Tag Archives: Fox News

The slow decline of angry punditry (we hope!)

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Most of us “pinkos” are familiar with Fox News, American conservative talk radio and all the angry boomers that comprise the Tea Party movement. In fact, these days, it’s hard to not see their revolutionary impact splattered across the television screen or newspaper. With the recent scare of “Fox News North” heralded in by none other than Kory Teneycke (who resigned, then un-resigned), Stephen Harper’s own right wing communicator-extraordinaire, it seems apparent that many of the angry right-wing political winds may soon be blowing North.

The omens of right wing apocalypse are foreboding. A 2006 article in USA Today, paints a picture of a juggernaut:

In just 10 years, Fox News — the channel liberals love to hate — has transformed the cable news landscape with its in-your-face brand of news with ‘tude. In the process, it has reduced granddaddy CNN to a distant second and NBC’s cable news venture, MSNBC, to an also-ran. Fox News’ combative Bill O’Reilly has become a household name, drawing more than 2 million viewers a night. Sean Hannity, Shepard Smith and Greta Van Susteren are cable news stars. On-air barbs by them and Fox News correspondents have ignited debates in journalism circles about whether objective news can stay relevant, particularly in an Internet era that gives ordinary Americans the power to vent about anything in blogs.

Right wing talk radio and cable TV have long been the preserve of old, white men. Boomers one could say. One thing that’s often forgotten though is that although Boomers are powerful are also, slowly but surely, getting older. As they age and pass away, it can be expected that a growing number of their generation will no longer be able to:

a) be politically active (marching to Washington to fight Obamacare) at the bidding of people like Glen Beck

b) watch and listen to right wing TV and talk radio

and most importantly

c) purchase the luxury products advertised on said radio and TV

As with any generation, their turn at the precipice of consumer culture (in the prime economic time of the their life) will soon end. This will likely make them far less attractive to advertisers then they once were. While they may still be voting in droves, they won’t be buying the SUVs in droves.

When you are unattractive to advertisers, you will quickly fall off the “target audience list” of your friendly media executive. Once that happens, say goodbye to the prime-time domination of the airwaves of your favorite shows.

In the end, if demographic projections hold true, it’s possible that the hyper-partisan vitriol made nationally famous by people like Rush Limbaugh or Glen Beck  may soon also be heading into retirement. That is unless they can turn their angry vitriol and target it at a younger and more ethnically diverse audience. Somehow though it seems unlikely that hyper right wing and often xenophobic hosts of many of these programs will be able to co-opt their message to resonate with millions of Hispanic, black and other immigrant audiences.

The times are a changing and let’s hope so to will the political/media climate of the USA.

The History of Work Series Concludes

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So there it is. This concludes The History of Work Series on the Daily Gumboot. Godfrey and I have researched, analyzed, evaluated, and delivered results on, first, the nature of work as it relates to community and, second, the best and worst jobs of all time. Here is a re-cap:

The Five Best and Worst Jobs Ever!

And you undoubtedly had a great time reading the series – or selections from it – and learning all about the different careers and job opportunities that have impacted humanity over the past, well, forever. If you didn’t have a great time reading it, please contact Godfrey and ask for a refund.

Moving on…

One – or two – cannot engage in a project like this without asking some key questions about what it all means. Without further ado, here are three of those questions:

What was your creative process like?

JOHN: Well, it involved a lot of yelling. Swearing in German (mostly Godfrey). Swearing at Germans (mostly me). And also lots of love. We also surveyed over 15,000 people to find out what you - the readers – thought were the best and worst jobs of all time. As Historians – engagers of the most noble academic discipline – Godfrey and I were well positioned to use Google to find the top seven websites dedicated to “the history of work”. I believe that we even used some stuff from the Discovery Channel’s “History of Work” series, which was cool, but, as with so much media, only focused on the negative parts of work. Here at the G’boot, we like to keep things positive. Collaborating with Godfrey is a pleasure, mostly because his brain works in a completely different way than mine does. For example, Godfrey thinks about things before he says them, whereas I just write stuff down, man.

GODFREY: It’s true, while the inter-web was a great resource, a  lot of pensive thinking and dreaming and informal focus grouping when into our selection process. It’s amazing how readily people come up with an answer to, “What’s your favourite job?” whether in a coffee shop or while riding the bus. If people’s eyes lit up when they responded with “Explorer” or laughed uneasily when I pitched “plague collector” to them in a coffee shop line up, then these jobs made my final cut.

How does work inform community?

