* On Wed, 24 Feb 1993 13:16:00 EST Gary Parsons said:
* >    Folks:
* >        The current thread on "Roger & ME" comes as a revealing
* >   surprise.  Just how ere all these peolple "set up?"  And how come
* >   no one heard of this until now??
* >   Gary Parsons
*
* It's all in the film; no need for special knowledge.  In tv journalism
* and supermarket tabloids, it is known as ambush journalism.
 
That, although the style it described became prominent during their reign, is
a word coined by the Republicans to refer to journalism that doesn't involve
newspeople sitting and listening quietly to a prepared statement.
 
To address the charge, which is valid--my take on his style revealed a sad
cynicism of the economics and politics of the place in which he lived. Yeah,
he surprised some innocent page at General Motors by brazenly insisting to
see the CEO, but I think much of the malice and exploitation intent that
characterizes tabloid tv and print doesn't show up in Roger and Me. I was sad
at the end of the movie, not angry at big bad GM.
 
It's getting harder and harder to resist placing a quick category on a
situation or style, because we're receiving so much information that we can't
always think about the possible uniqueness of it.
 
(Not to say you can't think it's ambush jnlsm, though)
 
M o R
 
 
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