Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Q Tips







NPR related comments welcomed.
Posted by Mytwords at 5:49 AM
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13 comments:

Jay Schiavone said...

I participated in the National Equality March in DC on Sunday and observed an NPR quote gatherer interviewing a guy dressed as a chicken. After she had finish her representative sample (there was only one person parading in a costume, but hey) I lunged. I asked her why her network refuses to use the word "torture," what's the deal with Alicia and Vivian Schiller, and what would Steve Inskeep do with the quotes she was gathering. The waif-like radio ingenue with the rebellious pierced nose, brushed aside my inquiries, no doubt eager to search out another outlandish interview subject. "Excuse me," she said, "I have work to do." Does she know who pays her to do this important work? No, I don't expect she gives much thought to the network imperative to remind listeners that gays like to dress as chickens. Maybe she was gathering quotes for Ari Shapiro

10/14/09, 8:17 AM
Anonymous said...

good for you,Jay, both for participating and for holding EmptyPR's chicken feet to the fire.

"Excuse me," she said, "I have work to do." is typical: full of self-importance and condescension for "those people".

I went to college with a lot of Ivy league brats and this is precisely how they act.

EmptyPR is filled with these types.

10/14/09, 12:40 PM
Porter Melmoth said...

Holy Zeus!

On the lighter side, Inskreep 'n Mundane thought they'd show off a bit of their cultural superiority this morn - at Bob Dylan's expense.

Dylan is someone who would never let himself be snagged by NPR for an interview, so why not make fun of him?

Bob's got a new Xmas album out, and if we know the oldtimer, it's a pretty sure bet that he's got tongue firmly planted in grizzled cheek, what with singin' the crissmuss classics so faithfully.

Well, he sounds more like Tom Waits than Freewheelin' Bob, and the results are pretty hilarious.

However, our ME hosts play some bits of cuts with a 'wait till you hear THIS' intonation. Their lofty implication is that Dylan is really stupid.

It's good to know we have such reliable cultural arbiters to lead us away from stupidity.

Contributing consultant: Robert Smith (probably).

10/14/09, 12:55 PM
larry, dfh said...

Good for you, jaytingle. The last couple of times I protested wars in D.C. I spent most of my time harassing any press person I came across. Relentlessly. "Don't you think it's time for another piece on Al GOre's earth tones?" "Who would YOU rather have a beer with?" And on and on. CNN had a 'live' reporter and I stood behind her with a peace sign over her head. The crew asked me to stop it and I told them "NO, it's my right." Since the job of the 'press' is to sell us all on a bunch of crap, to ease us into our dog-eat-dog, constantly at war future, it is imperative that they be hindered in their efforts.

10/14/09, 1:07 PM
miranda said...

Nice work, jaytingle.

10/14/09, 2:12 PM
miranda said...

Porter, I fortunately missed that piece, but reading your description, I know I must buy that Dylan Xmas album. Didn't that "stoopid" Dylan write some songs about NPR ("Masters of War")?

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

10/14/09, 2:19 PM
Porter Melmoth said...

Right on, Miranda!

NPR is scared of Dylan and his kind. As well they might.

10/14/09, 2:29 PM
Porter Melmoth said...

Great field work, Jaytingle. Most helpful, and very telling.

Any budding journalist of merit would obviously have been keen on your questions and views - for their own reference, if nothing else.

Alas, curiosity in order to achieve level perspective just isn't present in most MSM hacks any more, as we well know. They serve their masters in order to climb towards stardom and stardom salaries.

I'd wager that this novice was more intimidated by your queries, so she appeared haughty as a defense mechanism. She may go far at NPR, as that's probably the immediate goal.

When in doubt, seek out chickens for good material.

10/14/09, 2:39 PM
geoff said...

From Wiki In the 1980s, the Chicken mascot would appear in McDonalds commercials with Ronald McDonald. McDonalds founder Ray Kroc was also the owner of the Padres, at whose game the Chicken appeared frequently.

There you have it: NPR has only two degrees of separation from the Chicken mascot: Chicken:Kroc:NPR. Thus the incestuous infatuation with factulence.

It was probably Ari Shapiro in that suit. He's come out of the closet. Good for him - good start! But now it's time to come out of the chicken and rattle those pots and pans, cause it's gonna be rainin' outside. Apologies to Bill Halley and Robert Johnson and

10/14/09, 3:31 PM
bgi!pnki!fzzyu!bnnyu! said...

Nice goin' there, Jay! 'Least ya tried.

10/14/09, 4:55 PM
Mytwords said...

Way to go Jaytingle. Maybe she thought the chicken was actually the Ombudsman or one of her bosses...

10/14/09, 5:20 PM
Anonymous said...

Maybe she thought the chicken was actually the Ombudsman or one of her bosses...

Or maybe she's just used to interviewing folks like Lieberman, Rumsfeld and Woefulwitz.

10/14/09, 5:41 PM
b~p~f~b!!! said...

^ That would be a different variety of fowl raised-for-food; destined to be consumed en masse in just a little over one month from now. ;-D

10/14/09, 5:46 PM

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