JOHN: In my humble opinion, work – paid, unpaid, volunteer, involuntary – is central to every community. To paraphrase Paul Hawken’s Blessed Unrest, I think a global emphasis on meaningful work that focuses on human beings, rather than technology or the goods it creates, will “return [sic] people to the heart of the world and of life.” Because sometime we lose site of the people that are wrapped up in our global economy. Hey, we’re the only species on the planet that suffers from unemployment! When it comes to work informing community, I think it’s telling that the typically first question someone asks a new acquaintance is “what to you do for a living?” Perhaps a better question would be “why do you do what you do for a living?” and, follow-up question, “how does this work feed your soul?” In fact, perhaps reflect on those questions yourself and think about what your work means to your community.

GODFREY: Engaging in fulfilling work is what lends so much meaning to our lives. So much of that fulfillment depends on touching the lives of others, working in a team, learning from your co-workers. In short, work means engaging with our world its people and building our connection to it. Even though it’s one of the worst jobs you can imagine, did  the plague collector touch her communities and make them better? Arguably, yes. The same goes for the community transforming power of a King (see tomorrow’s Get to Know Your Community for details) or the enlightenment provided to the world community by the academic. In short a job doesn’t have to be “good” or “enjoyable” to positively affect community change.

How do your respective jobs measure up?

JOHN: Well, I have at least two jobs. Both feed my soul in different ways. As Herder of Cats Editor-in-Chief for this online magazine, I get to write, read and work with brilliant people and Kurt to create an interesting, entertaining and collaborative narrative about community. Writing, more than anything else except for cheese and, I guess, my lovely wife Michelle, feeds my soul. Perhaps my favourite part of the Daily Gumboot is the instructive/prescriptive part of it, where Correspondents like Katie Burns teach people how to grow, harvest and can tomatoes. One of my favourite things in life is what the kids call “clashing of worlds” and I love how lucky I am to bring strangers together as they interpret the idea of “community” from myriad perspectives. As a Career Manager at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, I love the professional diversity of my work. The students are awesome. The work is as diverse as it is interesting as it is challenging and, to quote S||A (aka Stewart Burgess) I love the audiences for which I am lucky enough to teach as well as present edutaining material. Hardship only comes up when co-workers make fun of my clothing and don’t invite me to meetings. So, it’s pretty tough sometimes…

GODFREY: Having recently moved into a communications job which puts me into constant contact with the world around me  means I am growing to steadily enjoy my work after several years of boredom where I worked mostly in isolation . A great team of co-workers helps. In the end, people make my days great. Writing for the web and developing communication strategies is a bonus. I have a new job on the horizon as a father – an opportunity I am excited to get started on as well.

Final Words

And that, as they say, is that. Everyone, on behalf of Godfrey and myself I’d just like to say you’re welcome! As you find something to feed your soul in 2011 be sure to think about the positive way in which it will build community, too. And have fun with it!

- Godfrey and John

The Fourth Best and Worst Jobs Ever

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Yesterday we examined Pirates and First World War Message Runners with edutaining results. Whether you’re on vacation today or not, you’ll love the next installment of this award-worthy series. Enjoy!

Best. Job. Ever. Number 4!

Welcome to my dream job: University Professor. They’ve been around – more or less – for about 150 years; however, it’s been in the last half-century that this profession has come to occupy coveted status in the education business. Depending on your university’s primary focus (research or teaching), the work you do will be different. Researchers are positioned as thought-leaders. They write about what they find and get their grad students to do the rest. Teachers take the big ideas (the good ones continue reading new things even after they have tenure) and explain the concepts to undergraduate students in, hopefully, semi-engaging ways. Everyone wears tweed and/or corduroy and it is frickin’ Heaven.

Summary of Academically Sound Findings and Analysis:

UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR

LOW

MEDIUM

HIGH

TOTAL:
Level of Hardship Unless 500-person classes and a lingering sense of guilt for all the trees killed by your printing then, well, you have little hardship, my professorial friend. Especially if you have tenure! 4/5
Opportunity for Advancement Even though a tenured professor in a Canadian University is pretty much at the pinnacle of the Ivory Tower career trajectory, 3/5
Meaningful Nature of Work Even though all but nine other people on the planet have ever read anything you’ve written, your work is still meaningful to you. Sometimes you even get interviewed by the CBC or BBC because of your knowledgeable insights into the 17th century Venetian salt trade. If you’re a good/great lecturer, you will most likely derive meaning from the video screens that project your image to a three classrooms of 1,500 students, too.

