Hi, Scott--

Some member of the media elite published Moran. That's why we're having this conversation.

If the media elites are the problem, our patronage of them is complicit. This reminds me very much of the condemnation industry gets when it does something wrong or makes a mistake (sometimes the same but not always). They provide a product. We consume it; all the while we complain about it. They control the means of production because the rest of us would rather do something else. They do what benefits them -- keeps their viewership, keeps their profit high -- and why are we surprised?

News is a business. It has also become entertainment, and that is our fault, because we said news is boring and patronized those who entertain us.

Recently, my boss and I were at lunch in a place with one of those big TVs, and Dan Rather's puss was all over the wall, being interviewed about the recent anthrax threat at CBS. The newsmakers make news. Of course they covered it in depth: they are very important to them. The only way to alter their focus toward the common man is to make news ourselves. The press is reactive. It will cover bread and circuses. The terrorists know this. Why is it taking so long for us to figure this out?

I think our attention span is too short. But that's me.

Regards--
Mary Anne