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Dialogues@RU is published
annually
by the
Writing Program at
Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey
Volume 4
Fall 2005
Polemical Hacks, Bastardized Gonzo,
and the Death Of Democracy - Page 6
By Eric Kaufmann
The new pamphleteers fail to engage their subject matter in the same way, assuming that their own subjectivity is warranted and acceptable to claim as fact, not recognizing that Thompson does not write stories, he lives them, getting as close to his subject matter as possible. When researching for Hell's Angels , a book on the motorcycle gang of the same name, he did not adopt the academic strategy, but purchased a motorcycle and rode with them until a disagreement ended his run with a stomping. He seeks the heart of the matter as a service to all those who want to know, avoiding the pathetic pandering of the pamphleteers, in which "conservatives tend to read and recommend conservative books and liberals, liberals' books" (Wolfe 12).
And young people and music lovers are not immune either from this poorly manufactured web of pseudo-facts and pop-polisci. Creators of the "Rock Against Bush CD" did not produce it to spur discourse, or even to endorse another candidate's policies. Its sole purpose was to remove Bush from office, a viewpoint easy to get behind when the liner notes "provide 60 'reasons to hate Bush Jr.'" (Walker 28). This is hardly the type of intellectual exchange called for in a deliberative democracy, as these sub-par analyses only justify predetermined ideological conclusions.Durrant confirms this point, and explains the process of public alienation, in a discussion of manufactured truths that develop due to the vacuum left as public-funded research diminished in scope:
Sponsored studies with their findings reflecting their sponsor's agendas are facilely reported as objective science to unwary consumers. In the process, factoids get confused with facts, "affect" (or emotion) drives out "intellect" in evaluating news, and a confused public paradoxically presses further demands for redress upon a federal government it perceives as ineffectual. (28)
Survey results by the NES presented in the introductory section demonstrate these declining levels of participation and trust in government. Citizens are simultaneously distancing themselves from government and criticizing the distance between themselves and government.
If the new pamphleteers can be accounted for by the misappropriation of Gonzo journalism, why are traditional news outlets also inept at covering politics? In addition to a shift in journalism style, there has been a shift in journalism education. Prior to World War II there were few undergraduate programs in journalism or communications. Reporters often had degrees in subjects within the humanities and social sciences. With the expansion of higher education, and the push from employers to have potential hires already versed in the writing and production of stories, came entire programs based on the collecting and delivering of news (Roberts and Eksterowicz 67). The problem with this approach is that as media markets become larger, stations are more apt to have specialized areas of reporting. According to Roberts and Eksterowicz, "despite the growing trend towards specialization in local broadcasting, few communication programs require majors to specialize in substantive areas" (69). An analysis of some of the top communications degrees in the United States reveals that "students can graduate from many of these programs without taking courses designed to provide them with a working knowledge of substantive areas of government, economics, political science, political behavior, and public policy" (70). This is discomforting given that journalists need to be able to distinguish between informed and uninformed experts in policy areas, especially in a paradigm where they are expected to critically examine social problems and formulate solutions.
This is a pressing concern, but there is a deeper institutional rot at work that will not be solved with a mere change in course requirements. According to Graber, it is surprising that media outlets have performed any public services as well as they have, given that the press "has slighted significant functions that the Founding Fathers and their spiritual heirs assumed it could and would perform" (258).