network - a movie

Network came out in 1976. I found it after clicking though some 2011 Oscar news and landed on Faye Dunaway. She is awesome in this.

Watching Network I saw things you don't see today: imperfect teeth, suits, smoking. Man the smoking - everywhere smoking. Amazing. OH, and there is no musical score running over everything.

I like this movie - though I have to admit about 1/2 way through I almost turned it off. The final 1/3 was exciting. I guess I liked watching everything fall apart. I do think the ending was a bit much. Almost like they didn't know what to do, so they...I don't know, punted?

I read somewhere that this movie predicted 24-hours newstainment that we have today. With Peter Finch's Howard Beale taking the role of Glenn Beck. It's spot on - unbelievably prescient.

Worth checking out.

Tradition of independent press

Quoting Jacob Weisberg

"What's most distinctive about the American press is not its freedom but its century-old tradition of independence—that it serves the public interest rather than those of parties, persuasions, or pressure groups. Media independence is a 20th-century innovation that has never fully taken root in many other countries that do have a free press."


I concur. I find all the cable news disheartening. None seem to do any investigative jurnalism - where are Woodward and Bernsteins of today? Hmm, maybe Micheal Moore? Though none could say he doesn't have a liberal agenda.


So, where to get news? How about digg or Comedy Central? It's just too hard to say.