11.05.2007
Template Reporting
(C) 2007 Stan Spire
She was nervous, rattled. She searched through her notes when a question was asked, responding with a prepared statement. At one point she hesitated for a while, lost in her thoughts. Not a good showing for an incumbent.
OK, she was having an off day. Possibly something upset her before the debate. That's understandable. But an important aspect of politics is how well a candidate comes across to an audience. Public speaking 101.
When the newspaper article appeared, no mention of the incumbent's difficulties. And while an article can't include every detail, at least the pertinent ones should be mentioned.
The reporter should have been a stand-in witness for those who couldn't attend the debate. Anyone there who was half-awake noticed that the incumbent was struggling at times to make her points.
But the article was the same standard unit the reporter had stamped out with previous debates and other candidates. He wrote utilizing a basic format, treating each debate like a sporting event. Portraying the action like a battle of wills between two evenly matched opponents. Tossing in words like "tussle" to enliven the copy. Using quotes like key plays.
Template reporting results when a reporter has covered too many stories over the years. Stick to an easy formula, file the story.
But even a sports reporter mentions when an athlete drops the ball.
11.03.2007
An Immodest Proposal
© 2007 Stan Spire
During recent debates with local city candidates the topic of a bed tax came up. Apparently some are eying the new hotel to be built down by the lake as a source of new revenue for the city. But the lakeside hotel has dragged on for two years and nothing has been built. Of course, locating a hotel next to the city sewage plant has raised some eyebrows (or should I say twitched a few noses?).
Plattsburgh, NY has never been known for pragmatism. It has never learned to take advantage of what it already has. And when it comes to proposed projects, most are dreams produced from a certain kind of pipe.
Realistically, the best way for the city to charge a bed tax is find the right beds to tax. Legalized prostitution is the answer. It fits well with the nighttime ambience of downtown, the bars, the drugs, the walking wounded who come out when the sun sets. And with rates by the hour instead of by the day (or night), Plattsburgh would be raking in enough money from whoring to fix its sorry ass.
11.01.2007
Profit$ Over People
© 2007 Stan Spire
“Companies are now paying attention to the mental health problems of employees. An estimated X million dollars are lost each year due to depression and other emotional problems.”
“If a pandemic like bird flu sweeps the world, an estimated X billion dollars would be lost in productivity.”
Ever notice how most news stories stress the financial over the human? When there’s a problem related to workers, the main concern is how it affects the bottom line, not the person.
A cog in the machine – that’s the apparent value of a person. If he’s struggling with the agony of severe depression, don’t think of him as a fellow being who needs help. Regard him only as a mechanical part that needs a little more oil.
And make sure that your cogs are properly maintained, keep them healthy, not because they have families to support, but because you, Mr. Rich Capitalist, want to achieve your target for yearly profits. Keep the machine going. Don’t do anything for humanitarian reasons; such altruism is for suckers. Spend money on employees only when it affects the profit margin. And even then spend the minimum.
After all, materialism makes America the greatest country in the world – of expendable cogs.
