Response to William F. Buckley Jr., 1925-2008

In reading various obits on William F. Buckley, many people said the same two things: he was a heavy conservative; and he was able to not let it interfere with his personal life.


I think it can be argued that "The O'Rielly Factor," "Hardball" and others evolved from Buckley's "Firing Line." That said, if that show were on in today's world, it would not survuve a month. One story on Buckley mentioned that he treated his guests with respect, something you don't usually see. Today, it's more about who can talk over the other person better.

I think that the best thing that we can learn from Buckley is that it's not what you say, necessarily, it's how you say it. Julia Keller wrote in the Trib:

"'At the peak of his fame, he received more than 600 letters a week. He would personally respond to at least 200 of them,' his son said. 'It was quite something to go through an airport with him. He would be stopped, literally, every 5 feet, and someone would say, "I don't agree with a thing you say, but I love the way you say it!"'"

War stories then & now

In comparing an news story on the Civil War to one on the current war in Iraq, one will be able to notice a striking difference between the two.

The meat and potatoes are there: both stories are about a war. Both stories give the reader information about a particular battle about the war. It's the presentation that's different; Villard's article on the first Battle of Bull Run is like something you might encounter at a dinner party, while Roeder's account of Iraq is a fast-food variety. (Yes, I went with the food connection.)

That is not to say that Roeder's story is bad; it is just that it is easier to read than Villard's. Roeder uses shorter paragraphs and follows the contemporary journalism style. Villard, on the other hand, has some challenging paragraphs in his story. His is a story that you would have to take the time to read.

Adventures in Live Blogging III

1:17 -- Molly said that she would give the reporters a story that would be true, then jumped out of the window to her (possible) death. A better story to give reporters would have been the fact that Molly can fly.

1:21 -- Hildy's going to choose her work over Bruce.

1:32 -- The Morning Post is harboring a criminal AND Bruce's mother isn't dead?

1:40 -- Poor Bruce. He's been locked up three times in one night.

1:42 -- The movie ends with Hildy staying with the paper and Wally.

Adventures in Live Blogging II

1:09 -- I like Hildy's style. She seems to not be there to get a story, but because she actually sympathizes with the prisoner. You know, except for that whole bribery thing.

1:11 -- Seriously, do these guys do anything besides play poker and smoke?

1:13 -- Molly (?) just said that she never said that she'd marry Earl (?) and that all they (reporters) do is write lies. I can't help but think of an old saying that I picked up a long time ago that says, "Even if your dear, old grandmother says that she loves you, check it out!"

1:22 -- Poor Hildy. Right when she's ready to leave the business forever, Earl's jail break stops that.

1:27 -- Why is it that Hildy and Wally are the only people in the news business with the ability to speak clearly?

1:33 -- Gotta love political corruption.

1:41 -- We meet Bruce's mother and we're done for today.