Or you teach at a small Liberal Arts college and you’re actually part of a small-is-better community that gives you meaning on top of all the other stuff!

 4/5

Worst. Job. Ever. Number 4!

The Daily Gumboot’s Grandfather, Brent Reid, sent along this gem. The job of Fact Checker at Fox News might possibly be made up, but it was just too funny not to include! So, the profession of fact-checking is pretty straightforward: review publications before they go to print and make sure that the claims made in said publications can be verified by primary and/or secondary sources. Now. How this translates into a role at Fox News is a difficult process, because some of the things that gentlemen such as Bill O’Reilly, Shawn Hannity and Glenn Beck say are a bit, um, unreal. Verifying facts in a Fox News story is like analyzing team chemistry on the Calgary Flames or the Toronto Maple Leafs: there just isn’t anything there.

Summary of Academically Sound Findings and Analysis:

FACT-CHECKER AT FOX NEWS

LOW

MEDIUM

HIGH

TOTAL:
Level of Hardship It’s pretty easy to be a Fact-checker at Fox News. Observe:

“Did you finish the fact-check for today’s Talking Points?”

“Yessir, I did.”

“Did you find any facts?”

“Not one, sir.”

“That’s great work.”

 2/5
Opportunity for Advancement Fact-checkers aren’t going far in Rupert Murdoch’s empire. Maybe you should’ve been a History Professor… Fox News is expanding like crazy and Sarah Palin is just crazy might be the next POTUS. So, your soul will burn for all eternity, but your perusal of fear-inspiring-facts will guarantee your future in the Murdoch/Palin Empire!
 2/5
Meaningful Nature of Work There is no meaning to your work because non of it is ever published, presented or spoken about. In fact, if you actually happen to produce “facts” you are most likely asked to burn them and then “get back to work” on writing hateful things about immigrants, minorities, poor people, FEAR, Obama, and fearing Obama because he will back the country with poor immigrants who believe in climate change! 1/5

Reflections on these Jobs

GODFREY: To live in a perpetual, oxymoronic prison of ridiculousness is hardly the way I’d choose to spend my nine to five. At Fox News, “facts” are embellished or are outright faleshoods. Checking facts would entail, packaging lies as truth. Being a slave to falsehood would crush my soul. Lastly being a propaghanda slave at Fox may only work if I stood on the right of the spectrum. Even then I’d have to check my morals at the door as well.

University Profs have it totally made – it’s one of my top picks. They gets paid to becoming knowledgeable and share that knowledge.  And pretty handsomely at that. A philosophy professor at University of Toronto can earn up to $160k /year, according to Macleans – and that’s just to THINK . I think what makes her job so in incredible that she reinvents it all the time, constantly pursuing new lines of inquiry and exploration.   Sure, her contract requires a certain degree of publishing output, sometimes a slog, but that’s what sabbaticals (travel, time off…) are for.   And if inspiration doesn’t strike, well, smoking a pipe, wearing tweed and reading books is also all in a day’s work. After all – tenure is tenure.

JOHN: I think that there are two reasons we didn’t rank University Professors as Number 1: first, we would be branded as nerds or nerd-lovers and/or pinko-communist-elitist-intellectuals; second, it’s actually harder and harder to get tenure today, as modestly-compensated sessional instructors continue to be the teaching backbone of the North American university system. Also, could you imagine being a Fact-Checker at Fox News?! Like, imagine if the random and offensive things that Glenn Beck writes down on his chalk-board are actually researched. The sheer incongruency of it all makes my head spin.

The Pirates of Copenhagen

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This has nothing to do with the Climate Conference - but it truly is a pirate ship with Danish quotations. I say, "close enough!"

This has nothing to do with the Climate Conference - but it truly is a pirate ship with Danish quotations. I say, "close enough!"

During a recent trip to a bookstore I came across Michael Crichton’s newest – and posthumous – book, Pirate Latitudes. That’s right. Mr. Crichton’s legacy, in this humble editor’s opinion, will not be dinosaurs or terminal men or aliens or medical dramas or climate change. It will be pirates. But, wait a second, let’s go back to that second to last topic. The climate change one. Mr. Crichton’s controversial piece on climate change, State of Fear, combined with his newest work, Pirate Latitude, rolled into the most recent – and hilarious – prank by The Yes Men inspired an epiphany and gave me an idea: what can the heads-of-state, protesters, businesspeople, lobbyists, scientists, fake-scientists, corrupt-scientists, students, and spectators learn about the environmental landscape as it relates to pirate communities?

