Threebie 01: STOP THE PRESSES
(Here is my first installment of “Threebie” posts. Read about “Threebies” here.)
At 5pm EST on June 1, 1980, after an introduction by Ted Turner that declared “I dedicate the news channel for America — the Cable News Network,” CNN began its first news broadcast. Its lead story covered President Jimmy Carter’s visit to Vernon Jordan in a Fort Wayne, IN hospital while the Civil Rights attorney and activist recuperated from an attempted assassination. Just minutes after launch, the program “cut-away” from it’s first commercial break to offer live coverage of the visit. (See CNN’s first broadcast here.)
And with that, the face of television and media in general was forever changed.
Almost 30 years later, as I check out CNN.com for the 5th time this morning, in my mind I want to shout “STOP THE PRESSES!” — but, not until I check out FoxNews.com and Eonline.com one more time. It’s addictive! And, I’m just an information junkie looking for one more fix. We have developed into a media-hungry (even obsessed) culture where even the most trivial items are elevated to “news” status by sheer virtue of their ability to fill up airtime and fulfill advertising obligations. How did we get here?
CNN, appropriately named, was the first 24-hour cable news network. Its format allowed viewers to gain information about breaking stories faster than they ever had before — almost immediately, in fact. The network’s premise and programming philosophy made broadcasting live events a priority while maintaining a regular news oriented schedule.
This concept that has become so completely ingrained in our culture and expectations was actually foreign in 1980 and had many doubters. What was the difference? In essence, CNN did not stop the presses. Where newspapers had multiple edition deadlines throughout the day (and night) and traditional networks broadcast news within strict programming schedules that governed when all but the most crucial news could be shown, CNN offered new “news” at every moment — or at least a re-telling of old news and the opportunity to engineer live coverage at the first inkling of a newsworthy crisis.
Now that other news networks and the internet have jumped on board, how has my understanding of news changed?
- Thanks to 8 months on the campaign trail and 4 more to go, I now know more about the Electoral College than my 7th grade Social Studies teacher — and a lot more about hairstyles of candidates and candidate’s wives, way more about that church in Chicago and it’s outspoken pastor, and more than enough sound bites trying to match the power of “I have a dream” or “Ask not what your country can do for you.”
- TMZ.com is a bona fide news source. Hmmm.
- Instead of just leaving troop movement to the Pentagon, I can follow a map drawn in the sand by my trusty embedded correspondent.
- News reporters are now the newsmakers, using terms like “rednecks” to describe entire voting districts.
- Instead of waiting for the next magazine issue covering all the latest starlet styles, I can get a panty shot every time they get in or out of a car. And, with the advent of high-resolution digital cameras, someone will even let me know the brand — eeew.
- Al Gore can concede, retract, concede, retract right up until the Supreme Court gets involved because after all if CNN said it, it must be true.
- Forget gas prices and the 2008 presidential election, the top 4 stories in the U.S. section of FoxNews.com include an environmental rant of the Mayor of Ocean City, MD, population 7,173. Talk about your 15 minutes!
- After tuning in to the multitude of ambidextrous political pundits and their daily programs, I am now psychic. I know what the president is thinking before he does.
- Instead of writing about the things that are important to me — like my family, my job, the Bible verse on my mind, and my life — I’m writing about CNN! What?!?
Stop the presses, people!
Filed under Media + News | Comment (0)THREEBIES #1
I had an idea for a series of posts challenging myself (and maybe other readers/writers) creatively. I’ve termed it “Threebies,” and I think it may be fun. I’ll use this list as possible idea or post-starters to encourage myself to think beyond typical terminology.
Our grammar arsenal contains a little structure called an imperative. It’s a sentence in the form of a command in which there is normally no subject listed, only an implied “you.” I like the possibilities of this structure because it kind of boils the statement down to its essentials. I’ve placed my own arbitrary standards on the imperative idea to create “threebies.”
A threebie is a 3-word sentence that consists of:
VERB “the” NOUN
Some sentences on my threebies list are common phrases or cliches. Some are simply common actions. The challenge is to explore the concept of each sentence literally, philosophically, introspectively, etc. Take the statement beyond it’s most easily accessible use and write about it. Interesting – maybe. So, if threebies provide some inspiration for you, send me links to your posts!
Here’s my first set of 20. Stay tuned.
Stop the presses.
Hold the horses.
Toot the horn.
Set the hook.
Rip the seam.
Shed the skin.
Bet the ranch.
Paint the town.
Beat the odds.
Shuffle the cards.
Scratch the surface.
Perish the thought.
Turn the tables.
Raise the stakes.
Split the infinitive.
Break the engagement.
Ditch the date.
Up the ante.
Change the channel.
Jerk the chain.
