Media Matters

     The expression FAKE NEWS has become a popular and important one in today's political arena. Yet Fake News has been around for a long time, going back to the idea of "Yellow Journalism" coined in the mid 1890s (where it meant little or no well-researched news). Annenberg School's Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a well-known rhetorical scholar, is probably one of  the only persons to make sense of it in its present context.  She labeled the term an OXYMORON ( " contradictory terms appearing in conjunction with each other")  and she was right on the button. In other words, "Fake" is not real; "News" is  authentic.       Analyzing the term further, It is the nature of TRUTH that defines fake news.      One characterization is truth's ambiguity.  What truth is to one person may not be so to another individual. It seem to this critic that truth may be equated with personal perceptions:  "the mental p...

Martin Luther King, Jr. once famously said, "If you can't fly, then run. If you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do,  you have to keep moving forward." Although coincidentaly, King's birthday celebration is tomorrow on January 21, and he may even be compared to Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( RBG ) on some obvious levels, it is his quote that rings a loud and clear bell.       Providing, without a doubt, that you saw the recent Hollywood movie about RBG, "On the Basis of Sex."       King's message about movement is particularly suited to RBG's physical demeanor and determination  as she struggles to fight gender discrimination. Film as a medium also specifically relies on its moving images to convey a theme unlike other art forms, like, for examples, music, the visual arts, and architecture. In fact, the motion picture's director, Mimi Leder, has a special penchant for using visual movement to enhance her themes in "On ...

       Lengthy TV interviews about political "stars"  can be boring, yet  if the timing and topic are right, they can be valuable and even enjoyable. Take for example, recent TV "Conversations" featuring Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG ).       It's obvious that RBG is ripe for TV viewing  because the timing is appropriate:  consider her recent health problems and the opening of  the Hollywood film,"On the Basis of Sex." ( No doubt, there's a screenplay being written now about Speaker Pelosi.) We shouldn't forget the presence of the "Me Too movement" either. RBG is a perfect example of someone who can inspire people to join the ranks through TV/film exposure, keeping the movement growing.      The point is, we shouldn't ignore RBG's TV interview on PBS last week: viewers could  and did learn a lot about her, which was refreshing, humorous...