Obviously, the answer is that we can learn a lot about the relationships between pirates, culture and the environment. So, Copenhagen, I hope you’re listening. Because it will be pirates, not lobbyists, businesspeople, scientists, or governments, who will save the environment. Here’s why and how.

Pirates as Environmental Stewards

Copenhagen stakeholders – Copenholders – pirates can teach you, all of us, really, about reducing and reusing; they know how to help people get by with less. Just ask any Fleet Street Banker or Liverpudlian Businessman or West Indies Plantation Owner or Admirals of the Royal Navy during the seventeenth and eighteenth-centuries. These Captains of Industry and Government changed the environmental and cultural landscapes of our planet (slaves from Africa and introduction of new crops to the New World) to produce millions of things that made them millions of dollars. From time to time, though, pirates reduced the flow of such overproduction and – ahem - reused it themselves or recycled it amongst their brethren. Here is a specific example of how pirates don’t use the natural environment to produce things, in the recorded and unrecorded history of pirates, only one Captain ever commissioned a ship; pirates don’t build new ships. They reuse them. In 1695, Captain William Kidd (the self-proclaimed “Pirate Hunter”) built himself, I kid you not, a galley in England – no, he was not a viking. This was an odd decision. Speaking of odd decisions, here is a lesson for the COP15 decision makers to consider: use what’s already there! A recent story I had to hear from Fox News, divulged that over 1,200 limosines and 140 private jets had to be imported in order to accommodate the climate conference delegates. Pirates would’ve commandeered a bus and shared it. I’m just saying…

Pirates as Creators of a new Cultural Landscape

What happens on a pirate ship when the captain chooses a direction that the crew doesn’t like? Well, the captain changes his mind or goes overboard. It’s democracy at its finest. A recent article in The Independent by Johann Hari suggests that modern day pirates, like their historic brothers and sisters, have rejected today’s unequal, corrupt and punishing global “system.” Hari cites the last words of William Scott, a pirate hanged in Charleston, South Carolina during the Golden Age of Piracy: “What I did was to keep me from perishing. I was forced to go a-pirateing to live.” In spite of the consensus amongst the planet’s brightest minds, well, alarm bells aren’t really going off around the world. Greed is a big part of it. Manipulation and spin are parts of it. Fear of difference is a huge part of it. And the authoritative concentration of power is, perhaps, the biggestSeriously? 1,400 limosines? Do you guys "get" Climate Change?! part of it. Many pirates could have been members of the East India Trading Company or Royal Navy – some were and chose to leave the respective greed of the Merchant Marine (merchant ships were notoriously and unsafely under-staffed, as less sailors meant less overhead and more profit for businessmen in London, New York and Boston) and authoritative culture of the Royal Navy (apparently, you weren’t allowed to throw your captain overboard or take a nap that wasn’t scheduled). If true democracy really allows us to chuck our captains overboard then what do we really have now? Most of the world is on board with re-examining and altering humanity’s relationship with the environment. And the majority of our planet is also part of this wholly elaborate, interconnected global system that is moving forward like the smelly inertia-proof juggernaut that it is. For anything to change, our system as it exists today must be transformed. Or rejected and created anew. Whatever the case, pirates can – and should – be the drivers of such change. After all democracy existed on pirate ships before it ever existed in France or the United States. I’m just saying…

Pirates as a Product of their Environmental Landscape

Over the last two decades an unknown amount of toxic waste has been dumped off the coast of Somalia – what would cost $1,000 USD per tonne in Europe costs $2.50 USD per tonne in Somalia. Combine this with the overfishing along Africa’s longest – and most unprotected – coastline (nearly 3,000 kilometers long), and a different story of what makes a Somali pirate a “pirate” begins to develop. Greed and corruption from the rest of the world have thrust upon the people of Somalia, Nigeria, and the Strait of Malacca material conditions that represent just how much we need to take matters into our own hands. For example, over 70 per cent of Somalians refer to their former fisherpeople as “The Somali Coast Guard” not as “pirates.” Let’s take this as a horrible synecdoche of how things may very well unfold for the rest of the world; soon the coastal communities of Vancouver Island may harbour a few more pirates than they do today. I’m just saying…

Whether we all believe it or not, our planet is being pushed to the brink. We are a part of its landscape. As part of Team Earth, the world needs people to protect it from what is happening. So, play within the system or take a Yes Men approach and mock it through covert operations. Just take piracy as a metaphor and be nice about it, okay? I’m glad we had this chat. Now get out there and change the world!

- Sir John the Pirate Piratologist