The Front Page

As a child, I would often read the headlines on the front pages of the daily newspapers my parents read as they sipped morning coffee. Those headlines were almost always about serious things, adult things, stories about serious incidents, accidents and events that had real consequences for folks faraway and more often, nearby.

Sometimes the stories were of victories or losses in war; maybe a tragic occurrence many miles away or next door. The front page was used for the serious parts of life, not the stupid meaningless concerns of the overactive imaginations of panty bunchers and malcontents.

Unless the paper was a scandal sheet bought at the checkout counter at the local A&P, there was usually  judicious restraint used on the front pages of mainstream  newspapers. Just the facts Ma'am, thank you very much. The pressure to report the news without emotion was a cornerstone of the medium. Serious journalism was hands down, the goal of most daily rags. That isn't to say, silly and moronic issues never made the front page. But for the most part, the news on the front page was printed with serious regard for the resulting impact on the readers. Silliness and inane concerns were relegated to the Letters to the Editor page, the editorial page, or advice help for lonely hearts.

There is no front page anymore. The print media is now drawing its last breaths. The few that are still surviving are doing that, just surviving. Everyone it seems has substituted the Internet and Cable TV for their front page. A result of this is, no matter how Lost in the BoZone someone's view of the world is, there is a front page waiting somewhere just to reinforce their skewed view of the world they exist in. It is an odd coupling of insane notions being paid as much respect as the Truth. Suddenly, the outlandish rumors and insane stories we laughed at while paying for our groceries were now on the same marquee with the real news. No longer is there a perceived difference between the two for many folks. 

Reality TV was born out of this by fooling people their stories reflected Reality. It became clear that knowing the truth was not as much fun as believing the fantasies. Suddenly the "Reality" shows pushed journal news shows to the side. Very few are left on mainstream media now other than 60 minutes on CBS. And they are now under pressure to embrace bullshit journalism that is acceptable to a chosen few.

I had a roommate in college and for awhile after. Toole's life on Sundays was defined by the Sunday paper. He would settle in with the paper in the morning with his coffee and often not come up for air until early afternoon. He did this every Sunday he could, slowly digesting the newspaper a section at a time. It is a ritual I imagine he continues with today. I always imagined it was like going to church for him.

I only bring up Bob's newspaper ritual because back in the day before computers and cable television, information was slowly absorbed, digested, given a chance to settle in. News did not need, nor did it pressure us to make knee jerk decisions about the veracity of the information we were being fed. Yeah, the journalists manipulated and massaged their stories to work us in the direction they wanted us to go. But there was very little blatant outright lies being presented as the truth. The Information networks of back then had more respect for the public who were reading or listening to their news. Now days, the media plays us for chumps more often than not.

I'll leave it there now. 

Later Gators .........................................

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Musical selection today? ..... Hmm..... Well, that was easy.

I googled "Songs about the News". Many choices popped up. I tasted some and then.... a Tom Paxton song released in 1964 popped up. On the first listen, I remembered it. A friend who lived a couple of houses away from me on Roosevelt Street in Bethesda had this song on a Tom Paxton Folk album he had bought. He wore that poor record out.

Here is "Daily News" by Tom Paxton. Enjoy.