I have hit a breaking point this morning with what search engines call the news.
"Secret for the perfect toast" is on the moving list of news stories today. I almost went ballistic yesterday with "What's dirtier than a toilet?" on the rotation, but was distracted by other things. I get it - not everything has to be heavy news, a bit of light information can be fun and entertaining. Fine. So tell me who is marrying whom and how short that tennis star's skirt is, but please, do not insult my intelligence by trying to tell me that scientists have just broken the code on the perfect toast. Come on!!
If we don't have an appetite for more fluffy news about celebrities, how about information about new inventions, human interest stories about people who beat the odds or volunteers who are making a difference? Why? Because these stories actually take time and research to write. They require journalistic knowledge and effort to pull together and search engines don't want to pay for that kind of quality. They just want "eyes" on their site so they can sell more expensive ads. So they hire monkeys to produce content based on searches that people do instead of applying themselves at work. I should know, I write for one of those search engines (a girl's got to earn a living you know). I make $15 per article. Do you know what you get for $15? Total crap.
Hey, this could be another idea for Oprah - run an on-line news channel that actually hires people with journalistic integrity, pay them a fair salary for their work and refuse to publish anything unless it informs, inspires or educates. Thought for the day.
Showing posts with label Oprah Winfrey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oprah Winfrey. Show all posts
Friday, March 4, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Oprah Winfrey Network
Well, well, well...so it has happened. Oprah has figured out her exit strategy! Good for her. I saw for the first time yesterday, an advertisement for OWN. I have to say, in true Oprah style, it was flawless.
I am looking forward to seeing what type of programming they come up with. I hope that it is used as an opportunity to educate people at least some of the time. There is so much trash on television, it would be a real shame if she did not use the opportunity to get some important messages out there.
Not that I am looking for it to be preachy, but I think, for example, that people in North America cannot identify with true poverty as experienced in places like Haiti and around the world. Oprah is well positioned to reach out to people and to educate them without making them just feel ashamed like when you see a commercial with starving children. I actually believe that those commercials desensitize the public over time. You feel sad and want to help the first time you see it, but if you have already chosen another charity to give to, or if you disagree with the religious underpinnings of the organization - it only pushes you away from those suffering children, instead of making you understand how badly they need help and in what small way you could contribute.
I think that Oprah understands this and I am hoping that she uses this opportunity to find ways to convey messages without disenfranchising the viewer - but what am I saying? It's Oprah! She gets it.
Oh, and I'm always interested in some healthy and tasty recipes - for the love of my waistline, keep that Paula Deen woman off television - isn't North America fat enough???
I am looking forward to seeing what type of programming they come up with. I hope that it is used as an opportunity to educate people at least some of the time. There is so much trash on television, it would be a real shame if she did not use the opportunity to get some important messages out there.
Not that I am looking for it to be preachy, but I think, for example, that people in North America cannot identify with true poverty as experienced in places like Haiti and around the world. Oprah is well positioned to reach out to people and to educate them without making them just feel ashamed like when you see a commercial with starving children. I actually believe that those commercials desensitize the public over time. You feel sad and want to help the first time you see it, but if you have already chosen another charity to give to, or if you disagree with the religious underpinnings of the organization - it only pushes you away from those suffering children, instead of making you understand how badly they need help and in what small way you could contribute.
I think that Oprah understands this and I am hoping that she uses this opportunity to find ways to convey messages without disenfranchising the viewer - but what am I saying? It's Oprah! She gets it.
Oh, and I'm always interested in some healthy and tasty recipes - for the love of my waistline, keep that Paula Deen woman off television - isn't North America fat enough???
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