Everybody's being used--Miami Herald ombudsman

(Edward Schumacher-Matos): "Journalists are at the apex of two colliding social revolutions:

• an obsession with celebrities and

• a freewheeling blogosphere pushing attitude over facts.

The pressure is to turn celebrities into two-dimensional cartoon characters. And why not?

• The celebrities are rich at the public's expense, aren't they? We pay them to perform, and they in turn

• use the media to manipulate us and generate more popularity and money.

It's all part of the game."...

• From MiamiHerald.com, "Fairness Belongs in Blogs as Much as in Print," by Edward Schumacher-Matos, 6/8/08. via Poynter.org/Romenesko

(Mr. Schumacher wrote in his ombudsman capacity of the ethics and fairness or lack of same in the portrayal of a sports figure in a Miami Herald blog). I agree there's an obsession with celebrities but see that as an outcome of a different social calamity). sm

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