Barack Obama sounds like he wants to reach back to the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration to jump start the economy with an economic stimulus proposal featuring infrastructure repair. If so, it may be time for the man who would be FDR to take a look at another successful--but largely forgotten--jobs program from the Depression era: the Federal Writers Project.
America’s newspaper industry has been imploding in the last few years, a development that predates the Wall Street collapse but has been hugely accelerated by the economic meltdown, forcing thousands of journalists onto the street. Hundreds more have now joined them from retrenching magazines and faltering websites, bringing the year-to-date total to 14,683, according to the tracking website Paper Cuts. Every day the journalism clearinghouse Romenesko links to stories of layoffs and downsizing--Gannett has been cutting 2,000 jobs across the chain, and Newsday has just announced another five percent in the last week alone. Any federal effort to put back to work the hundreds of thousands thrown out of work in the nation’s hard-hit industrial, construction, airline, and financial sectors should consider displaced news media workers--including those newly laid off from the publishing industry--as well.
The Federal Writers Project operated from 1935-1939 under the leadership of Henry Alsberg, a journalist and theater director. In addition to providing employment to more than 6,000 out-of-work reporters, photographers, editors, critics, writers, and creative craftsmen and -women, the FWP produced some lasting contributions to American history, culture, and literature. Their efforts ranged from comprehensive guides to 48 states and three territories to interviews with and photos of 2,300 former African-American slaves. These are preserved in the seventeen volumes of Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves.
Less overtly political and thus less controversial than the Federal Theater Project, the FWP nonetheless included some groundbreaking projects among more than 250 books, documenting the lives of racial minorities, factory workers, and sharecroppers, titles like These Are Our Lives, The Negro in Virginia, Gumbo Ya-Ya: A Collection of Louisiana Folk Tales, Bibliography of Chicago Negroes, and Drums and Shadows: Survival Studies Among the Georgia Coastal Negroes. Each participating state project had a staff of editors that commissioned, approved, and supervised young field researchers who worked for about $80 a month.
Gifted FWP alumni who went on to distinguished literary careers include John Steinbeck, John Cheever, Nelson Algren, Saul Bellow, and African Americans Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, and Richard Wright. The recent death of Studs Terkel-- a FWP veteran who went on to use the skills he developed in the program to chronicle the working- and middle-classes on his long-running radio show and in his Pulitzer Prize-winning books--is a reminder of how valuable this kind of experience can be. Ellison used his FWP research in Invisible Man, and Steinbeck and John Gunther relied on the FWP state guides for Travels With Charley: In Search of America and Inside U.S.A., respectively.
Today, there are many dislocated “old media” journalists from newspapers, radio, and television on the street--here I declare my personal interest, as one of them--who could provide a skilled pool to staff a new FWP. But since these journalists represent only a fraction of the larger displaced workforce, it is fair to ask what the public benefit would be of money spent.
This time, the FWP could begin by documenting the ground-level impact of the Great Recession; chronicling the transition to a green economy; or capturing the experiences of the thousands of immigrants who are changing the American complexion. Like the original FWP, the new version would focus in particular on those segments of society largely ignored by commercial and even public media. At the same time, the multimedia fruits of this research would be open-sourced to all media, as well as to academics. As an example, oral history as a discipline has made great strides in the past 70 years, and with the development of video techniques, the forum of the Internet could make these multi-media interviews widely available to schools and scholars, as well as to average Americans.
How would it work? Administering the new FWP as an individual grant program through community colleges and universities could minimize bureaucracy and overhead. In consultation with the Obama administration--perhaps through the National Endowment for the Humanities--and Congress, guidelines could be established and a small staff assembled in Washington to oversee the projects, in the form of grants, rather than hourly wages. Projects could be pitched locally to colleges, or suggested and posted by them, vetted preliminarily and then approved or rejected by the national staff.
Like Detroit’s troubled Big Three automakers, federal intervention to save the newspaper and magazine industries are highly problematic, at best. Ink-on-paper periodicals are never coming back, and it may be some time before the web can provide well-paying jobs with health benefits--if it ever will. Until then, providing some way to provide young journalists a way to get started, or displaced media workers a way to transition to new occupations, or to retirement, might help--and serve the nation in the process.
