Sunday, November 21, 2010

Sequential Olbermann

I just posted a short comic about Keith Olbermann's brief suspension, I hope you'll check it out.
Thanks,
Tim

4 comments:

Chris_Garrison said...

Ha! That's a tough subject to try and tackle in comics form, but I enjoyed it. Good caricatures of Olbermann. "But Daddy -- Why should there be a pretense of objectivity for self-professed liberals or conservatives?" - got a good laugh from me.

Anonymous said...

Thanks.. I'm trying to figure out how you took the kid's line though. I mean, I meant it to be funny, but also a "voice of sanity", depending on how you interpret it..

B/c I agree with him that opinion journalists shouldn't have any obligation to be objective/unbiased.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed it!
TimR

Chris_Garrison said...

Yes, I took it to be funny, AND as a voice of sanity.

But the problem comes when the line between news and opinion gets muddied. A so-called news channel runs news all day, then they run a person who has an extremely similar show format, covers news, wears a suit, and throws in opinions whenever he feels like it. People don't realize it's an opinion show, and they think they're listening to a fair journalist. They figure, if even this fair journalist is outraged, it must be a real problem he's talking about.

There should be a big disclaimer at the top of all the opinion shows that appear on news channels:

"The following program presents both news and the personal opinions of Sean Hannity. Viewers are warned that these opinions may color the news stories, and that the items presented on this program may not be factual."

Anonymous said...

Right, or maybe just a flashing red message like "OPINION" or "OSTENSIBLY HARD NEWS" depending on the case.

Or maybe we could go right to the source, and anybody who can't make the distinction for themselves will have to get a sign plastered on *their* forehead saying something like "MORON: KEEP ME AWAY FROM SHARP OBJECTS, ELECTRICAL OUTLETS, AND CABLE NEWS CHANNELS." But I don't know, that might apply to most of the population..
TimR