Reading up about modern media, I came across an article on Bloomberg BusinessWeek: written by Joshua Green, dated Oct. 8, 2015, its title is
"This man is the most dangerous political operative in America"
The "dangerous" man featured in the article is Steve Bannon of the "Breitbart" website, who was recently named President-Elect Trump's Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor.
Excerpt from the Bloomberg piece:
--------------------------- Breitbart's genius was that he grasped better than anyone else what the early 20th century press barons understood -- that most readers don't approach the news as a clinical exercise in absorbing facts, but experience it viscerally as an ongoing drama, with distinct story lines, heroes, and villains.
Breitbart excelled at creating these narratives, an editorial approach that has lived on.
"When we do an editorial call, I don't even bring anything I feel like is only a one-off story, even if it'd be the best story on the site," says Alex Marlow, the site's editor in chief.
"Our whole mindset is looking for these rolling narratives."
He rattles off the most popular ones, which Breitbart News covers intensively from a posture of aggrieved persecution. "The big ones won't surprise you," he says. "Immigration, ISIS, race riots, and what we call 'the collapse of traditional values.' But I'd say Hillary Clinton is tops." ---------------------------- [end, excerpt] ------------------------
Upon reading this, my feeling was, the -- narrative of the "rolling narratives" is troubling. My idea of journalism, reporting of the news, is -- tell the thing that really happened.
And some details, fact-checked with two sources.
In Journalism class in high school, we were taught, "five W's and an H" -- who, what, when, where, why, and how. And you couldn't put in opinion. That was set aside for an Editorial.
There was -- no aggrieved persecution; no posturing; no pretend-villains to teach the audience to hate. No rolling narrative. No -- rolling-around....
"Selling" a "Rolling Narrative" to the reader or viewer seems
further away
from News-reporting, and
closer to
making up ongoing scripts for daytime soap operas, like "As The World Turns," or "Days Of Our Lives"....
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An excellent song is "Mississippi," by Bob Dylan from 2001's Love and Theft album. (To listen, there appears to be a YouTube view on the Internet -- however, Sony used to grab all those back, as fans uploaded, so don't know whether it's accessible or not...)
Every step of the way -- we walk the line
Your days are numbered, so are mine
Time is pilin' up, we struggle and we scrape
We're all boxed in, nowhere to escape
City's just a jungle; more games to play
Trapped in the heart of it, tryin' to get away
I was raised in the country, I been workin' in the town
I been in trouble ever since I set my suitcase down
Got nothin' for you, I had nothin' before
Don't even have anything for myself anymore
Sky full of fire, pain pourin' down
Nothing you can sell me, I'll see you around
All my powers of expression and thoughts so sublime
Could never do you justice in reason or rhyme
Only one thing -- I did wrong --
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long
Well, the devil's in the alley, mule's in the stall
Say anything you wanna, I have heard it all
I was thinkin' 'bout the things that Rosie said
I was dreaming I was sleepin' in Rosie's bed
Walkin' through the leaves, falling from the trees
Feelin' like a stranger nobody sees
So many things -- that we never will undo
I know you're sorry, I'm sorry too
Some people will offer you their hand, and some won't
Last night I knew you, tonight I don't
I need somethin' strong -- to distract my mind
I'm gonna look at you 'til my eyes go blind
Well I got here followin' the southern star
I crossed that river just to be where you are
Only one thing -- I did wrong
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long
Well my ship's been split to splinters and it's sinkin' fast
I'm drownin' in the poison, got no future, got no past
But my heart is not weary, it's light and it's free
I've got nothin' but affection for all those who've sailed with me
Everybody movin' -- if they ain't already there
Everybody got to move somewhere
Stick with me baby, stick with me anyhow
Things should start to get interestin' right about now
My clothes are wet, tight on my skin
Not as tight as the corner that I painted myself in
I know that fortune is waitin' to be kind
So give me your hand and say you'll be mine
Well, the emptiness is endless, cold as the clay
You can always come back, but you can't come back all the way
Only one thing -- I did wrong --
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long
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Copyright 1997 by Special Rider Music
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{The two red-Volkswagen photographs are variations on cover art for the book, México Inside Out: Themes in Art Since 1990, by Andrea Karnes, Ruth Estevez; and Marla Price}
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