproved of the press according to their whims. Since these officials were seen in the same role as religious leaders – those who traditionally gave the news anyway – the concept of writing copy which might be in opposition to them was an obstacle for journalists (Ayalon 126).

Culturally, not only was critical journalism itself seen unfavorably, but any type of journalism was viewed negatively (Ayalon 221).

One serious disadvantage in being a journalist was the low public image of the occupation, which remained so throughout much of the period under consideration. When Jurji Zaydan joined al-Muqtataf as an administrator in 1887, his father’s reaction was, typically, strongly adverse. He wanted his son to study something more ‘decent,’ such as medicine or law. Still an amorphouse activity, journalism had none of the prestige of either of the other two professions (Ayalon 221).

The job seemed odd. It required no special certifications, it was denounced by religious leaders and it dealt with words and opinions.

Overall, Ayalon admits that the idea of a free press assimilated slowly into the Arab world and said the press faced numerous cultural and religious obstacles perhaps not faced in the West.

100 Confessions: "No" Problem

(49) I have a "no" problem. I have trouble saying "no." I've gotten better over the years but I tend to consider doing things for people that most would just throw out on instinct.

Example: my trip to West Palm Beach. I organized a trip to a nearby diner to buy my former students dinner, etc. I began to get calls from the parent of one student who asked if I wouldn't mind driving his kids there and back home. I actually hesitated before realizing I didn't get paid to do that crap anymore.

Now I usually just say "yes" to awkward things.

Guy I've met twice in my life: "Would you mind lifting me up to pop the crick in my back?"
Me: "Uh...sure."

I actually did the lift twice.

100 Confessions: Newspapers

(48) I love newspapers. The death of the newspaper medium is tragic to me. Mostly because I think I'm one of the few who actually still reads it every morning. My sense is that a good chunk of people would be just as happy to wake up and have their cereal/coffee with the internet. That's just disgusting. My relationship with newspapers isn't just one of habit and routine, but it something that involves all the senses. I love waking up to the smell of a newspaper, the feeling of the newsprint under my fingers.

But as I said, I think I'm one of the few who will morn it if it goes...

Aside: I don't ascribe to the foolish who think "news" is dying, however. We just need to figure out a new way to pay for it. And people will--it's a basic human need.

Why LOST Still Matters

Full disclosure: I'm a LOST nerd. No really, I'm that guy. The one who has all the crazy theories about the Island, who Jacob is, etc. I'm going to try to be objective about my appreciation for this show...actually I won't.

For those of you not similarly addicted, here's a brief summary (is that possible?) from Wikipedia:

LOST is an American serial drama television series. It follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, United States crashes somewhere in the South Pacific. Each episode typically features a primary storyline on the island as well as a secondary storyline from another point in a character's life, though other time-related plot devices change this formula in later episodes. The pilot episode was first broadcast on September 22, 2004, and since then five full seasons have aired.

When ratings began to drift in season two and early season three and accusations flew that the writers didn't know where the show was going, ABC did something unprecedented. They allowed the writers to set an end date for a successful show.

Now LOST did shed some viewers in the process (in the five seasons, they've gone from 16 million viewers to 11 million). LOST is essentially a niche show on a broadcast channel, yet it has managed to be relatively successful both by critics and viewers. How has it done that? I have no clue. But I have some ideas about why the show still matters:

(1) The writers of LOST, unlike most other broadcast shows, have decided to reward obsessive compulsive viewers like me, while leaving causal viewers in the dust. Some studies have shown that though LOST doesn't have the best ratings during the broadcast hour, it does fabulous online. It's one of the highest recorded shows on DVR, frequently tops iTunes for downloads and tops hulu in views as well. So despite the moves other shows have taken to become more procedural on broadcast, LOST has maintained it's serial nature.

(2) LOST has complex heroes. Usually the idea of the hero who saves the day is ceded to procedurals. Serial shows win awards, procedurals don't. Serials are the "don't-miss-an-episode-or-die-shows" (24, Gossip Girl, Mad Men, etc.). Procedurals are your typical cop/hospital dramas (CSI, CSI:Miami, CSI: New York, CSI: Humpsville, Ill., etc.) On the other hand, procedurals get higher viewers. There are a lot of people willing to see Horatio rip off his glasses and deliver dead-pan lines night after night (example: Horatio walks into a bedroom and finds a woman dead. He whips off his sunglasses, "Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed"). Here's the LA Times take on that:

"Procedurals offer the basics of storytelling that people want to
hear," says "Criminal Minds' " Bernero. "It's very Arthurian and basic
to human experience. People like to think that, while they can be
scared and pull the blanket up around them, there are heroes out there
who will save the day. It's very comforting, and that's why there will
always be a huge market for cop shows: People need to know there are
heroes."

