Nobody will be surprised to hear this, but I want to have it out there all the same.
At the Mayborn Literary-Nonfiction Conference this past weekend, I sat in on a presentation/lecture from Joy Sewing, a fashion reporter at the Houston Chronicle. After showing us (with some small amount of embarrassment) how newspapers have become increasingly trivial in their content through the embracing of top-10 lists and shopping suggestions, she dropped this little gem:
If Macy’s buys an ad then guess what? Macy’s is in my story.
In a room of reporters and non-fiction writers, nobody but me and a friend thought the admission strange. We looked around in amazement, marveling at the passive acceptance of this reality. During Q&A, nobody brought it up. We all know it goes on, but to hear it said out loud, unlamented and unquestioned was upsetting to both me and my friend.
(On a side note, props to This American Life’s Ira Glass for an amazing presentation after dinner. He put a lot of work into what could have been a simple speech. Instead he gave us a private version of his radio show, complete with audio clips and music, and all perfectly executed on two switch-boards by the man as he talked.)
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Filed under: commentary, Media, News Tagged: | conflict of interest, corporate media, houston chronicle, ira glass, joy sewing, selling out
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Nobody will be surprised to hear this, but I want to have it out there all the same.
At the Mayborn Literary-Nonfiction Conference this past weekend, I sat in on a presentation/lecture from Joy Sewing, a fashion reporter at the Houston Chronicle. After showing us (with some small amount of embarrassment) how newspapers have become increasingly trivial in their content through the embracing of top-10 lists and shopping suggestions, she dropped this little gem:
In a room of reporters and non-fiction writers, nobody but me and a friend thought the admission strange. We looked around in amazement, marveling at the passive acceptance of this reality. During Q&A, nobody brought it up. We all know it goes on, but to hear it said out loud, unlamented and unquestioned was upsetting to both me and my friend.
(On a side note, props to This American Life’s Ira Glass for an amazing presentation after dinner. He put a lot of work into what could have been a simple speech. Instead he gave us a private version of his radio show, complete with audio clips and music, and all perfectly executed on two switch-boards by the man as he talked.)
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Filed under: commentary, Media, News Tagged: | conflict of interest, corporate media, houston chronicle, ira glass, joy sewing, selling out