Mark I. Pinsky, former religion writer for the Orlando Sentinel, is at work on his fourth book.
.jpg)
Print
COMMENTS (83)
A bailout for intellectually bankrupt liberal academics? Cool!
Forthcoming volumes:
The Goodness of Joseph Stalin by the New York Times Book Collective
Fonts for Forgers by Mary Mapes and Dan Rather
Trig is NOT Sarah Palin's Son, and Other Breathless Essays by Andrew Sullivan
I Am Not a Big Fat Crybaby by Al Franken
The Mendacity of Hype: How We Implemented the Soros Plan by Team Obama
A bailout for intellectually bankrupt liberal academics? Cool!
Forthcoming volumes:
The Goodness of Joseph Stalin by the New York Times Book Collective
Fonts for Forgers by Mary Mapes and Dan Rather
Trig is NOT Sarah Palin's Son, and Other Breathless Essays by Andrew Sullivan
I Am Not a Big Fat Crybaby by Al Franken
The Mendacity of Hype: How We Implemented the Soros Plan by Team Obama
Man, you need to find your way to the nearest methadone clinic...fast.
Man, you need to find your way to the nearest methadone clinic...fast.
Great idea! Let's keep the ultra liberal media iconoclasts on the public dole until the economy picks up. PLEASE! Get in touch with reality!
Great idea! Let's keep the ultra liberal media iconoclasts on the public dole until the economy picks up. PLEASE! Get in touch with reality!
This is a great idea, although probably impossible politically. A better solution might be for some private foundations to fund this sort of work. America learned more about itself through the FWP writers and FSA photographers than it has from much of the corporate media in the more than half-century since then.
This is a great idea, although probably impossible politically. A better solution might be for some private foundations to fund this sort of work. America learned more about itself through the FWP writers and FSA photographers than it has from much of the corporate media in the more than half-century since then.
I have to say I don't quite understand the decline in book sales vis-a-vis the Recession. A book is a perfect prop with which to hunker down. It can provide hours of entertainment relatively cheaply, unlike going out for a night on the town.
I have to say I don't quite understand the decline in book sales vis-a-vis the Recession. A book is a perfect prop with which to hunker down. It can provide hours of entertainment relatively cheaply, unlike going out for a night on the town.
Great idea! Let's keep all the ultra liberal iconoclastic media types on the public dole. Poor babies.
Great idea! Let's keep all the ultra liberal iconoclastic media types on the public dole. Poor babies.
I agree there should be a FWP, not just now but permanently, a Federal Bank of ground research and brains as it were, and also a training ground for those who would write about real life.
However, this demand is dangerously timed: it can easily sound like yet some more people wanting a piece of the pie of handouts. Further, the proposition is good, its mechanics (how it would work) are not. Yet. Revise and resubmit.
Journalists should also wonder if their jobs are threatened by the ability of the ordinary person to 'speak' for himself or herself through blogs and videos on the internet. Those who feel they can represent themselves may not want skilled writers to frame their thought ... view full comment
I agree there should be a FWP, not just now but permanently, a Federal Bank of ground research and brains as it were, and also a training ground for those who would write about real life.
However, this demand is dangerously timed: it can easily sound like yet some more people wanting a piece of the pie of handouts. Further, the proposition is good, its mechanics (how it would work) are not. Yet. Revise and resubmit.
Journalists should also wonder if their jobs are threatened by the ability of the ordinary person to 'speak' for himself or herself through blogs and videos on the internet. Those who feel they can represent themselves may not want skilled writers to frame their thoughts. (Sad, and fallacious, because they wouldn't dream of not wanting lawyers to speak in legalese for them, but that's a minority opinion.)Long view.
This plan reeks. Like the automakers, the newspaper industry made their own bed. Now they can sleep in it. Newsworkers should've taken it upon themselves to retrain years ago. No bailouts for the dodos of news. www.davidrdowns.com
This plan reeks. Like the automakers, the newspaper industry made their own bed. Now they can sleep in it. Newsworkers should've taken it upon themselves to retrain years ago. No bailouts for the dodos of news. www.davidrdowns.com
This is a fantastic idea. It will both employ a segment of our workforce that is in dire need of assistance and ensure that our era is documented in a way that is not slavishly dedicated to ratings and sales.
