Gerbalism

Yesterday at the Accuracy in Media Blog Daniel Glover talked about a commencement address at the University of Oregan.  The commentary is a bit over the top and a bit partisan (anti-Obama), but the point made in the commencement address is a good one.  Per Mr Glove,

Doug Bates doesn't know it yet, but with the help of his daughter, the associate editor of The Oregonian has coined the perfect descriptor for journalism in the Age of Obama:  "gerbilism."

The talk Mr Doug Bates gave can be found here.  As Blogger Glover tells us, Mr Bates explained:

As a child, his young daughter confused Bates' profession with the name of her favorite rodent in a school report about what her parents did for a living.  "My dad Doug works at the newspaper," she wrote.  "First he went to college to learn about gerbilism."

So, with the gerbil as the example, Mr Bates, the commencement speaker, goes on...

Lately, I've been thinking about that long-ago school paper, and I've decided "gerbilism" is a pretty good word for what's been going on in the news media these days.  Gerbilism is an apt term for something that's soft and warm and cuddly, safe and timid, with no sharp teeth and no bite whatsoever.  Gerbilism, I've decided, is partly responsible for a lot of our nation's problems today.

Not the whole story, but part of the story.  Tough as The Boston Globe thinks it is on Beacon Hill, it isn't.  It is "gerbilism."

On the other hand, in the Netherlands they are going to fix the problem of newspapers with a tax.  A tax on the internet at the ISP, to fund the old approach.

Regards  —  Cliff