WQUN's Paul Janensch, who teaches journalism at Quinnipiac University, presents a serviceable piece about media mistakes in 2004. Janenesch has a classically handsome, Kevin Phillips -like voice that affords his pronouncements aural authority.
But though "Media Mea Culpas Encouraging Sign" addresses the ear with a neat vocal envelope, the card inside plucks no heartstrings – it's more annotation than commentary.
The generic intro "The media itself made news a lot this year. Media commentator Paul Janensch says the news was both a (sic?) good and bad (sic?)." doesn't really give the piece enough legs to blast out of the starting blocks.
And in closing, the "On the one hand, on the other hand" Solomonic tone (Yes, it was bad that important news organizations made serious mistakes, but it was good that they ultimately were willing to undergo an assessment of what they had done...) and "Eat your peas" admonitions (Wouldn't it be nice if government, corporations, unions, universities, hospitals, and other major institutions felt a similar accountability to the public?) seem products of a historical print editorial style that sounds dusty and flat.
I'd like to hear more of Prof Janensch's voice and learn more of his media criticism insights. If the approach is essentially factual analysis, a better vehicle might be a short four-to-five minute investigative journalism feature that can provide a more detailed and deeper exegesis. Alternately, I'd be just as happy if Prof Janensch's would fire away with his real opinions and emotions rather than smolder around the edges.
The cases he cites, from USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post, and CBS Television represent clear and deplorable derelictions of duty to the American people by the Fourth Estate. They can provoke only true outrage – not mere tut-tutting – from journalists and citizens alike.
I always enjoy pieces that analyze the news. They never fail to intrigue me. This time was no different. "Media Mea Culpas..." is a commentary piece about how several big major media hoo-hoos forthcoming in admitting and publicly handling their problems. The commentator ties it into general life, too, bringing home the point. Very straightforward no fluff (this is strange... I'm critiquing a critique), this piece is a good year-end look back at a couple of pluses that offset initial minuses.
This piece opens quickly, it needs a strong intro (I imagine this will be provided).
Comments for Media Mea Culpas Encouraging Sign
This piece belongs to the series "Janensch on the Media"
Produced by WQUN
Other pieces by Connecticut Public (WNPR)
Rating Summary
2 comments
Geo Beach
Posted on December 31, 2004 at 05:24 PM | Permalink
Review of Media Mea Culpas Encouraging Sign
WQUN's Paul Janensch, who teaches journalism at Quinnipiac University, presents a serviceable piece about media mistakes in 2004. Janenesch has a classically handsome, Kevin Phillips -like voice that affords his pronouncements aural authority.
But though "Media Mea Culpas Encouraging Sign" addresses the ear with a neat vocal envelope, the card inside plucks no heartstrings – it's more annotation than commentary.
The generic intro "The media itself made news a lot this year. Media commentator Paul Janensch says the news was both a (sic?) good and bad (sic?)." doesn't really give the piece enough legs to blast out of the starting blocks.
And in closing, the "On the one hand, on the other hand" Solomonic tone (Yes, it was bad that important news organizations made serious mistakes, but it was good that they ultimately were willing to undergo an assessment of what they had done...) and "Eat your peas" admonitions (Wouldn't it be nice if government, corporations, unions, universities, hospitals, and other major institutions felt a similar accountability to the public?) seem products of a historical print editorial style that sounds dusty and flat.
I'd like to hear more of Prof Janensch's voice and learn more of his media criticism insights. If the approach is essentially factual analysis, a better vehicle might be a short four-to-five minute investigative journalism feature that can provide a more detailed and deeper exegesis. Alternately, I'd be just as happy if Prof Janensch's would fire away with his real opinions and emotions rather than smolder around the edges.
The cases he cites, from USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post, and CBS Television represent clear and deplorable derelictions of duty to the American people by the Fourth Estate. They can provoke only true outrage – not mere tut-tutting – from journalists and citizens alike.
Hans Anderson
Posted on December 30, 2004 at 07:24 PM | Permalink
Review of Media Mea Culpas Encouraging Sign
I always enjoy pieces that analyze the news. They never fail to intrigue me. This time was no different. "Media Mea Culpas..." is a commentary piece about how several big major media hoo-hoos forthcoming in admitting and publicly handling their problems. The commentator ties it into general life, too, bringing home the point. Very straightforward no fluff (this is strange... I'm critiquing a critique), this piece is a good year-end look back at a couple of pluses that offset initial minuses.
This piece opens quickly, it needs a strong intro (I imagine this will be provided).