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Jun. 24, 2007 As many of you know by now, I write about Pop Culture. I do this because for the most part I am totally disgusted. Yesterday, Geraldo was broadcast on Fox News Channel for his regular show. This time the show went TWO hours long due to the fact that the body of Jessie Davis was found and her boyfriend arrested and charged with her murder and the murder of her unborn child. Geraldo had to improvise for much of that extra hour and it was a terrible sight to see. The show was 80% innuendo, speculation and gossip, 10% commercial advertising and 10% factual information. Hardly what I would call "News". On top of having a bunch of talking heads who spent most of the show guessing what was transpiring or what evidence the police might have, and on top of Geraldo ranting and raving in his usual state of agitation and outrage, there was special theme music played whenever they showed the picture of this poor woman who had the misfortune of associating with the wrong people. I noticed that this theme music phenomenon began a while ago. It started with CNN during the first Gulf War where I would constantly hear the sound of drums being beaten at a slow cadence. There was special music for 9/11 and for almost every major news story that lasted beyond the usual one or two day news cycle. When the deranged shooter went berserk at Virginia Tech there was special music played when that story was reported. I have lost count of the many times I have heard music played to accompany a major news story. Is it that the media channels are afraid that most of us who go to the movies will not pay any attention to their stories if we don't have the same kind of theme music that we are familiar with when we see films at our local theatres? Are they trying to portray themselves as more sympathetic by playing sad music for sad stories and military type music for war stories? To me, it simply highlights the poor quality of their news reports and I feel as if they are trying to compensate for the fact that most of what they report is based on rumor rather than on good sourcing and accuracy. It's bad enough to have to listen to Geraldo sending his sugary sweet sentiments to the bereaved families of the victims of violence without having to listen to an accompanying theme to make it even more saccharine. Here's an example from yesterday's show: when speaking to the mother of the dead girl he asked one of the leaders of the search team who was standing beside her to place his arm around her because Geraldo himself couldn't be there to do it in person. We went instantly from reporting the news to full-on soap opera. I felt great compassion for this lady myself but I DO NOT know her and I would not have pretended that I was the person who was qualified to ease her pain and neither is Geraldo Rivera. A simple statement of condolence would have been more appropriate in my opinion. I can't figure Geraldo out in the first place as he seems to have forgotten his background in law and makes open accusations when suspects have NOT been convicted. He snaps to attention on occasion and throws in the word "alleged"; but by that time he has tried and convicted the individual in custody. Geraldo is now a so-called journalist so he fails on that front as well. Journalists are supposed to use at least two solid sources for their reportage but Geraldo plays most of his shows off the cuff and spontaneous so he certainly isn't following the rules of good journalism. Let me break this down...Geraldo=poor judgment legally+poor judgment journalistically so what exactly is the point of giving him a forum? The sad truth is that the point is to entertain and suck in a certain type of audience who enjoy the rantings of a man who should know better. What kind of theme music should we use to describe Geraldo and his style? Perhaps a simple bugle player blowing Taps would do the trick since he surely helps to signal the death of decent journalism and the rights afforded every single American under the US Constitution to a fair trial by a jury of their peers BEFORE they are convicted and sentenced. ------------ About the author: Meri has a Medical/Legal background and is a former forensic researcher specializing in psychological profiling. Visit the Xlibris Bookstore! Email: writers2@cox.net Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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