This is a fantastic idea. It will both employ a segment of our workforce that is in dire need of assistance and ensure that our era is documented in a way that is not slavishly dedicated to ratings and sales.
This is a great satirical piece. It is satire, right..?
This is a great satirical piece. It is satire, right..?
This is the most ridiculous dribble. A writer writing that the President elect should find jobs for writers. Way to hedge your bets. How about being good at your job and gaining the trust of the American public rather than placing your own selfish political and social ideals first. I didn't see him writing years ago to save the 8 track tape or dot matrix printers, and print media is equally as outdated. I hate to see people lose jobs, but that is life sometimes, and government is not a panacea.
This is the most ridiculous dribble. A writer writing that the President elect should find jobs for writers. Way to hedge your bets. How about being good at your job and gaining the trust of the American public rather than placing your own selfish political and social ideals first. I didn't see him writing years ago to save the 8 track tape or dot matrix printers, and print media is equally as outdated. I hate to see people lose jobs, but that is life sometimes, and government is not a panacea.
Wow, Mark, that's a real bold initiative. Steal taxpayer's money and give it to you. Bet you must have thought long and hard about that one.
If people decide that they actually have any interest in reading what you or any other writer produces, they'll do so, and you'll see financial reward.
If they don't want to read it, then deal with it. Not everyone who wants to be a writer can be. There's an over-abundance of "writers" in this nation as there is, we could do with a few less.
Wow, Mark, that's a real bold initiative. Steal taxpayer's money and give it to you. Bet you must have thought long and hard about that one.
If people decide that they actually have any interest in reading what you or any other writer produces, they'll do so, and you'll see financial reward.
If they don't want to read it, then deal with it. Not everyone who wants to be a writer can be. There's an over-abundance of "writers" in this nation as there is, we could do with a few less.
Is this a serious suggestion? Who says being a "writer" has to be a paid profession? The first professional writer was James Fennimore Cooper, well into the 1800s. Less than 200 years of paid writing. What makes you so special?
As for journalism, it has had a vibrant English tradition since Alfred the Great. If it's dead now, it's because this generation of journalists killed it. Why should I subsidize that, particularly for stories I have no interest in paying to read now?
Is this a serious suggestion? Who says being a "writer" has to be a paid profession? The first professional writer was James Fennimore Cooper, well into the 1800s. Less than 200 years of paid writing. What makes you so special?
As for journalism, it has had a vibrant English tradition since Alfred the Great. If it's dead now, it's because this generation of journalists killed it. Why should I subsidize that, particularly for stories I have no interest in paying to read now?
Is this a serious suggestion? Who says being a "writer" has to be a paid profession? The first professional writer was James Fennimore Cooper, well into the 1800s. Less than 200 years of paid writing. What makes you so special?
As for journalism, it has had a vibrant English tradition since Alfred the Great. If it's dead now, it's because this generation of journalists killed it. Why should I subsidize that, particularly for stories I have no interest in paying to read now?
Is this a serious suggestion? Who says being a "writer" has to be a paid profession? The first professional writer was James Fennimore Cooper, well into the 1800s. Less than 200 years of paid writing. What makes you so special?
As for journalism, it has had a vibrant English tradition since Alfred the Great. If it's dead now, it's because this generation of journalists killed it. Why should I subsidize that, particularly for stories I have no interest in paying to read now?
So first off, there's the hilarious part that only a magazine as liberal as TNR could look at the explosion of blogging over the last decade and conclude that what we need is a federal program to subsidize writing about everyday stuff.
But beyond that, this is revealing of how government action in a market that's changing can stand in the way of the change that will ultimately be most beneficial. We all know that the conventional models of lifetime employment at The Daily Snooze-Regurgitator are giving way to a world in which writers will have to make a living off their own blogs, etc. Put a zillion creative people out there desperately trying to find a way to survive doing that way and the ... view full comment
So first off, there's the hilarious part that only a magazine as liberal as TNR could look at the explosion of blogging over the last decade and conclude that what we need is a federal program to subsidize writing about everyday stuff.
