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July 31, 2005
Drawn and Corkered
Mason Neely's cover story on Bob Corker in this week's issue of our paper has picked up a tad bit of steam on the web -- most notably its being discussed on Bill Hobbs' blog.
Reaction to the story -- and especially the cover image -- has been mixed. Rumor has it that Mr. Corker is none too pleased. Others have called it demeaning. I tend to fall in the "you have to be prepared for this kind of stuff if you are going to run for office" camp. (Frankly, I'm more interested in a couple of glaring factual errors -- see next week's corrections section -- in the story. But, hey, we're only human...)
Most important, however, might be these blog comments concerning the story:
"...Why is the Chattanooga Pulse, an alternative weekly, the only media source in TN even asking questions about Corker's abortion position and Democratic money ties?"
I'm not sure, either. And if you were to see our meager budget, thin resources and somewhat ((OK, very) messy newsroom, the question is even more troubling.
Posted by colrus at 01:35 AM | TrackBack
July 26, 2005
GT108 Goes Country
Citadel's oldies outpost has announced that it will become 107.9 Duke FM, playing classic and modern country favori... Whatever. I can't do this. Radio holds no charms without Josh Daniels. Just play "The River" and leave me alone.
Posted by mesh at 12:04 PM | TrackBack
July 24, 2005
New TFP website
Wow. The Times Free Press has improved the design of their Web site. It appears that you no longer have to injest an ample supply of blood pressure medication in order to navigate it.
Posted by colrus at 09:20 AM | TrackBack
July 20, 2005
With Great Power Comes Great Assault Charges
We'd be remiss not to mention City Councilman Leamon Pierce taking promises to "fight the drug dealers" a tad too literally.
The best part of the story is how completely unrepentant he is. "They aren't going to stop me. I had this neighborhood cleaned up once, and I am trying to clean it up again." Do you feel lucky, Rossville? Well, do you... punk?
This is pretty amazing, too. Lamar's doesn't play. But Gerald, for what it's worth, still makes the best white Russian in town.
Posted by mesh at 05:25 PM | TrackBack
Hustling, Howling Penguins
It's 350 degrees outside. You want to be inside. You need air conditioning.
Lucky you: this is the perfect weekend for heat escape. Chattanooga, a city that rarely sees acclaimed independent films, is getting three. March of the Penguins and Hustle and Flow are showing at the big-screen Rave, while Howl's Moving Castle, the new Miazaki anime, opens at the Bijou.
I'll be seeing all three -- if you want to spend an extra-special day with The Pulse's pretentious film critic, Saturday's your chance. I'm most excited about March, but I've always had this fondness for Emperor penguins. It's the whole nobility-in-pitch-black-winter thing; they're very existential birds, really.
Posted by mesh at 04:18 PM | TrackBack
July 19, 2005
The Plame Game
Last week, I wrote a quick bit on Judith Miller, who is still busy sharpening shanks for the First Amendment. I wasn't so sure that anonymity counted as a sacred freedom of the press, especially if it was abused as a tool for character assassination. I concluded, "By guaranteeing anonymity for the White House leaks in the first place, she's gone to bed with turncoats and possible criminals."
Well, I still have concerns about the use and misappropriation of anonymous sourcing. But there was one problem with what I wrote last week:
When it came to the Plame affair, I didn't know what I was talking about.
Continue reading "The Plame Game"
Posted by mesh at 03:48 PM | TrackBack
South Knox Bubba blog closes up shop
See for yourself.
We're not sure why.
Developing...
Posted by colrus at 02:45 PM | TrackBack
July 18, 2005
Eva Braun Is a Pretty Useless Metaphor, Too
Captain's Log, the blog, nicely summarizes why no thinking adult can compare current geopolitical actors to Nazis and retain any moral influence in her argument.
When will our politcians understand that Nazi analogies amount to an almost-certain political jinx? We don't need to debate the relative merits of one form of fascism and oppression over another; they're all bad, grown-ups know it, and those who don't won't learn anything from sound bites like these...
We're not even asking for brilliance here, people. Just plain common sense. If you are an elected official, and the word "Nazi" starts to escape your lips, please please PLEASE squeeze them shut.
This request, it goes without saying, applies equally to bloggers. No more Nazis, folks. No more gulags. Treat the victims of each madman with the dignity they deserve.
Posted by mesh at 02:50 PM | TrackBack
What, You Mean a Documentary Can Contain Factual Errors? But it's...so...funny...
Yes, kids, I give you Morgan Spurlock Watch.
Posted by colrus at 02:43 PM | TrackBack
Imus Coming to WGOW-AM
Chattanooga radio has just taken a big step forward.
