Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!hdr!eric
From: eric@hdr.UUCP (Eric J. Johnson)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: Is the news media really that stupid?
Summary: I don't think so...
Keywords: ignornace, money, power, the usual stuff
Message-ID: <885@hdr.UUCP>
Date: 9 Dec 88 15:33:25 GMT
References: <33065@bbn.COM> <4355@pbhyf.PacBell.COM> <5999@hoptoad.uucp> <1942@sigma.UUCP> <6023@hoptoad.uucp>
Reply-To: eric@hdr.UUCP (Eric J. Johnson)
Organization: Amperif Corporation.  Omaha, NE
Lines: 57

In article <6023@hoptoad.uucp> tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney) writes:
>In article <5999@hoptoad.uucp> tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney) had written:
>>The press already has most people who've heard of bulletin boards
>>convinced that only white supremacists and child molesters use them; 
>
>In article <1942@sigma.UUCP> bill@sigma.UUCP (William Swan) has written:
>>*Who* is disseminating this info?
>>
>>My wife has even heard the latter ("it's how they get in touch with
>>other, and share ideas and methods, etc."). She won't say where she
>>heard it...
>
>"The mass media".  Meaning: network television news, the major
>newsweeklies, and the wire services.  I haven't been hearing it much
>lately, but about three years ago it was quite common, and as your wife
>shows, such first impressions leave a lasting effect.  I fear the
>Richmond action may lead to a resurgence.

Allegedly the mass media is disseminating incorrect information about 
various electronic communications media (USENET and bulletin boards
included.)  Let's sit back a moment and think of potential reasons
why they would do such a thing, and then see if there is something we
could do about them.  For a start, I can see two reasons for this
alleged occurence:

    One: Ignorance.  News professionals do not know about USENET
and bulletin boards, and if they did, they couldn't understand them anyway.

Computer professionals often flatter themselves into thinking that 
they hold some special 'magical' ability to understand the uses of their
computers that 'mere mortals' could not possible achieve. 
This, more often than not, leads to a condescending attitude towards
non-techies on or off USENET.  Take a look around you. Computers are being
used everywhere by non-computer professionals, ESPECIALLY THE NEWS 
MEDIA!  As far as the news professionals are concerned, I don't see this
argument holding water, although it seems prevalent out there in net-land.
Any comment from news professionals out there?

    Two: Power.  The news professionals wield incredible power over people 
through their control of the mass media.  People talking to each other
limits the news professionals' power, and increases that of the average person.

Since USENET and bulletin boards are not controlled by news professionals,
they cannot wield their power over them (except by trying to give them
a bad name in their own media.)  Also, in this country, at least, 
power == money.  News Professionals may see themselves loosing money, (in
the form of lost subscriptions, etc.) to entities such as USENET.
Although it seems premature to start yelling conspiracy, we may be seeing
the leading edge of a very dangerous trend.

Any comments?  Is there anything we can do about it?

-- 
Eric J. Johnson,  Amperif Corporation.  UUCP: eric@hdr.UUCP
Perhaps, once upon a time, some Devilish hacker planted a bomb deep in the 
human brain such that it would only trigger upon a certain thought passing 
through the mind...  Perhaps this explains spontaneous human combu*****