But beyond that, this is revealing of how government action in a market that's changing can stand in the way of the change that will ultimately be most beneficial. We all know that the conventional models of lifetime employment at The Daily Snooze-Regurgitator are giving way to a world in which writers will have to make a living off their own blogs, etc. Put a zillion creative people out there desperately trying to find a way to survive doing that way and they'll invent all kinds of new exciting media models. Put them on the government tit and that kind of innovation will never happen.
So if you think the government ought to freeze the dying media world of 1997 and the boring newspapers of 1967 in amber forever, this is a great idea. But if you'd actually like to see what new and innovative things come of the possibilities and freedom that the internet and the new media world offer... stay as far away from government paychecks and government bosses reviewing what you write as you can.
Do you see no problem with being a state-funded journalist?
Do you see no problem with being a state-funded journalist?
Oh, my--I thought initially, "Surely, this is a joke," but then gradually realized the fellow is serious.
Two reasons come to mind immediately for why this is such a bad idea:
(1) making the news industry dependent upon "workfare" programs directed specifically to the benefit of journalists is hardly conducive to a free and independent press;
(2) the news industry has been undergoing a transformation for years now as a result of the Internet's ongoing shakeup of traditional media, and while the current woes facing the industry may be exacerbated by the economic downturn, many of these layoffs are a symptom of the former phenomenon--which this proposed program does not and cannot address;
(3) goo ... view full comment
Oh, my--I thought initially, "Surely, this is a joke," but then gradually realized the fellow is serious.
Two reasons come to mind immediately for why this is such a bad idea:
(1) making the news industry dependent upon "workfare" programs directed specifically to the benefit of journalists is hardly conducive to a free and independent press;
(2) the news industry has been undergoing a transformation for years now as a result of the Internet's ongoing shakeup of traditional media, and while the current woes facing the industry may be exacerbated by the economic downturn, many of these layoffs are a symptom of the former phenomenon--which this proposed program does not and cannot address;
(3) good grief, when will we start asking the question of which industry should *not* be entitled to some sort of government bailout?
"focus in particular on those segments of society largely ignored by commercial and even public media."
You mean the segment of the population that didn't buy a house they couldn't afford, and prudently saved in good times to last through a recession?
"focus in particular on those segments of society largely ignored by commercial and even public media."
You mean the segment of the population that didn't buy a house they couldn't afford, and prudently saved in good times to last through a recession?
This is one of the finest pieces published in TNR all year . . . unless, of course, it's not satire.
This is one of the finest pieces published in TNR all year . . . unless, of course, it's not satire.
I will personally pony up $80/month for Mark Pinsky to write a sequel to Gumbo Ya Ya!
I will personally pony up $80/month for Mark Pinsky to write a sequel to Gumbo Ya Ya!
The collapse of the newspaper industry is due to the public's lack of trust. Journalist have stop doing investigative reporting or fact checking or even given the slightest pretense of being impartial therefore they lack credibility. The public realizes they would be just as well served watching ET or flipping through porn magazines than enduring the likes of andrew sullivan or reading articles from the nyt that digs through face book for gossip on Cindy McCain. The newspaper industry no longer provides a service that benefits the American public and I for one say good riddance.
The collapse of the newspaper industry is due to the public's lack of trust. Journalist have stop doing investigative reporting or fact checking or even given the slightest pretense of being impartial therefore they lack credibility. The public realizes they would be just as well served watching ET or flipping through porn magazines than enduring the likes of andrew sullivan or reading articles from the nyt that digs through face book for gossip on Cindy McCain. The newspaper industry no longer provides a service that benefits the American public and I for one say good riddance.
typical liberal response, nothingness
typical liberal response, nothingness
Let's see...I don't want to buy their silly scriblings, so let's get the government to FORCE me to buy it via taxes and government programs.
If newspapers and journalists want an income, let them start producing a product people want to buy. And if they can't or won't do that, let 'em starve.
Let's see...I don't want to buy their silly scriblings, so let's get the government to FORCE me to buy it via taxes and government programs.