I'm not sure all viewers want that. Certainly not those in the younger generation who watch online. Serial shows play to the strengths of the online medium. "What did that smoke monster look like? Lets rewind and look again." And there's a reason LOST has been successful online. It has heroes whocontinue to be heroic despite hefty character development.

(3) LOST knows how to play the current television game. In the aftermath of ER, the idea that any show will command a majority of the viewership is pretty clearly dead.The current game is how to get people excited about your show online, but preferably watching during the actual airing. This is easier on some channels than others. Gossip Girl can afford to be serial because on the CW, the timeslot only requires them to nail down 1-2 million viewers. FOX, NBC, ABC, and CBS still want to be top dogs. But LOST will be remembered for being able to stick it out with the big networks while being able to stay true to a storyline. Not every serial in the same scenario has been able to (Heroes, I'm talking about at you. How did serial-killer Sylar end up a donut munching cop for half a season?)

(4) The writing is still spot on. A lot of shows have jumped the shark long before this point. It takes a great writer to keep a serial going this long and this well.

Washington Times on "Obama, bin Laden"

The Washington Times online product today carried this headline for Obama's visit to Saudi Arabia:

"Obama, bin Laden vie for public notice"

Yeah, I saw it too. I'm not going to jump the gun and say media bias, but this is one they should have caught...

H/T Chris Moody

Classic Quote from the Blogosphere

From our friend Julie, reflecting on her CPR training experiences:

I named my dummy Sid and he was an excellent patient. I saved his life five times in one hour and I could definitely see the gratitude on his hollowed-out face.

100 Confessions: Wrestlemania

(47) My cousin and I used to wrestle with the family friend Steven Bishop. Steven was 17 and HUGE. Wrestlemania usually required frequent assurances to my parents that this was completely safe, and, no, no one ever gets hurt. We would go crazy wrestling, occasionally stopping to make rules like "no fair throwing me upside down."

Eventually my cousin and I would carry on with this alone which required even MORE assurances to parents. As I recall, we ended up breaking at least two tables, some glassware, and there was at least one hospital visit--my cousin, not me.

100 Confessions: Night Adventures

(46) My cousin and I used to go on night adventures when I stayed over at his house. For some reason, exploring their house was much more fun if done in the middle of the night with flashlights. This did become problematic (!) though. One time my aunt woke up, heard hushed voices and saw flashlight beams passing by her door. She was convinced we were burglars. As I recall, some spankings did occur--for my cousin, not for me.

Other adventures included ripping out all the sprinkler heads in the yard and replacing them with golf balls, convinced that golf-ball trees would emerge. I tried to explain to my grandfather that I'd done him a pretty big darn favor, planting all those for him, but for some reason he seemed unconvinced.

100 Confessions: Big words

(45) I love big words. Recently I've become a fan of "emblematic" and "problematic." Using those two words can make just about anything sound academic. Example: "The financial troubles at the Palm Beach Post are emblematic of the larger struggles in journalism in general. Increasing staff cuts could make current circulation problematic."

For those who don't like academic-ese, I'm also a fan of malaprops--if it's any consolidation.

Undercover with the Evangelicals

Imagine this book: a student from an Ivy League institution goes undercover and spends a semester at a Jewish university to study the Jewish students there.

Imagine another book: a student from an Ivy League institution goes undercover at an Islamist university to study the Muslim students there.

Don't sound plausible do they? In my mind it even seems, well, kind of racist. Well, that's exactly what happened but at an evangelical Christian university (Liberty).

Taking a semester off to travel and focus on writing isn't that unusual for a student at Brown University. But instead of studying comparative literature in Europe, Kevin Roose decided to go to Lynchburg, Va., and enroll at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University.

I'm must admit my feelings on this subject are torn. In one sense, I feel like evangelicals are one of the few religious groups that it's socially "okay" to mock (this being an example of a chance to peek in on the "weird religious people"). But, I also have to applaud some of the results of his work. According to the article, Roose left Liberty with a much better understanding of evangelical Christians:

"My goal was to see the real, unfiltered picture of life at Liberty University," he says. Even though his method required deception, Roose says the intent was honest. It "really did allow me to get a more accurate — and actually a fairer picture — of what life at Liberty was like."

Two things I think are key to remember in response to this:

(1) Liberty University may get the most press of an evangelical university, but Liberty University does not represent Evangelicals anymore than Andrea Dworkin represents all feminists. Or, to state it in a more extreme case, anymore than Ayatollah Khomeini represents all Muslims.

(2) The student's thesis, despite how he went about answering it, was spot on.

Roose, the product of the "ultimate, secular, liberal upbringing," got the idea to go undercover after meeting a group of Liberty students while a freshman at Brown. "I had never really come into contact with conservative Christian culture," he says. "It became clear very quickly that we had almost no way to communicate with each other."

I can speak to this from times I've had friends who are evangelical Christians out with those who are not. Sometimes there really is a language boundary. And in the past it's led to a lot of misunderstanding. Let's hope this book doesn't bring more of the same.