News Is A Verb Essay Research Paper

News Is A Verb Essay, Research Paper

News Is a Verb: Journalism at the End of the Twentieth Century In Pete Hamill s News Is a Verb, Hamill offers an explanation of how newspapers have evolved during the past few decades and how fulfilling it has been to work for a newspaper. He introduces his readers to his passion and love for newspaper as well as encourages and distraught the meanings and duties of print journalism. He started at the New York Post in 1960 and then worked his way to the New York Daily News, and the New York Newsday. Recently, he served as editor-in-chief of the New York Daily News. In News is a Verb, Hamill eloquently voiced his treatment of newspapers as it relates to broadcast journalism as well. In the process, he names some of his admirers who inspired him: Murray Kempton, a columnist and reporter for the Post and Ted Poston, who in the early 1950 s, became the first black reporter for the Post. Hamill s journey through the newspaper business gives his readers a sense of how journalism runs as deep as his veins. Newspapers have given me a full, rich life, said Hamill. They have provided me with a ringside seat at some of the most extraordinary events in my time on the planet. Nowadays, Hamill is deeply troubled by what has been happening to so many American newspapers in the final years of the 20th century. He argues that the term tabloid , which originally means the shape of a page has turn into an adjective followed by trash . As I would interpret Hamill s argument, newspapers have almost become a late night talk show with funny jokes, ridiculous rumors, and offensive comments. The readers are not getting what they deserved ¾ valuable information that is newsworthy. Furthermore, Hamill wants to argue some of his main points in the book. First, there is the kind of news that readers worldwide can t get enough of ¾ sensationalism. One famous example of this is President Clinton s affair with Monica Lewinsky. The Lewinsky affair was the first kind of news to combine into the Internet, 24-hour news cycles, cable news, and of course, the newspaper, according to Hamill. To see how notorious and controversial the affair was, a reporter on NBC went out on the streets of Los Angeles and asked dozens of people if they can identify famous politicians, anchormen, and celebrities. A majority of the people couldn t identify Madeline Albright as Secretary of State and Tom Brokaw as anchorman for NBC. However, the reporter showed the people a picture of Kenneth Starr, Linda Tripp, and Monica Lewinsky. Not surprisingly, all of those people knew who they were, even twelve-year-old kids. I agreed with Hamill s argument, for sensationalism plays a big role in print and broadcast journalism. How else could TV ratings go up, newspaper sales rise, and Internet usage skyrocket. Although some people think scandal is good for the country, others believe sensationalism should be kept to a minimum because it distracts the everyday kind of news that we hear and read about such as accidents, fires, and local events. Second, Hamill points out that newspaper is not what it used to be. The old 15-cents-a-copy days are long gone and numerous chains and amateur individuals are now owning and running the newspaper business. This does not seem right according to Hamill. These men and women, who have never been reporters, depend upon polling and focus groups to shape the news package. He argues that these kinds of people who are running the business forsake significant facts for insatiable news. With that in mind, he takes his readers to the dramas and lifestyles of celebrities, another drawing attention tactic to get audiences to read and tune in. Newspaper is losing its quality because it has become predictable and boring . Finally, another of Hamill s main point is content. He said newspaper are getting dumber (except in honorable cases) because they are filled with sensation, rumor, press-agent flackery, and bloated trivialities at the expense of significant facts. I can t help but agreed with Hamill and most certainly in a time when the country has just started to get over a scandal. I ve heard and read about her thong, his cigar, their sexual relations, and other stories that has gotten newspapers and television caught up in the excitement of news! At the same time, I was overwhelmed at how so many people were united, open, and opinionated of this one issue. As a result of Hamill s fulfillment of substance, he guides his readers onto other issues that makes newspaper as it is today. In chapter two of this book, Hamill explains to us what a z calo is (a main plaza in the cities and towns of Mexico) and how it s a place of gathering and socializing. Then he applies it to a city setting in the United States and guess what. There is no z calo. There is no unifying, central plaza in New York or Chicago, but he emphasizes that a newspaper should be a like a z calo where everyone gathers together and exchange conversations and ideas. In chapter three, Hamill emphasizes this point: when a woman speaks, everyone should stop and listen. In our society nowadays, women are making most of the household decisions and the planning. In chapter four, he spotlights the immigrants who came to New York a very long time ago and brought with them, a heritage that has incorporated into New York newspapers and communities. Meanwhile, Hamill surveys different issues that plague different problems in pr