If newspapers and journalists want an income, let them start producing a product people want to buy. And if they can't or won't do that, let 'em starve.
You have GOT to be kidding.
You have GOT to be kidding.
Make work for writers?
Absolutely. Give 'em shovels, and tell 'em to dig ditches.
Make work for writers?
Absolutely. Give 'em shovels, and tell 'em to dig ditches.
I have a better idea. Instead of another bailout we need job retraining for writers and journalists in preparation for one of those millions of new green jobs that Obama has promised to create. Perhaps windmill installer, electric car mechanic or even community organizer.
I have a better idea. Instead of another bailout we need job retraining for writers and journalists in preparation for one of those millions of new green jobs that Obama has promised to create. Perhaps windmill installer, electric car mechanic or even community organizer.
This has to be one of the most narcissistic things I have ever read.
This has to be one of the most narcissistic things I have ever read.
brilliant! Sign me up.
brilliant! Sign me up.
I think it is a great idea. Maybe the members of the writer's project can teach people, especially governmental workers, how to write(i. e. communicate!).
I think it is a great idea. Maybe the members of the writer's project can teach people, especially governmental workers, how to write(i. e. communicate!).
I can't work out if this is Swift-level satire or bleating panhandling. If the former: well played Sir! If the latter: get bent.
I can't work out if this is Swift-level satire or bleating panhandling. If the former: well played Sir! If the latter: get bent.
Hookers: yeah, Pinsky is obviously a pinko, but to suggest that the author should find his way to the nearest methadone clinic, that's putting it a little strongly.
Hookers: yeah, Pinsky is obviously a pinko, but to suggest that the author should find his way to the nearest methadone clinic, that's putting it a little strongly.
How do you keep a news organization fair and objective when the government subsidizes them? How can media be the watchers of government when they become the government's dependent? That is not to suggest the media is fair, objective, or disinterested. I'm sure most journalists would be proud to have their current propagandizing paid for by their heroes with the knowledge that no matter how biased they become their broken business model will never suffer market consequence. This may have been precisely why we saw such bald bias this past election. The print media knew they had become Mesozoic; that they were falling apart and dying. Collectively the major media made one last ditch effort to a ... view full comment
How do you keep a news organization fair and objective when the government subsidizes them? How can media be the watchers of government when they become the government's dependent? That is not to suggest the media is fair, objective, or disinterested. I'm sure most journalists would be proud to have their current propagandizing paid for by their heroes with the knowledge that no matter how biased they become their broken business model will never suffer market consequence. This may have been precisely why we saw such bald bias this past election. The print media knew they had become Mesozoic; that they were falling apart and dying. Collectively the major media made one last ditch effort to assure the election of the guy they thought just might bail them out. Journalists reduced to begging for a handout - that's the epitome of independence. That's surely speaking truth to power.
Is this a parody? Please, tell me it is a joke?
Is this a parody? Please, tell me it is a joke?
Seconded, by a longtime admirer of Pinsky's writing. I recently learned from an Irish friend who's a playwright that artists there aren't taxed up to the equiv of something like $250 k. And Ireland, relatively speaking in the global economy, has been doing great. Because of its support for writers and artists? Of course not. But a society that values creativity tends to be more creative. And it produces ideas, texts, and images that endure. Check out the Library of Congress's online collection of COPYRIGHT free New Deal photographs of just about everything by Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Ben Shahn, and many others. Chances are that if you have an image of the 1930s in your mind, it's from t ... view full comment
Seconded, by a longtime admirer of Pinsky's writing. I recently learned from an Irish friend who's a playwright that artists there aren't taxed up to the equiv of something like $250 k. And Ireland, relatively speaking in the global economy, has been doing great. Because of its support for writers and artists? Of course not. But a society that values creativity tends to be more creative. And it produces ideas, texts, and images that endure. Check out the Library of Congress's online collection of COPYRIGHT free New Deal photographs of just about everything by Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Ben Shahn, and many others. Chances are that if you have an image of the 1930s in your mind, it's from that program.
Hard to Administrate, but a brilliant idea.
I say start it now. Part of our problem is poort reporting by the News Orgainzations. Dont' stop with writing and photos, through a few billion at PBS Documentaries.
