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The Limits of "Man Bites Dog" Stories

The usual notion of big news is the unusual. Journalists are taught to look for "man bites dog" stories -- the events that raise eyebrows and make us think, "Wow!"

News of the ordinary also makes the cut in media outlets, of course, but it's not what sizzles, and it's not apt to get onto front pages or prime-time broadcasts.

A simple rejoinder to the media status quo is that what we really need are more "dog bites man" and "dog bites woman" stories. For every spectacular event, there are many others -- just as terrible or just as wonderful -- that barely register on the media Richter scale because they're happening all the time. What's earthshaking in people's lives is often barely visible to the hype-hungry media eye.

But journalism has the challenge of simultaneously tracking what's usual and unusual. One complication is that important ongoing realities may occasionally receive a lot of attention as a result of media whim. A certain social ill might suddenly get a burst of national publicity because editors at the New York Times decided to make it a page-one news feature.

Miss Saigon: From the Broadway/Columbus Series, Now Playing at the Palace Theater

A spectacular and emotionally devastating Miss Saigon has triumphed at the Palace Theater in a rich, brilliant production that underscores the tragedy of yet another American overseas war.

From the searing single shaft of light that introduces the powerful Jennifer Paz to the show's gut-wrenching finale, this is a not-to-be-missed musical x-ray of our catastrophic Vietnam excursion. 

Paz's lovely voice and heart-rending dramatic performance form the play's centerpiece.  She is utterly convincing as a rural waif who finds herself in a Saigon brothel, only to fall in love with her earnest American lover (Alan Gillespie).  The real male force in the show is the versatile, very impressive Johann Michael Camat, whose conniving, street smart Engineer gives the play its credibility and much of its depth.

Ohio election fraud uproar blasting to new level

COLUMBUS -- The bitter battle over the stolen November 2 election in Ohio has turned into a rapidly escalating all-out multi-front war with the outcome of the real presidential vote count increasingly in doubt. 

In Columbus, major demonstrations on Saturday, December 4, have been followed by an angry confrontation between demonstrators and state police at the office of Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, the Bush-Cheney state chairman who is also officially in charge of certifying the election, at least for now.   Civil Rights leader Jesse Jackson has called on Blackwell to recuse himself from dealings with the election, saying his role as Bush-Cheney chairman has compromised his objectivity in delivering fair election results.   

Photo from December 4 Voting Rights Rally


Columbus, Ohio

Thank You!

Dr. Fitrakis,

Thank you so much for investigating and writing about vote suppression and fraud.  I keep hearing the Republicans preach the demise of the Democratic party as though it goes without saying that the majority of voters agreed with them on the major issues, when the polls show the reverse is the case.  And while there’s nothing wrong with introspection and regrouping when needed, it’s seems highly premature for the Democrats to begin this process when we don’t even know if we’re actually losing elections! 

By shining a light on Republican dirt and insisting that the government (and the Democratic party for that matter) do their jobs and investigate this, you’re performing a very important public service.  Let’s get a correct vote count – better yet, a revote with paper ballots, nonpartisan election officials, and international observers – and then if Kerry still loses, fine, then we can all roll into a fetal position, suck our thumbs, and wonder where we went wrong.  Until that time, I’m not buying it, and I’m so grateful that you’re not either.

  Big Thanks!

Heather Wilkes
Mesa, AZ

Article on Ohio

I received an e-mail highlighting your site -- which I have visited before, calling attention to the Ohio article.

My comments:

1)  I am troubled by the way people on the "left" bash each other in public.  The "right wing" in this country has become so strong by making a decision about 30 years ago never to bash each other in public. We could take that page from their play book.

2)  Bashing Kerry for his decision to concede:

a)  John Kerry's brother Cam and Gen. Wesley Clark         have been working tirelessly before, during and         after the election with Common Cause to assure         all votes are counted.  We received a letter directly         from Cam Kerry shortly after the election.

b) I'm a psychologist by training and practice and my husband        and I have been media activists for many        years -- I tell you that to give you some idea        where I'm coming from.

The day Kerry conceded we believed with every         fiber in our bodies that the election process was         not over but I     l00%  supported John Kerry in         making a concession speech. I cheered the decision

M.I.C.

Voter Suppression: STEALING VOTES IN OHIO URBAN AREAS (full documentation)

Voter Suppression: STEALING VOTES IN COLUMBUS

Harvey Wasserman and Bob Fitrakis

Harvey Wasserman & Bob Fitrakis,

" . . . will the Democrats now stand and fight? . . . "

The Ds didn't fight in 2000.
What reason is there to think they will in 2004?

Gore conceeded.
Never could figure that.
Never could figure why he disappeared after the election.

Kerry did the same (so far).

Almost as if the campaign was pro forma for the Ds.
Anyhow, the Ds and the Rs
serve the same interests and will take us toward the same objectives
even if by slightly different paths -
Enrich the super rich.
Screw every body else.

Yours Cynically,

Roland Dion
San Diego CA

Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Republican

There is an old saying that hypocrisy is the tribute that vice makes to virtue. By that definition, Republican Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota has delivered a magnificent tribute with his demand for full disclosure of details of the so-called U.N. oil-for-food scandal, and the immediate resignation of Secretary General Kofi Annan. You don’t hear Coleman nor any other member of the Greedy Old Party insisting that Vice President Cheney and his friends at Halliburton reveal the full extent of their looting of Iraq at a cost of 100,000 innocent Iraqi lives and billions of American dollars, and that Cheney should immediately resign his office. I cannot recall any member of America’s supermajority party taxing President Bush to reveal all the details of his war-for-oil program, which resulted in the invasion of Iraq and will undoubtedly lead to a preemptive war against Iran; nor has any member of that illustrious tribe called for Bush's impeachment, conviction and removal. 

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