As of August 1, you'll be able to hear legendary radio host Don Imus on WGOW-AM, Monday through Friday from 6 to 10 a.m. (We actually knew this two weeks ago, but were sworn to secrecy.)
If you are unfamiliar with Imus, you can catch his show on MSNBC each weekday morning, or you can petition me for copies of my circa 1991-96 bootleg Imus tapes from WFAN in New York. His speech at the 1996 Media Correspondents Dinner in D.C. is particularly entertaining.
Posted by colrus at 02:29 PM | TrackBack
July 15, 2005
"Then, Of Course, There Are The Commies"
Just when I was starting to shake the fog of the glum, idiotic Fantastic Four out of my brain, here's Michael Chabon, showing how much better it could have been.
His pitch is muddled (are the Communists working with Dr. Doom?) but the writing already suggests an art-retro visual style, not entirely unlike a live-action Brad Bird. The characterizations have scale -- these are icons, in a very mid-century way -- and the effect is something bright and original and lost, like a billboard for a theme park that was never built. I'm going to go weep now.
Posted by mesh at 01:10 PM | TrackBack
The Threat of Timidism?
On her blog yesterday, Brittney at Nashville is Talking mentioned this solid Nashville Scene piece by Randy Horick called "Where's the Outrage?".
A few lines:
"Even though it's terribly disturbing that so many of the recruits for suicide bombings in Iraq appear to be Westernized, European Muslims, I remain as certain as before that only a small minority of Muslims think such terrorism is justified. The vast majority want to live peacefully with the West.
Yet, when I consider what I hear and what I don't hear, I start wondering whether I've been listening too much and failing to ask hard questions—like why the Islamic response to Islamic terror seems to be so timid, especially among Muslims who live in the West and share with us the common bond of freedom.
Despite what I really believe, I inevitably find myself asking whether Islam is somehow intrinsically incompatible with the modern West. I wonder why Islam never produced a Palestinian Gandhi or MLK, whose nonviolent resistance would have brought about a Palestinian state years ago."
Posted by colrus at 09:16 AM | TrackBack
July 14, 2005
I'm DYING to watch this DVD!
In my efforts to compile information for this week's Pulse, I came across the following Amazon.com item description excerpt for Bob Zany's "Life in the Bowling Lane!" DVD, which will be released on July 26.
"Life in the Bowling Lane!" is one of the hottest-selling comedy DVDs available - and at a special price of only $19.95 it's the perfect gift for bowlers of all ages!
Now, I'm not knocking this DVD by any means, but not only is this DVD not "hottest-selling," it is not even available.
Thought you should know. Now get back to work.
Posted by colrus at 05:20 PM | TrackBack
Can We See That in a Colorful Pie Chart?
Nothing more reassuring that learning that a much-abused journalistic practice -- the anonymous source -- has been validated by a completely insipid one.
What's the ethical thing to do with our profession? Let's not think about it; thinking about it hurts our heads. Let's send somebody out with a clipboard. Then we can do lunch.
Posted by mesh at 02:31 PM | TrackBack
July 12, 2005
Doubting St. Judith of New York
The L. A. Times' Rosa Brooks makes a compelling case against the recent hagiography of Judy Miller, jailed for not revealing a source (or even spelling it: K-A-R-L) in the the White House covert-agent-outing scandal.
Reasonable people can disagree on the appropriate scope of journalistic privilege. But we should keep the legal question — when should journalists be compelled by law to divulge their sources? — distinct from the ethical question: Is a journalist ever ethically permitted to break a promise and divulge a source? However we answer the first question, the answer to the second must be a resounding yes.
Should Miller have refused to offer anonymity to all those "high-level" sources who sold us a bill of goods on Iraq? Yes.
If it becomes apparent to a journalist that a source lied to him on a matter crucial to the public good, should he be ethically permitted to expose the lie and the liar, despite any prior promises of confidentiality? Yes.
If a source with a clear political motivation passes along classified information that has no value for public debate but would endanger the career, and possibly the life, of a covert agent, is a journalist ethically permitted to "out" the no-good sneak? You bet. And if the knowledge that they can't always hide behind anonymity has a "chilling effect" on political hacks who are eager to manipulate the media in furtherance of their vested interests, that's OK with me.
It's fine by me as well. If seems to me that justice requires the handling of good information with good faith, and bad information with bad faith. In other words, you lie to me, and the deal's off. But there's more than one kind of bad information; partisan attacks disguised as inside scoops are borderline calls (not print-worthy, but not deal-breakers) and willingness to sacrifice people's safety for personal gain becomes a story in itself.
