King George III and National Gallery, originally uploaded by Jay Pastor.
Bob Garfield’s earnest, moldy take on the evils of online comments reaps a whirlwind in the blogosphere. Not helping matters was Ira Glass, whose response to a loaded question was to conjure up the On the Media host as a latter-day George III.
You’re old enough, and I’m old enough, that you were very comfortable with the one-way communication. And I hear you say this, and I feel like you are anti-democratic. You are a royalist. You are upset with democracy itself. (Hat tip: Derek Powazek)
(Bob, you might want to rethink those questions, though I applaud your integrity in airing Ira’s reaction.)
BTW: You can listen to the program or read the transcript at the On the Media website.
Bloggers Jeff Jarvis and Derek Powazek weigh in with such historical or technical breadth and formidable expository chops that it is pointless for me to offer my impoverished analysis. You are also sure to glean plenty of gems from the comment section in Jarvis’s blog, where even Garfield himself joins the fray.
Not helping matters? How’s that? I think Ira Glass did listeners a favor by describing in arresting terms what the host of On the Media is– nostalgic for the days of one way broadcasting and a person with anti-democratic sensibilities that come out in his questions. If you got one of those in a position of responsibility (show host) it’s best to know. That is indeed “helping matters.”
By the way, what question did the host ask of Ira Glass that caused him to say, “you’re a royalist?” Do you know?
Thanks for the feedback Jay. Good points all around.
I apologize to readers for the admittedly sloppy word choice on my part. What I meant to convey was “not helping Garfield’s case.”
It was not my intention to imply that Glass’s comments were off base, all the more so since I am more sympathetic to his point of view.
Yes, I do know what the question was, but between listening and typing it got lost in translation. “Loaded question” should be “leading question.”
Again, more carelessness on my part.
Thanks for keeping me on my toes. I will try to be more careful in the future.
Now a question for you: How should I address this? Do I line out the words in question in the original? Or should I write a new post addressing the issue?