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MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2007
WWW.KANSAN.COM
COMMENTARY: Just because it is service doesn't mean employees should be a slave to customers. Show more courtesy to service workers.
See Kansan.com for more opinions and Free for All comments
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
PAGE 7A
》 OUR VIEW
News provides free entertainment for all
Nowadays a trip to the movie theater is rather pricey. Tickets cost around $8. There's the requisite popcorn, which is chemically altered to induce thirst and requires the purchase of a soda. If paying for a date, double the cost.
With rising prices of movie-going, students would do well to recognize the entertainment value of the news. Contrary to popular belief, radio and televised news is not only a droning source of education but, in fact, a goldmine of entertainment.
Like comedy? News has got plenty of juvenile humor. Recently, for example, Israel's former Ambassador to El Salvador was found drunk, bound and naked with sex toys in his own backyard. After being aided by the police he was promptly released from his position by Israeli authorities.
In Germany, a farmer is suing two youngsters for ruining his prized male ostrich's sex drive and thus preventing the farmer from having highly profitable baby ostriches. The farmer claims that the boys, who allegedly threw firecrackers at the ostrich, psychologically damaged the bird, which was unable to perform sexually for six months after the attacks.
Attuned to war films? News is overflowing with battles. For a lesser-known piece of violent entertainment, keep updated on elephant rebellions in India. Over the last several years, misbehaved mammoths with an affinity for local communities' freshly-brewed rice wine have trampled dozens of villagers during booze raids.
In 2004, a troop of 20 or more elephants raided a village, scared off the inhabitants, and wreaked havoc after getting wasted. Their plan went awry when four were killed in a spontaneous attempt to take down an electric fence.
Of course, the news has no shortage of international spy and intrigue. Mystery abounds in Russia, where former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned to death late last year after accusing the government of murder. Not so ironically, since President Vladimir Putin came to office in 2000, numerous persons with anti-Putin beliefs have been murdered in manners that eerily resemble ex-spy techniques.
The news even provides a joyous story or two for the helpless romantics. If there isn't an anecdote about a zoo's brand new adorable baby animal or about Angelina's international adoptions, there's a sketch on a celebrity couples' blissful whirlwind romance. No, they're not permanent, but neither are movie stars' enchanted relationships in the expensive films we see.
For those watching the bank account, entertainment from home can save a lot of money. Surfing BBC News, watching CNN and reading The New York Times can easily be done solo. In the event of a passionate distraction, these forms of entertainment can be freely revisited. Junk food can be bought cheaply for those who have to have it. Hey, one might even learn something worthwhile.
Grant Snider/KANSAN
Focus of media needs to change
>> DECONSTRUCTING MEDIA
BY JODI ANN HOLOPIREK
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
Entertainment media audiences are restless. They're tired of seeing the same, tiresome coverage on TV. They're tired of hearing about the same over-publicized.
attention-craving, self-obsessed celebrities.
The latest focus of entertainment media's attention is Britney Spears. Instead of exploiting her redneck personality, shows are parading her rash decisions (a shaved head) and ever increasing craziness (confirmed by her constant checking in and out of rehab facilities).
Does her shaved head really warrant that much airtime?
The press loved her when she achieved her first hit single and carried a squeaky clean image to boot. Now that they've driven her to lavish partying and scandalous clothing choices, they want to grind her up and splatter her on every broadcast they air, all while shaking their heads in disapproval.
Here's a hint: Britney is not that important to us. Drop it and move on.
Over-publicized celebrity No. 2 is Anna Nicole Smith. The woman was well-known and died an unexpected death, so yes, her death deserved to be covered by the press. But the relentless coverage has gone on for more than a month now.
Moving on to must-be-covered celebrity No. 3, Paris Hilton. On Feb. 13, The Associated Press chose to institute a ban on coverage of Paris Hilton.
She's dead. It's time to let her rest in peace. The public is begging you to do so.
There were more than a few hip-hip hooray's yelled out in the newsroom when staff members heard about this. However, a week later, people were disappointed to
— Alison Kieler for the editorial board.
discover that the ban was only an experiment to see how others would react, and The AP soon resumed coverage of her.
Letters were sent in, and while some cheered, others worried about the line the news service was crossing.
But it did bring up a good point. Media do control the news we hear. They search it out, sometimes going so far as to rent helicopters to see celebrities sunbathing toopless behind fenced-in properties.
Instead of Paris Hilton getting a DUI, why not cover the work Ashley Judd does for YouthAIDS as its global ambassador? Or why not cover the work Scarlett Johansson, Parker Posey and Don Cheadle do for Soles4Souls, a charity that requests people to donate shoes and money to benefit the displaced people of Sudan? Or the work Richard Gere does for the International Campaign For Tibet?
Countless celebrities exist and they are doing countless acts of goodwill. Yet these acts rarely get covered.
A change needs to happen in the media. With restless viewers showing more and more irritation at the unending coverage of trivial events, what do entertainment shows have to lose?
Holopirek is an Otis graduate student in journalism.
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.
Donald Duck just bit my friend's fricking ear! I'm not sure how it happened. He came out of
Dear CBS, I don't know care how much KU is winning by. If you ever switch games before they are done playing again, I will hunt you down, and when I am through with you, you will cry.
