Is the media evil or misguided? If life imitates art or vice versa, can the same be said of the media? Is the media covering events as they unfold and reporting it, or is it trying to impose a vision of events upon readers? What is the media anyway? We talk about it as though it’s one giant monolithic and homogenous organism with one master at the top determining the agenda.
These are big thoughts and questions for a layman such as myself. While I’ve had my flirtations with media (including radio and print), my experience is limited to the point where I can only go with my instincts and personal judgement.
Let’s start with sports. The colourful athlete who speaks his mind a-la Brett Hull or Charles Barkley is a dying breed. The media laments this everyday. It’s not uncommon to hear a radio host say, “I like so and so because he gives us something to talk about,” and then subsequently rip that person to shreds. No wonder some athletes simply zip up their mouths.
What comes first? The cantankerous athlete or the aggressive reporter? It’s the classic chicken before the egg thing. I can see why sometimes coaches or athletes snap. They are constantly bombarded with stupid questions. Think about how you would react if you had some wannabe sticking a mic in your face asking in four different ways how you felt after a 41-0 loss.
That’s not to say there aren’t any ogres in sports - there are. What I’m questioning is the media’s ability to be an impartial judge while attempting to convey this to the rest of us. Too often journalists are either too tight with their subjects or too confrontational. Either extreme only skews the reality. Heaven knows there are too many sports writers or radio hosts who should be anything but.
I digress.
I am not anti-media. Being anti-media is a little like being anti-religion in that we focus on the negative rather than the positive. Does that mean there isn’t any room to reform or improve? Most certainly not. However, constructive criticism never hurt anyone. Whether or not the media listens is another matter.
This aside, here in Montreal I have witnessed with my own two eyes on a couple of occasions how the media works. To say it has permanently marked me is an understatement. It was so bad I remember saying to myself that I would never want to be part of a society of dishonest jackals.
In both cases I was an eyewitness to certain non-sports related events. Twice the media deliberately misrepresented the events. In case you are wondering, no I was not interviewed, despite people pointing me out to the reporters and/or policemen. Nice way to gather facts, eh?
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