A sensational story is an easier one to write - it takes a lot more work to make a story about a family returning home after a mediocre vacation than it does to create a gripping narrative about a Peace Corps volunteer lost in a tsunami



A sensational story is an easier one to write - it takes a lot more work to make a story about a family returning home after a mediocre vacation than it does to create a gripping narrative about a Peace Corps volunteer lost in a tsunami

So it would seem that this increasing tendency to look for the engaging emotional hook and the resonant story, journalists first look for the sensational. This is reasonable as the sensational story is an easier one to write - it takes a lot more work to make a story about a family returning home after a mediocre vacation than it does to create a gripping narrative about a Peace Corps volunteer lost in a tsunami.

But past that, does narrative focus lead to bias? I would say yes, in those cases when the profession itself has a strong set of political leanings. In that kind of environment when editors and reporters are looking to pick out the point of interest and refine the gripping details that breath life into otherwise "hardboiled" reporting, they have only one reliable metric to work with - whether or not they themselves are interested in the story. Does a given presentation of data generate outrage, move one to tears, or cause a sense of warm satisfaction? Well, that would depend on the people reading the story. And, in the case of journalists, the people making the first call on whether or not a story gets written, and if it does, how it is presented, would be people who will be (at least at the national level) overwhelmingly left-leaning.

But why is this? This, in my estimation is a perverse result of the attempt of media itself to be objective. Without delving into the origins of an objective media in America, one will note that an objective media implies a role for media in the democratic process. Specifically, an objective media takes on the responsibility for educating and drawing the public's attention to those items which are most relevant and important for their democracy. In other words, in this world view, the media provides a role which augments the role of government in a patriarchal system. But why doesn't this show up as right-side social patriarchialism?

It's because the left and right are not mirror image political philosophies. The left has, among its intellectual foundations, the idea of Marxist "false consciousness." This is the catalyst that really makes the concept of narrative journalism really react so very dynamically with the idea of objective media as a necessary component of democracy. A philosophical underpinning of many of those folks who make up the left today is that the people are mislead by those who would take advantage of them, and that it is the responsibility of those on the soapbox to speak truth to power. And the new mission of media is to tell the story compellingly and steer clear of a simple recitation of data that won't engage people in critical discussions about their own fate at the hands of corporations and theocrats.

When this story was posted in February 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state.

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WWII participants became RPCVs Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service.

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February 12, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Peter McPherson keeping busy in DC 12 Feb Martha Ryan wins Award for pre-natal program 12 Feb John Perkins reveals dark side of U.S. aid 10 Feb Kathleen DeBold involved in lesbian activism 10 Feb Jim Doyle to fix Wisconsin deficit without raising taxes 10 Feb Chris Dodd proposes Class Action Fairness Act 10 Feb RPCVs create Tsunami Assistance Project for India 9 Feb Donna Shalala talks about her Peace Corps days 8 Feb Senator Frist proposes Global Health Corps 8 Feb Bush's budget to end Perkins loan forgiveness for PCVs 8 Feb Tom Petri's Direct Loan Reward Act to save $18 billion 8 Feb Izaak Edvalson helps educate a Doctor 7 Feb Carol Bellamy condemns Female genital mutilation 7 Feb Carl Pope criticizes Bush environmental priorities 7 Feb Mike Tidwell defends wind farms 6 Feb Kinky Friedman for real? Voters may not care 5 Feb Bruce Anderson's Newspaper folds amid money woes 5 Feb

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Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

RPCVs mobilize support for Countries of Service RPCV Groups mobilize to support their Countries of Service. Over 200 RPCVS have already applied to the Crisis Corps to provide Tsunami Recovery aid, RPCVs have written a letter urging President Bush and Congress to aid Democracy in Ukraine, and RPCVs are writing NBC about a recent episode of the "West Wing" and asking them to get their facts right about Turkey.

RPCVs contend for Academy Awards Bolivia RPCV Taylor Hackford's film "Ray" is up for awards in six categories including best picture, best actor and best director. "Autism Is a World" co-produced by Sierra Leone RPCV Douglas Biklen and nominated for best Documentary Short Subject, seeks to increase awareness of developmental disabilities. Colombian film "El Rey," previously in the running for the foreign-language award, includes the urban legend that PCVs teamed up with El Rey to bring cocaine to U.S. soil.

Ask Not As our country prepares for the inauguration of a President, we remember one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century and how his words inspired us. "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

Coleman: Peace Corps mission and expansion Senator Norm Coleman, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee that oversees the Peace Corps, says in an op-ed, A chance to show the world America at its best: "Even as that worthy agency mobilizes a "Crisis Corps" of former Peace Corps volunteers to assist with tsunami relief, I believe an opportunity exists to rededicate ourselves to the mission of the Peace Corps and its expansion to touch more and more lives."

RPCVs active in new session of Congress In the new session of Congress that begins this week, RPCV Congressman Tom Petri has a proposal to bolster Social Security, Sam Farr supported the objection to the Electoral College count, James Walsh has asked for a waiver to continue heading a powerful Appropriations subcommittee, Chris Shays will no longer be vice chairman of the Budget Committee, and Mike Honda spoke on the floor honoring late Congressman Robert Matsui.

Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help?

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