Andrew Albert J. Ty wrote:
>
> Has anyone mentioned Larry King interviewing Samuel L. Jackson at the end of
> The Long Kiss Goodnight?
>
This is the first, and a very intersting example because it reveals some
of the assumptions I make about news, journalism, etc.  I was not
disturbed by the mock interview staged at the conclusion of LKG becuase
I must hold different standards up for different media.  Larry is a
talk-show host in my mind, not a figure resonsible for dissemeinating
information as close to factual as possible under reasonable
circumstances. (A fast definition of the function of news organizations,
etc.) I take LKL to be more concerned with the subjective view point of
a single individual; if Larry invites Bruce Campbell for an interview, I
do not expect reliable reporting of the civil disorder in Freetown, or
the breaking info on a sexual harrasment controversy, but I might expect
to hear dialogue between Larry and Bruce that mentions these issues.
Clearly, we are tlaking about a complex of my own personal and
subjective expectations regarding several genres that are most certainly
performative.  Does news come from individuals, or must it (IMO) undergo
some divorce from its human origin to receive an institutional stamp of
authenticity ? The US census is without doubt the publication of an
organization, but much of its data was collected by individuals until
recently: many people constitute an authority denied one man or woman in
this case.
        To retun to the original subject, Samuel Jackson's fake interview wil
not inspire me to question the validity or veracity of Larry's next
interview becuase I do not hold talk-shows featuring celebrities to the
same standards. Perhaps I should ?  Then there's the argument that it's
all just fun anyway...
 
        Joe L.
 
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