But Miller has a problem. If these are the rules of the game, she needs to lay those down at the outset. By guaranteeing anonymity for the White House leaks in the first place, she's gone to bed with turncoats and possible criminals. And when you hang out with bad guys, you can't be too surprised when the cops pick you up along with them.
Posted by mesh at 02:08 PM | TrackBack
July 07, 2005
London New Times: "We're Better Than You"
The London New Times offers a whale of an editorial:
We're London, and we've got our own way of doing things, and it doesn't involve tossing bombs around where innocent people are going about their lives.
And that's because we're better than you. Everyone is better than you. Our city works. We rather like it. And we're going to go about our lives. We're going to take care of the lives you ruined. And then we're going to work. And we're going down the pub.
So you can pack up your bombs, put them in your arseholes, and get the fuck out of our city.
Posted by mesh at 03:01 PM | TrackBack
This Is London
Woke up this morning to my roommate's announcement that "the terrorists hit London." Some comfort that the death toll seems limited. Plenty of justified rage at the bastards who want death to rule the world. But a dispatch from London shows reason to hope:
But the reaction to today's attacks feels incredibly English. When I left the quiet area right around the bus bombing and returned to the busy streets of Holborn and Soho, London appeared just as it always is.
The natural state of the English is a kind of gloomy diligence, which is why they do so well in hard times. In 1940, Londoners went dutifully on with their business while the Luftwaffe bombed the hell out of them. Today, most of them are doing the same. I was in Washington for 9/11, and the whole city went into a panic. Offices emptied, stores shut, downtown D.C. became a ghost town. But in London today, everyone still has a cell phone clutched to their ear. The delivery vans are still racing about, seeking shortcuts around all the street closures. The Starbucks is packed.
And when I walked by the Queen's Larder Pub, not half a mile from the Tavistock Square wreckage, at 11 a.m., a half-dozen men were sitting together at a sidewalk table, hoisting their morning pints of ale. Civilization must go on, after all.
It must. And it will.
Posted by mesh at 02:40 PM | TrackBack
WGOW line-up changes
So...
Rush Limbaugh is moving to FM on Monday, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Rush will be heard on both AM and Fm for a couple of "transitioning" weeks...
Glenn Beck is stepping in on the AM.
More to come...
Posted by colrus at 11:52 AM | TrackBack
July 06, 2005
SERIOUSLY UNCONFIRMED WGOW/WOGT STATION ANNOUNCEMENTS
WGOW will replace Max Hackett with three hours of Swap Shop...
"I got a set of barbells and a deep freezer I'm lookin' to move. The deep freezer's kinda old, but it still works pretty good. I'll take $100 for both or I'll trade 'em both for a lift kit for my Jimmy."
WOGT will replace "Big Al" McClure with an infomercial for Esteban, the flamenco guitar master...
The fact that nobody's actually heard of Esteban outside of the infomercial is but a technicality to station management who are excited at the opportunity listeners will have to learn guitar in the comfort of their homes from a guy who bears more than a passing resemblance to Zorro.
Stay tuned for more details...
Posted by colrus at 01:04 PM | TrackBack
StickyFingers.com: Now With a Different Kind of Ribs
After 10 years and $6,000 dollars, StickyFingers.com is no longer a porn site. Put on your clothes, everybody. It's time to get sticky.
Posted by mesh at 10:18 AM | TrackBack
July 05, 2005
Max Hackett fired from WGOW
It's official: Max Hackett, host of WGOW 102.3's "Maxland," has been let go. His last show was Friday. A replacement has yet to be named.
GT-108's "Big Al" McClure was fired, as well.
Posted by colrus at 04:03 PM | TrackBack
Canadians: Smarter Than Us, With the Cool Auto Plants That We Wanted
Why did Toyota pick Cambridge, Ontario as the site for its $800 million auto assembly plant, even though several Southern states offered double the subsidies?
Because Canadians can read.
"The level of the workforce in general is so high that the training program you need for people, even for people who have not worked in a Toyota plant before, is minimal compared to what you have to go through in the southeastern United States," said Gerry Fedchun, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association.
He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama due to an untrained - and often illiterate - workforce. In Alabama, trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment.
"The educational level and the skill level of the people down there is so much lower than it is in Ontario," Fedchun said.
Anybody feel like debating the link between schools and economic growth now?
(Link via SKB)
Posted by mesh at 03:09 PM | TrackBack
July 01, 2005
Help an indicted lawmaker!
From the Tennessean:
"State Sen. Kathryn Bowers, one of seven power brokers charged in the FBI's 'Tennessee Waltz' bribery sting, held a $250 per-person fundraiser yesterday, and the invitation list included some of biggest lobbyists on Capitol Hill.
Not a single one showed up."
Posted by colrus at 09:08 AM | TrackBack