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EDITORIAL: In the wake of the Don Imus controversy, McKay Stangler examines the attention the media gives to tarnished celebrities.
FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
See Kansan.com for more opinions and Free for All comments
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
PAGE 7A
》 OUR VIEW
Media constructs needless outrage
Have you heard? Someone on the radio said something stupid.
No doubt this story has proved inescapable to you over the past few days if you seek out any kind of respectable news source. Though it seemed unthinkable that any story could displace the revelation of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter's lineage, the Don Imus story has done just that. CNN, apparently bored already with that story and the Department of Justice firings scandal, has wrapped itself in the Imus story with astonishing vigor.
Imus is not the first person in radio history to say something outrageous, and he will not be the last. Talk radio, as a forum, lends itself to unfortunate statements; endless rambling through long stretches of airtime can often produce regrettable remarks. And yes, we can all acknowledge the utterly reprehensible nature of what Imus said about the Rutgers basketball team. But this story is symptomatic of a larger trend that may prove far more disturbing: the careful manufacturing of outrage.
Social cause-based groups have in the last few years perfected the art of constructing indignation. It has become a well-honed process: wait for an offensive statement from the troubled celebrity du jour, whip your constituents into a frenzy by calling this statement indicative of a larger societal ill, and rely on the media to
report on the "widening calls" for action. Professional instigators, Al Sharpton chief among them (perhaps to distract from the now-evident error of his statements on the Duke lacrosse case), succeed by knowing exactly which emotional pitch to use with their supporters.
Media outlets are delightfully complacent in the development, gladly pushing aside war and economic news to report on the parade of apologies the tarnished celebrity must stage to curry favor with the offended groups. The outlets themselves become a bizarre echo chamber
— if two stations do stories on the "scandal," ten other stations can then breathlessly discuss the "increasing media attention," perpetuating the story even further.
And for what? CNN may lament with affected empathy the supposed theft of the team's moment, but it gleefully pushes the story hour after hour, barely masking its joy at such a salacious tale. One day soon, Imus will recede into the night as the wizened cermudgeon he has become, and the media outlets will wait, reporting dourly and begrudgingly on actual news, until the next pseudo-scandal comes along. Then the beast of manufactured outrage and formulaic anger will again arise, and the discouraging cycle will begin anew.
McKay Stangler for the editorial board.
COMMENTARY
Extra airport precautions cause hysteria
If we change our way of life, then the terrorists have won.
Judging from the scenes at various airports, we're waving the white flag now.
After September 11, airport security ramped up considerably. More individuals were pulled out of line for examinations, carry-on luggage was randomly checked by hand and any sharp objects were now banned.
I didn't mind the new security. No one really even batted an eye after the Shoe Bomber incident, when everyone then had to remove their shoes before going through the metal detector.
No, I can say that none of the new security measures really bothered me, up until the hysteria peaked last August. British intelligence received word that a terrorist ring was planning on using liquid explosives to destroy planes in midair. On top of that, the attacks were supposedly 'imminent.' The resulting chaos was right out of a disaster movie.
All liquids and gels were banned from flights. Chapstick, makeup, eye drops, that expensive win you picked up on the Napa tour, it all got chucked into huge trash bins. London Heathrow airport turned into a veritable parking lot in the
days following the threat as delayed flights backed up while officials tried to sort out the threat. Carry-ons were banned and people had to put all personal items in a see-through plastic bag.
Even now, nearly a year later, the rules have relaxed only slightly. Some liquids are allowed, in small quantities. British airports allow you one meager carry-on when flying out of their terminals (most international flights allow for at least two). You may still get felt up at the whim of the
BY KELSEY HAYES
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
TSA official at your gate.
This paranoia proves to me one thing: terrorists don't have to do anything. All they have to do is say that they're going to do something, and then sit back and watch the panic hit. All it took was a little chatter (about a plot that turned out to be in its planning stages, still years off) and flights were delayed.
This paranoia proves to me one thing: terrorists don't have to do anything. All they have to do is say that they're going to do something, and then sit back and watch the panic hit. All it took was a little
chatter (about a plot that turned out to be in its planning stages, still years off) and flights were delayed, travelers inconvenienced and the public generally frightened.
ents reported seeing a Mennonite woman being frisked in the airport, which included the TSA official poking through her bonnet (because that's where Mennonite women keep their explosives, you see). People at Heathrow last summer had extremely personal items (such as tampons and other unmentionables) flashed about for thousands of other people to see, their privacy virtually gone. A photo that Time magazine ran a few years ago, of a little boy being scanned by a handheld metal detector, should be Exhibit A that maybe we're taking this a little too far.
It goes without saying that airport security is extremely important and the threat of terrorism exists. I know I'd rather have to take my shoes off than be on a bombed plane. However, is it too much to ask that a little common sense be used? Or can you not?