Free for All, we just drove through North Carolina, and there was a gated trailer park. Only in North Carolina. Hope you're having fun
back.
back.
Chuck Norris is the only person who could roundhouse kick you in the back of the face.
I just farted and lifted up my skirt to see if it smelled bad.
back.
back.
That commercial about the Pontiac driver who is a Kansas fan is total bullshit
There is no love for Kansas in Illinois. They're delusional! People think that Illinois is going to the championship! They don't know what they're talking about.
back.
Free for All, I just called Safe Ride from mytle Beach, South Carolina, and they wouldn't come to
get me, and i'
I'd like to announce that we are officially starting our grassroots campaign to ask Julian Wright to grow his hair out into a large Dr. J-style free throw. Err, afro. (Laughing in the background) We will provide the red, white, and
back.
To the guy who stole my virginity:
Stop being a fucking child. No.
I mean, effing child, and call me
To whoever left that full bottle of Southern Comfort on the side of the road: Thank you!
blue headband.
back.
back.
back.
Free for All, listen to this, the ocean (ocean noise).
I'm in Panama City, Florida, for Spring Break, and I'm definitely not coming back to Kansas. Sorry, but I'm dropping out of school.
How does Mary feel about a Christian converting to Judaism? How does Mary feel?
the damn head.
I'm bored, it's one in the morning. Spring Break, nobody's here, shoot me now.
the damn head.
Free for All not available? I'm sitting here at Burger King, and I felt like calling in, and you're not confident? WTU C
Hi Free for All. It's 4:00 a.m., I've been driving down the interstate since 2:00 a.m., I still have an hour left until I get to the Kansas City airport, and I'm falling asleep, and I need someone to keep me company. Will you talk to me,
Free for All
available?
We're down in Panama City, repping KU, and I'm at the clubs, and I hear the O-H-I-O chant again, I'm going to O-H-shoot myself in the drama head.
industries are victims to the decline of common courtesy. It's difficult to be polite when someone is completely disrespectful, and it shouldn't be expected. Just because someone gets paid to be polite, it doesn't mean that a customer can treat that person however he or she wants and expect to continue to get excellent service. Apparently, some people feel the need to take out their frustrations, say the food not being as good as they hoped, on the messenger — or server.
COMMENTARY
Show more courtesy to service employees
"Hello, can I help you?"
"Yeah. You got a husband?"
"Uh... no."
"Well, what am I going to?"
"Well, you want one?"
Not exactly the proposal of my dreams, especially since it came from a complete stranger. That's just one example of awkward impoliteness I've experienced while working at the Lawrence Public Library. Some people make small faux pas: putting their bag of books on the counter without bothering to take them out or putting their library card in their mouth before handing it over covered in drool. Other people are just plain rude: demanding to be told where a movie is or getting into a screaming battle over a 10 cent line — and yes, that has happened more than once.
Some customers mistake required politeness as flirtatious advances, like my aforementioned potential fiancé. A waitress divulged a "smooth move" of many customers: scrawling their number across the bottom of their credit card receipt, sometimes even when they're on a date with another girl.
People working in all service
BY CASSIE GENTRY
BY CASSIE GLENNIST
KANSAN COLUMNIST
OPINION@KANSAN.COM
I understand that being in a customer service industry means that your job is basically to serve people. That doesn't mean that you have to be treated with disrespect. If I am expected by my customers to be polite, they should treat me with the same courtesy. It seems that some people take the idiom "The
There are plenty of people who are extremely polite and respectful when dealing with customer service personnel. Unfortunately, there are an equal amount of people who don't think twice about being blatantly rude. Please remember, even though they are getting paid to "serve," servers, cashiers, and clerks still deserve respect and civility as much as you do. Act accordingly.
》 TALK TO US
Gentry is a Kansas City, Kan. sophomore in English
Gabriella Souza, editor
864-4854 or gsouza@ikans.com
When a library patron is being courteous and understanding, it's much easier for me to act the same way. Maybe your waitress isn't as cheerful as usual because she just broke up with her boyfriend. Or maybe your cashier got a speeding ticket on the way to work so he's not as chaty as usual. Be compassionate. Little things make a big difference, like saying "please" when asking your server for a refill or apologizing when you accidentally hit me when tossing your library card at me.
Nicole Kelley, managing editor 864-4854 or nkelley@kansan.com
Natalie Johnson, associate opinion editor 864-4924 or njohnson@kamsan.com
Patrick Ross. managing editor
864-4854 or press@kansan.com
Courtney Hagen, opinion editor
864-4924 or chagens@ikansan.com
Jackie Schaffer, sales manager 864-4462 or jschaffer@kansan.com
Lindsey Shirack, business manager
864-4014 or lshirack@kansan.com
customer is always right" and use it as an excuse to be a jerk.
Malcolm Gibson, general manager, news adviser
864-7667 or mgibson@kansan.com
Jennifer Weaver, sales and marketing adviser 864-7666 or jweaver@kansan.com
》 SUBMISSIONS
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For any questions, call Courtney Hagen or Natalie Johnson at 844-4810 e-mail opinionkansan.com. General questions should be directed to the editor at editor@kansan.com.
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Gabrielle Suzuo, Nicole Kelley, Patrick Ross, Courtney Hagen, Natalie Johnson, Alison Kieler, Tasha Riggins and McKay Stangler
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