Our Newspapers are the worst and in a few years Rupert Murdoch will own the whole market.
A few pet provisions that I hope they sneak into the bill. A special Archive Administrator to help TNR implement the Archive Files some of us already bought adn would love to reference again. And a special small renumuriation for us selfless bloggers who do som much to fact check and provide feedback and criticism to keep excellent bloggers like Mark Pinsky on the cutting edge of journalism.
Hard to Administrate, but a brilliant idea.
I say start it now. Part of our problem is poort reporting by the News Orgainzations. Dont' stop with writing and photos, through a few billion at PBS Documentaries.
Our Newspapers are the worst and in a few years Rupert Murdoch will own the whole market.
A few pet provisions that I hope they sneak into the bill. A special Archive Administrator to help TNR implement the Archive Files some of us already bought adn would love to reference again. And a special small renumuriation for us selfless bloggers who do som much to fact check and provide feedback and criticism to keep excellent bloggers like Mark Pinsky on the cutting edge of journalism.
Please learn how to use HTML before posting. Sometimes a little academia is a very good thing.
Please learn how to use HTML before posting. Sometimes a little academia is a very good thing.
It's a crushing thing, seeing all those "journalists" who think news is their personal domain for dumping on their customers and rewritting reality now on the street. Surely something swhould be done! I know!
Tree + Rope + "Journalist". Greeley and Nye have been turning over in their graves so much over the last thirty years they must be the diameter of broomsticks.
As you sew, you fatuous, politicized, insolent and reflexive red windbags, so may you reap. I've even taken to stopping by U-HAul to buy my (blank) newsprint paper. It's more interesting that scanning the excretia of the "modern english" school of hacks.
It's a crushing thing, seeing all those "journalists" who think news is their personal domain for dumping on their customers and rewritting reality now on the street. Surely something swhould be done! I know!
Tree + Rope + "Journalist". Greeley and Nye have been turning over in their graves so much over the last thirty years they must be the diameter of broomsticks.
As you sew, you fatuous, politicized, insolent and reflexive red windbags, so may you reap. I've even taken to stopping by U-HAul to buy my (blank) newsprint paper. It's more interesting that scanning the excretia of the "modern english" school of hacks.
No more New Deal "cultural projects". Physical infrastructure only. Writing and art is completely subjective. Building is not... either roads and buildings are up to a measurable level of quality, or they are not. You can't say the same with art. When I think art, I think Renaissance masters. When other people think art, they think of something like Piss Christ.
Best to avoid it altogether.
No more New Deal "cultural projects". Physical infrastructure only. Writing and art is completely subjective. Building is not... either roads and buildings are up to a measurable level of quality, or they are not. You can't say the same with art. When I think art, I think Renaissance masters. When other people think art, they think of something like Piss Christ.
Best to avoid it altogether.
If there were any true journalists left in the MSM maybe they'd have a point. No bailouts for propagandists though.
If there were any true journalists left in the MSM maybe they'd have a point. No bailouts for propagandists though.
What a load of tripe! My tax money is wasted well enough already. Here is a thought- if you cannot make a living by writing then it is up to you to get a different job. Get off of your bottoms and dig ditches, mow lawns or whatever it takes to earn a living and stop living off of the taxpayers!
What a load of tripe! My tax money is wasted well enough already. Here is a thought- if you cannot make a living by writing then it is up to you to get a different job. Get off of your bottoms and dig ditches, mow lawns or whatever it takes to earn a living and stop living off of the taxpayers!
Is this satire? Is it? How sad is this that I just can't tell anymore!
Is this satire? Is it? How sad is this that I just can't tell anymore!
Want to guarantee journalists' employment? Hand them shovels or teach them to unplug toilets. Let's face it, if we _wanted_ to pay for what passes for modern journalism, we'd be buying the newspapers and magazines, wouldn't we?
What other section of the American workforce is guaranteed the same kind of job they're at risk of losing?
Want to guarantee journalists' employment? Hand them shovels or teach them to unplug toilets. Let's face it, if we _wanted_ to pay for what passes for modern journalism, we'd be buying the newspapers and magazines, wouldn't we?
