In or Out?
posted by bitchphd
You should read this, about the "new" story that CNN's corporate management determined news content in the run-up to the war. What was in the news had more to do with what the bosses thought would be profitable than with what the reporters thought should be put out there.
In a week, I'll be going to the National Conference for Media Reform, which I've been feeling a little odd about--I'm not sure this blog is a "news" source, though when I think about it, I think it's the kind of thing that should be on the "lifestyle" pages, rather than dumbass corporate fluff about which products to buy and which rich people to emulate. But regardless, I am very interested in the subject of "the media," and how content gets determined, and how audiences get defined, and the overarching and always-present problem (really, from the very beginning) of profitability, which has meant "advertisers" for 300 years now.
As I'm filling out loan applications, and with the memory of filing our taxes not too far back (and as I'm making "better choices" about my health, and actively trying to support the education of not just PK, but all the kids in his classroom--including one little girl who I just adore that I've been helping learn to read with the proffered reward of a skating trip at the end of the year), I've been thinking lately about how my *own* ability to Do the Right Thing has a fair bit to do with my privileged economic position as the stay-home wife of a well-paid professional, and my privileged educational position as a woman who's been highly educated in critical thinking (and has been teaching it for something like 15 years now, in various ways). "Opting out," to use a much-deprecated term, seems to make it a lot easier to "opt in", ironically.
Or maybe I should put it the other way round: "opting in" to Doing the Right Thing (or trying to) is a hell of a lot easier if you "opt out" of Doing the Successful Thing (or trying to). It's quite the conundrum, especially as you get older and have children.
All of which is to say that being critical doesn't pay well. Given the state of The Economy, this is a problem; given the economic realities of modern life that feminism's been pointing out to us for a long time now, it's also a problem if/when women take advantage of its being easier for us to opt out in order to opt in. A lot of good shit gets done by people who are un- or underpaid. Which should be okay--money's only one measure of value--except that American reality means the folks doing that work (I'm not thinking of myself here) are At Risk--and we all know how America treats people who take bad risks that don't pay off.
No conclusion. Just thinking out loud.
In a week, I'll be going to the National Conference for Media Reform, which I've been feeling a little odd about--I'm not sure this blog is a "news" source, though when I think about it, I think it's the kind of thing that should be on the "lifestyle" pages, rather than dumbass corporate fluff about which products to buy and which rich people to emulate. But regardless, I am very interested in the subject of "the media," and how content gets determined, and how audiences get defined, and the overarching and always-present problem (really, from the very beginning) of profitability, which has meant "advertisers" for 300 years now.
As I'm filling out loan applications, and with the memory of filing our taxes not too far back (and as I'm making "better choices" about my health, and actively trying to support the education of not just PK, but all the kids in his classroom--including one little girl who I just adore that I've been helping learn to read with the proffered reward of a skating trip at the end of the year), I've been thinking lately about how my *own* ability to Do the Right Thing has a fair bit to do with my privileged economic position as the stay-home wife of a well-paid professional, and my privileged educational position as a woman who's been highly educated in critical thinking (and has been teaching it for something like 15 years now, in various ways). "Opting out," to use a much-deprecated term, seems to make it a lot easier to "opt in", ironically.
Or maybe I should put it the other way round: "opting in" to Doing the Right Thing (or trying to) is a hell of a lot easier if you "opt out" of Doing the Successful Thing (or trying to). It's quite the conundrum, especially as you get older and have children.
All of which is to say that being critical doesn't pay well. Given the state of The Economy, this is a problem; given the economic realities of modern life that feminism's been pointing out to us for a long time now, it's also a problem if/when women take advantage of its being easier for us to opt out in order to opt in. A lot of good shit gets done by people who are un- or underpaid. Which should be okay--money's only one measure of value--except that American reality means the folks doing that work (I'm not thinking of myself here) are At Risk--and we all know how America treats people who take bad risks that don't pay off.
No conclusion. Just thinking out loud.
Labels: feminism, media, the economy, the war on terrah
Posted at 1:20 PM
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