A Serving of Pork

Like the U.S. Congress, the for-profit media has become a four-star chef in serving PORK.  

To bring you up to speed, to get quality bills passed, members of Congress may be bribed by other members of Congress (to include the Senate) to vote for a bill they may be against by offering funding for "pork barrel projects" (also called earmarks) to their respective districts. That's how you get bills passed that include the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere".  In a perfect government, every politician would vote their conscious and/or principles.  They would vote with the "common good" of the people they were elected to represent in mind.  But America is not known for principled politicians, therefore we don't have a perfect government.  

Likewise, we don't have a perfect press.  You can argue that when the Constitution of the United States established the "Freedom of Press", it created the unofficial Fourth Branch of Government.  This branch of government would act as the eyes and ears of the American people.  It was capable of prosecuting politicians in the court of public opinion.  Now that the media is expected to turn a profit, they have to serve the viewing public some pork so we will tune into their programs and boost their ratings. 

That's why Anna Nicole Smith and Paris Hilton may receive an inordinate amount of attention, including front page headlines and/or leading off a newscast ahead of lessor issues such as the Iraq War.  That's why Ann Coulter can be given a full hour (which is typically reserved for Breaking News and Presidential Candidates) on Hardball with Chris Matthews.  That's why it "seems" like Hillary's current relationship with her husband Bill Clinton gets twice the coverage as the platform of every other candidate combined.  Ultimately, that's why special guests and important figures do not receive follow-up questions or are called out on their factual errors.

The corporate parents of these for-profit media outlets will always claim they only deliver what the people want.  I believe that argument is reckless and irresponsible.  The American public has the attention span of a 5 year-old.  Like a 5 year-old, if you serve us nothing by fats and sugars, we'll happily eat them.  We'll gladly take the short term happiness we receive from eating the crap that tastes good, even though long term it isn't good for us.  Like a responsible parent, the media cannot always serve us what we want, but they have to give us a larger portion of what we need.  They have to serve us the quality food that is boring and doesn't taste so good, but will keep us healthier and happier in the long run.  But McDonald's will always have a billion more customers than Subway, and quantity over quality is what is most important in the news business.  

And this blog won't be any different.  Except I won't serve you pork with the main course, but just as a little dessert as a "reward" for the amount of effort you're taking to stimulate your brain.  Your brain is like a muscle, if you don't exercise it then it becomes weak.  My pork postings will be your little reward.