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| Yuris |
as an employee of the baltimore sun,
what was your opinion on the series finale of The Wire? |
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| denys envy |
| comments when i get to work (irony!). i just got up. gotta formulate my thoughts on this. |
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| Yuris |
| also, whats the general perception there on how the newspaper was portrayed in season 5? |
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| denys envy |
CORe version: it was ironic :)
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basically rumors circulated about the direction that the Wire would've taken one of these years (which turned out to be season 5) and how poorly the sun (along with other media) would be portrayed.
the writer (and subsequently producer) of the show, david simon, is a former employee, a disgruntled one at best.
i don't really understand the details, but i guess during a strike over benefits/expenses cuts back in the late 80's he decided to quit (or was forced out) because newspaper journalism wasn't fun anymore. (with increase of television popularity that was the first time ad revenue began to decrease, cost cuts had to be made). he felt that journalism was being manipulated by the overall financial agenda and that free speech was becoming not really free, it cost money. so he depicted everything he felt was wrong with it.
from my point of view there were some valid points, but grossly exaggerated. for example i agree that the fuel for newspaper is definitely advertising and finance, but content is what brings your market to you (news, stories, etc.) a perfect evil circle is formed when newsroom jobs are cut due to decline in circulation and revenue income. this, in turn, causes a decline in quality and variety of content. which forces readership to go down, and more jobs are cut. etc.
selectivity of stories was one unrealistic example. most of the newspaper's stories are what was on television the day before (which is ironic in its own self). to single out a newspaper as a source for "selective reporting" and "profit driven stories" is obviously a lame attempt to put the blame directly on a former employer. the problem exists within all media outlets, especially the internet.
stories about violence and crime attract a larger amount of readership.
i think reality of the matter is that he made out the baltimore sun to be the root of all problems, and failed to dwelve deeper into it, was really selective on what to show and how to show it. the word that comes best to mind to explain all that is irony. |
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| Yuris |
very interesting.
my impression after the finale was that the paper was struggling and basically made due with what it had. i perceived templeton as basically a rogue within the company - something that the newspaper couldn't have prevented. |
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tranceaddict Forums Archive > Local Scene Info / Discussion > USA > USA - Chicago, Detroit & N. Central USA
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