tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12826836451750603712024-02-08T03:15:00.037-08:00mikeonthemicMike Le Couteurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07303412974042222110noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282683645175060371.post-80501947198908010592011-07-12T21:23:00.000-07:002011-07-12T21:23:26.180-07:00In Defense of TV news<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I have never blogged before in my life.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Never felt compelled to do so, until this weekend. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">For the last few days I've seen someone that I've worked with on an infrequent basis, being called "brave" for a tirade against the so-called establishment.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">First let's get one thing clear, some people out there are seriously mistaken in their use of the word brave. I don't claim to be a wordsmith, but even I know that a 24-year old who quits a well-paying job in order to drive back across the country to live with his parents isn't brave. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I won't call the move silly or stupid, but rather normal. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I mean</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">,<span style="color: black;"> how many people out there have spent a summer going across the country to find themselves</span>?<span style="color: black;"> </span>P<span style="color: black;">robably thousands if not more.</span> And I DO wish him luck.<span style="color: black;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">But <span style="color: black;">B</span>RAVE<span style="color: black;"> is a mother who sits through 10 weeks of disgusting testimony detailing how her estranged husband stabbed their kids to death, all because she was in the process of divorcing him.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Brave is family that fights the flood waters which continue to rise around the</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">ir<span style="color: black;"> home for 2 months.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Brave is the leader of a First Nations community that sits in front of TV cameras to express the despair of his peop</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">l<span style="color: black;">e after a young child is shot and killed by a stray bullet while sleeping in his bed, even though he should be at home mourning the loss of his own grandchild.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">There are </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">some<span style="color: black;"> arguments that my colleague made against the media which I don't refute. Sure there are issues with how close management and editorial offices </span>have become<span style="color: black;">, but the last time I checked, you can't buy a carton of milk with smiles. At some point, money must be made. Regardless of the money - journalists have a huge responsibility to our readers, listeners and viewers. We are </span>THEIR<span style="color: black;"> voice and we are the ones who must hold governments and leaders accountable. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">When done right (as many of my colleagues prove every day) TV news can be an art. In 2 minutes or less, you are taken to the scene of that massive fire you heard about, or inside the dressing room of your favorite sports team. Nothing short of actually being there can re-create it as well. And when you match those incredible images with some great writing, it can be breath-taking. With shrinking attention spans in our YouTube generation, it's becoming more difficult to keep people tuned in, but there are so many great journalists out there who inspire me to continue trying to reach their standard.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I don't do this job for the money. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I do it for the "thank you" I got from the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">80-year old investor who was swindled in a ponzi scheme and felt that talking about it on TV, would help others shake away the shame and also break their silence so that the investor could be brought to justice. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I do it for the "thank you" from the wife of the murder victim in a cold case who hoped that her story would convince someone to come forward with information.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">I can't feed my family with a bunch of "thank yous" but it certainly helps me get through those days when I feel like giving it all up, for a trip out west.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div>Mike Le Couteurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07303412974042222110noreply@blogger.com2