What other section of the American workforce is guaranteed the same kind of job they're at risk of losing?
Jesus, maybe you people need a federal program to hire someone to approve comments in less than 12 hours. TNR, now at Internet speed!
Jesus, maybe you people need a federal program to hire someone to approve comments in less than 12 hours. TNR, now at Internet speed!
Why not? I'd rather see a bailout of the middle class than the continued corporate looting of the Treasuty that we're seeing now.
Why not? I'd rather see a bailout of the middle class than the continued corporate looting of the Treasuty that we're seeing now.
You want a job? Pick up a shovel.
You want a job? Pick up a shovel.
A splendid idea. Especially if the program included writing for television -- the best TV series in recent memory, "The Wire," was created by a former journalist. The collective IQ of the nation might rise with more programming like that and fewer "reality" shows.
The WPA travel guides are wonderful historical documents, great fun to peruse, and this country could definitely stand to pay more attention to history, too.
Also, if you don't give honest work to all these former liberal arts majors jettisoned by media companies, they'll all go to law school and then we're really in trouble.
BTW, if the current administration had harkened to some of those "intellectually bankrupt liberal academic ... view full comment
A splendid idea. Especially if the program included writing for television -- the best TV series in recent memory, "The Wire," was created by a former journalist. The collective IQ of the nation might rise with more programming like that and fewer "reality" shows.
The WPA travel guides are wonderful historical documents, great fun to peruse, and this country could definitely stand to pay more attention to history, too.
Also, if you don't give honest work to all these former liberal arts majors jettisoned by media companies, they'll all go to law school and then we're really in trouble.
BTW, if the current administration had harkened to some of those "intellectually bankrupt liberal academics" -- Paul Krugman comes first to mind -- the enormous financial industry bailouts might not have been necessary, thaprof.
Well, considering that you all are losing your jobs because you insist on putting out a crappy product that is heavy on opinion (yours), celebrity and unrelenting stupidity and ignorance (especially with respect to history), I must say that I am UTTERLY disinterested in having some thief like Barney Frank or Chris Dodd or Charles Rangel giving MY money to you moochers so that you can continue doing what it is you've been doing. You are all in need of some gainful employment that actually results in the creation of something useful. Milking cows, maybe.(Instead of us taxpayers.)
Well, considering that you all are losing your jobs because you insist on putting out a crappy product that is heavy on opinion (yours), celebrity and unrelenting stupidity and ignorance (especially with respect to history), I must say that I am UTTERLY disinterested in having some thief like Barney Frank or Chris Dodd or Charles Rangel giving MY money to you moochers so that you can continue doing what it is you've been doing. You are all in need of some gainful employment that actually results in the creation of something useful. Milking cows, maybe.(Instead of us taxpayers.)
There are two big problems with this idea:
1) the lack of good journalists today, and
2) government control of the media.
There are two big problems with this idea:
1) the lack of good journalists today, and
2) government control of the media.
This is a great idea -- carry on the tradition of Steinbeck and other greats who stayed working thanks to the WPA. There are thousands of female journalists who had left the job market temporarily and cannot get back into a shrinking market.
This is a great idea -- carry on the tradition of Steinbeck and other greats who stayed working thanks to the WPA. There are thousands of female journalists who had left the job market temporarily and cannot get back into a shrinking market.
Federally subsidise the same journalists who have been pulling down the economy for the entire Bush administration like a pack of wolves pull down an elk? (4.6 unemployment is a recession in 2007?) Just so you can have some makework project? No.
Welcome to the bed you made.
I have no sympathy for you. Journalists are nothing more than useful idiots with a megaphone. Now that the megaphone is n't working so well you screem at the top of your lungs. I am personally tired of listening to you.
Federally subsidise the same journalists who have been pulling down the economy for the entire Bush administration like a pack of wolves pull down an elk? (4.6 unemployment is a recession in 2007?) Just so you can have some makework project? No.
Welcome to the bed you made.
I have no sympathy for you. Journalists are nothing more than useful idiots with a megaphone. Now that the megaphone is n't working so well you screem at the top of your lungs. I am personally tired of listening to you.