Opinions, commentaries, documentaries and news articles trying to sum up a topic in a few sound bites or paragraphs of prose about a myriad of topics. Each day you are bombarded with opinions and news information to help educate and enlighten you. Look down at your arm. Is there a tube inserted in that arm with a connection to a pole on wheels and a clear bag of liquid journalism hanging from it ? Does the liquid look yellow and not crystal clear? A little cloudy? Are you fed daily doses of what the experts deem objective, researched and balanced information? Anything staged or choreographed slipped into your news IV line? Or have you been entertained with flash and graphics and not alot of solid reporting from news talking heads smiling into the camera with one eye and watching the arbitron ratings with the other eye? Not much unlike the dozen presidential candidates do from dawn to dusk lately? Welcome to spin, packaging, slick production where technique and clever is the emphasis. What happened to down to earth, genuine simple real live reporting? Too hokey or provincial? Won't pull at the heart strings and cause emotion enough for ratings? Won't sell papers or invite views and listeners to tune in? Much like the restaurant with the "Home Cooked Food" sign out front and pre packaged powder boxes and frozen freezers filled with tidbits thrown into the fryolator out back in the kitchen out of view. Speak up...as you patrol the many blogs and digest the increasing number of types of media bombarding you with advice, opinions and news. What causes this real estate broker in Northern Maine to see the need to climb onto the milk crate to tap out this blog? An article in the New York Times...it makes Washington County in Maine look like a third world nation riddled with poverty, disease and no hope. That is not Maine. Why the slant? I think you get more objective reporting at the smaller outlets sometimes. The largest is not always the best...but these outlets have an awful lot of reach, readers and exposure. If you get fed tainted news, you can start to form opinions that become beliefs and values that are not accurate unless you probe further for more news coverage on the same topic. But as the volume of news coming at you like asteroids expands, time becomes a preminum. This was the response to that article that made Milbridge Maine look like a leper colony. The drama, pain and darkness gets your attention though which may be the premise for the entire story production.
"Reading the thread one gets an idea that all of Washington County in Maine is scattered with broken, barely surviving residents in shanties and vintage mobile homes that the new warranties have long ceased to protect. Mainers have an intense pride, independence and sense of community. The local basket ball game or outdoor ice cream outlet are a vital part of the local fabric. So are the benefit bean suppers to help a burned out family or cancer treatment neighbor. Mainers are survivors..grateful for what they have, pondering their blessings on their met needs, not their wants. Mainer's help each other, and are selfless really believing how fortunate they are...that many others outside their homes and communities have it much worse thru out the four corners of the world. Our lifestyle in Maine is simpler, not complicated. Our sky is bluer, stars are brighter and there are fewer but friendlier people that dot the landscape. Maine is not an affluent state, but the quality of life is rich. The setting from rugged rock bound sea coasts to the rolling potato fields and unspoiled forests of Aroostook County in Northern Maine offers a home for individuals to be expressive, industrious and passionate about their families, their jobs, their recreation. Maine...the way life should be. Come explore and discover all 16 counties of Maine to get a clear image of what a tremendous state this is and the opportunity it offers you if you feel something is missing in your life. There is no better place to live, work and play on the planet! The original article that sparked the hey, wait a minute reaction was written by the New York Times...where presses are churning in an area less than pristine and not without its own version of poverty, bankrupt morals and urban cancers. "
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