Politics Resource Center Essays, Opinion, & Commentary Something to Think About Index Select a Feature... Politics Main Page General Resources Classic Texts Online Articles & Essays Political/Social Issues Libertarian Resources Videos & DVDs Politics Resource Center Main Page
Books about Politics and Current Events in The Radical Academy Bookstore Click Here for New & Used College Textbooks at Discount Prices Click Here for College Education Information & Study Resources Shop Amazon Stores in the Radical Academy Bookstore Magazine Outlet Music Store Video Store DVD Store Computer Store Camera & Photo Store Computer/Video Games Software Store Outlet Store Cellular Phones Toys & Games Tools & Hardware Outdoor Living Consumer Electronics Kitchen & Housewares Baby Superstore Apparel & Accessories Gourmet Food Sporting Goods Jewelry & Watches Health & Personal Care		Something to Think About   The Authority: Part II by Gordon Francis Corbett   Becoming our own authorities will take work. Television encourages passivity. Too, newsreaders sound well-informed. They look straight ahead, seemingly at us viewers, and tell us what is happening. We see neither the phalanx of copywriters who told them what to say, nor the TelePrompTers that make their delivery seem spontaneous and sincere. We start by watching the newsreaders not passively, but actively. We select, from their fruit salads of news-items, the ones that really count. We cross-check them with information from other sources, such as our newspapers and the various Internet news services. We then decide what the true facts are, and integrate them into our picture of the world. The first step is simple: we simply do not turn off our minds when we watch the evening news. We regard the newsreaders as actors and actresses who recite lines. We remember that their scripts are tailored to fit their employers' broadcast time and political preferences. The second is more complex: determining which stories are most important. In his book, "None Dare Call It Conspiracy," Gary Allen referred to the children's magazines we all once read. These magazines featured line drawings, each of which concealed one or more figures: perhaps, within a pastoral scene, a boy, a cart, and a donkey. However we tried to discern their shapes, we would fail. Finally, we would turn to Page 95 and see the drawings, with the formerly concealed shapes outlined in bold ink. When we turned back to the originals, the shapes stood out so starkly that we wondered how we had missed them. He wrote his book to give his readers the background they needed to see the "shapes" of the stories that were most important.   In Part III, I will pass on some of his hints.   Enrich your life with a book about politics and current events... Enrich your political & social life with a politics or news magazine... Something to Think About Index Politics Resource Center Main Page
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