On a trip last year, my par-
Flying is a service bought and paid for, and no one should be treated like a criminal or like cattle while using it. If any of this actually made us safer, it might be a little different. However, in the years since September 11, people have made it onto planes easily with items such as box cutters and matches. So what's the point of hassle and public humiliation if the banned items are going to get on the plane anyway? Perhaps it's time for TSA and their international counterparts to rethink their methods.
Until then, I hope you all remember the metric conversions, because you can only have 100 mL of liquid on a flight.
Hayes is a Lenexa sophomore in journalism and political science. She is studying abroad this year in Reading, UK.
》 LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Free For All comment deemed offensive, obscene
I am writing to express my outrage and disgust at the severe lack of editorial oversight in the Kansas On Monday April 9 in the Free for All section this statement was published: "Jesus is being crucified in front of Wescoe. What an attention whore." The printing of this obscene and slanderous statement can only be regarded as an act of intolerance toward your readers who hold the name of Jesus as both Holy and sacred. Therefore, I recommend that the editorial staff
of the Kansan make an apology for allowing such a heinous comment to be printed. In the future, I also strongly recommend that the editorial staff hold fast to their own editorial policy with regards to Free For All which states: "Kansan editors reserve the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed."
Clint Springer, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Researcher
FREE FOR ALL
Call 864-0500
Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. Kansan editors reserve
the right to omit comments. Slanderous and obscene statements will not be printed. Phone numbers of all incoming calls are recorded.
I told my dad to put more money in my account because I needed a book, but instead I bought
Jungla.
My girlfriend says the vibrating cock ring is the best invention since the cotton gin. What do you
To the man sitting outside The Crossing all by himself: You're sad and pathetic. Make friends. And it's also Wednesday. Stop drink-
think:
If you try to hand me a neon pamphlet, I will kill you.
ing
dead
Oh God, I'm a Free for All virgin. I don't know what to say.
better to do than shoot poor, innocent dogs? I mean, they shot a poor, innocent dog. It's all the people who don't think pit bulls are good. One time, I got bit by a dachshund. I move that we destroy all dachshund, and don't allow them to be bred anymore. They are much more annoying than pit bulls, and it bit me!
When they remodeled Hash, they gutted it from the inside out.
When they rebuilt it, they forgot to put the heart back in. Hash is
I know how they paid for the renovations of Hash. DSH sold its human decency
These shoes rule.
United Students is way hotter than Delta Fresn
Free for All, have you voted yet?
Guess what? I have herpes! Do you know who I am? One lucky lady will find out two to three weeks from now.
Dude, it's like the clouds.
If Christina Aguilera shaved her head, they would call her "Christina Have-no-hair-a." I'm going to keep calling this until you put this in the paper, by the way.
Do not douche.
For the first time in my life, I really love global warming, just because I want to get rid of this cold weather in April.
--better to do than shoot poor, innocent dogs? I mean, they shot a poor, innocent dog. It's all the people who don't think pit bulls are good. One time, I got bit by a dachshund. I move that we destroy all dachshund, and don't allow them to be bred anymore. They are much more annoying than pit bulls, and it bit me!
Hey Delta Force, there's free beer from the Hawk every Wednesday 7-10. Don't try to take credit for it.
(Female voice) I hate the Boy Scouts, they would never let me
better to do than shoot poor, innocent dogs? I mean, they shot a poor, innocent dog. It's all the people who don't think pit bulls are good. One time, I got bit by a dachshund. I move that we destroy all dachshund, and don't allow them to be bred anymore. They are much more annoying than pit bulls, and it bit me!
Who's Chris, what did he do to get fired, and why should I care?
A Chris Parade would be the most awesomest thing ever. Boobs and
Free for All, my girlfriend of twenty months just dumped me out of the blue. Do you know any sluts?
Free for All, doesn't the Lawrence Police Department have anything
I sold my Lexus so I could sniff more cocaine.
Will you please let the guys on campus know that while it is okay for them to wear pink polos, it is never okay for them to wear fuchsia hoodies?
beer
better to do than shoot poor, innocent dogs? I mean, they shot a poor, innocent dog. It's all the people who don't think pit bulls are good. One time, I got bit by a dachshund. I move that we destroy all dachshund, and don't allow them to be bred anymore. They are much more annoying than pit bulls, and it bit me!
Hole Coca
-
Is Delta Force just another name for Tri Delt, or what?
I'm going to use my ninja skills to get (disconnected).
Here, come have sex with my dog so I can tape it.
I ran the Wescoe Beach Gauntlet five times today, and was only accosted by people wanting my vote twice. I call that a win.
Hey Delta Force, if you keep sending me junk mail, you're going to lose my vote for the next four
-
years
The sun came out, and it's not even tomorrow! How cool is that? Spring is mating year.
"If I die - God forbid - I would like to go to heaven to ask somebody in charge up there, 'Hey, what was the good news and what was the bad news?'" Kurt Vonnegut
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EDITORIAL BOARD
Gabriella Souza, Nicole Kelley, Patrick Ross, Courtney Hagen,
Natalie Johnson, Alison Kieler, Tasha Riggs and McKay
Sandler