Over at my Friday 5 blog...
Q: On the one hand, we've got satellite radio and podcasts.
On the other, the commercial wavelengths are homogenized to an
unprecedented
extent. Are these good days or bad days to work in the non-visual
medium?
A: It's never been better. There is freedom here that you won't find in
visual media. I get to say what I want and if I want to talk about
families and Lutherans and a small town in Minnesota, nobody can stop
me and insist that I toss in a story about methamphetamine use among
transvestite soybean farmers visited by creatures from other galaxies.
I don't have to shoot anybody or torture people. It's lovely. When I
was in college, all of the smart ambitious people in broadcasting were
heading for TV and they sneered at radio, but it doesn't take much
brains to see the difference: one person can create audio that is
daring and inventive and keeps your attention: all he has to do is open
his mouth. Video, though it's gotten more manageable, requires a
committee and sometimes a small army to create imaginative drama. And
the beauty of audio is that you can carry it around and do other
things. To watch TV, you have to plant yourself in a small dark place
and camp.
I've been back in the newsroom for almost a month now, and I understand of what Mr. Keillor speaks. Just translate "video" as "newspaper" and "radio" as "blogs" and you get the picture. All newspapers are, ultimately, bureaucracies, and I have never fared particularly well with bureaucrats, no matter how well intentioned. Because I am ultimately a highly unreasonable man.
It was nice to see your smillin' by-line back in the paper. I'm likeing the Friday 5 too. Nice work.
Jean
Posted by: Jean McGreggor | Monday, March 12, 2007 at 17:49