A Letter to the Reader
Wednesday, January 14, 2009

In Fall ‘08 I was flipping through the University of Windsor’s course calendar looking for a class that would require zero thought, zero effort, and zero studying, with a potential for poor class attendance. I say that not because I’m a lazy arse – I promise you, if anything, I tend towards the hyper-active when it comes to studying – but rather because I had an already over-burdened course load and didn’t want to find myself in the same situation I had found myself in for the past 3 years; suicidal and in a paper-filled room worthy of John Nash over the two weeks before exams.

There, tucked between Video Production I and Cinema History, I found it, my beacon of slackery goodness: Media Literacy. “I watch the news! Sometimes I don’t fast-forward through the commercials when I tape things! How can I go wrong?”

So, I went to the first class. I got the syllabus. The prof, Dr. Winter, talked about the CIA and Cuba and why the fluoride in the municipal water was going to kill us all – if it didn’t retard us first. I thought he was probably the kind of guy who went home at night and sat next to a ham radio wearing a tinfoil hat. I decided to attend the second class only because I happened to be on campus and couldn’t resist the unlimited potential for unintentional comedy.

But when I left the second class, I wasn’t laughing. I was actually angry. He made the point that 80% of a most newspaper’s revenues come from advertisements. He made the point that, given the revenue breakdown, it’s clear that newspapers sell audiences to advertiser’s, not advertiser’s to audiences. He said that, in Canada, the news is controlled by a handful of wealthy families who represent their own biases and agendas in their papers. And he said this was wrong.

I was, and still am, of a slightly different opinion.

Sure, the facts of what he’s saying are true. 80% of rev comes from ads, audiences are sold to advertisers, rich old bastards control everything. We can find supporting evidence for all of that. But I wouldn’t say that this is “wrong.” I still maintain that it’s not anyone’s job to provide us with the news, with the truth, with any information that’s against their own better interests.

I would say that if we want the news it’s our responsibility to pursue it, to disseminate it, to talk about it, to analyse it. Don’t change them. Change us. Hence, this blog.

As an aside, Media Lit ended up being the hardest class of the semester and in the two weeks before exams I went from John Nash’s papering-the-walls-crazy to full on Howard Hughes nuts. However, I got through it and I have a better appreciation of Dr. Winter’s work than I had when I walked out of those first couple classes. I see more errors, biases, and governmental cheerleading chants in the news than I did before. I find commercials infinitely fascinating. I note the language and turns of phrase when someone’s reporting, where before I just listened. I strive to be aware of what’s missing. I watch movies for both the apparent story plotlines and also the more ostensible social ones.

Why did I tell you all this? Well, first, I want to recommend two of James Winter’s books: Mediathink and Lies the Media Tells Us, which are great jumping off points for learning more about corporate media in Canada. I especially recommend the latter, despite the price. (Moreover, if any Windsorite out there wants to borrow my copy, I’ve always been hip to the book-exchange, so let me know). Secondly, I thought I ought to acknowledge Dr. Winter as a big influence in my becoming critically-minded about the media. Finally, for those of you who have taken the course and know Dr. Winter’s opinions, or have read his work, and perhaps sensed his influence in the blog, I also wanted to define myself against him and admit my own biases.

Namely, there are two. I am 1) pretty much a libertarian (an oft misunderstood political stance that I will talk about in more depth later) and 2) the kind of feminist that would make James Winter shake head in dismay; i.e. I think women are, essentially, men with boobs. I’m pretty ardent about it.

So there you have it. The story, the vision, the blogger, and probably the most letter-like post I plan on making. I'm looking forward to talking media with whoever happens to read this, and will hopefully provide some alternative insight into the stories, reports, ads and images we're steeped in everyday.

Cheers,
Ashley

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posted by Ashley Girty @ 7:22 PM, ,