Sunday, August 24, 2008
"A Newspaper Is a Collection"
Under "Links" you'll find a poem by Stephen Crane, who's best known as a novelist, but who was also a journalist (and poet), called "A Newspaper Is Collection." What does Crane see as the overriding purpose or purposes of the press? What's his attitude toward how the press of his day -- the poem was written about 1890 -- operates? Is there anything about his description of the press that reminds you of today's media as described by Postman? What in specific? Please respond by noon, Sunday, Oct. 4.
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20 comments:
1- From the poem i got that Crane thought the over all purpose/purposes of the press is to spread "tales" and fabrications of the truth. The press or the newspaper is sent as a plaque in society that men allow into their homes.
2- What I depicted from the poem about how the press operates in the 1890's is it acts as a symbol. It holds no true meaning or shows that it contains any value. It is simply a way to seem important, when really there is nothing educational about newspapers.
3- The part in the poem that shows relates the most to the press today in my opinion is when Crane states, "A newspaper is a game
Where his error scores the player
victory
While another's skill wins death."
It is like today's press because the issues of violence and death are almost embraced in today's press. What news sells are topics of violence and crime.
I should point out that the poem proceeds by a series of oxymorons, which are logical contradictions, such as "his error scores the player victory...." This suggests that Crane sees the self-important image of the press as being at odds with the actual workings of the press, that there's a fatal gap between rhetoric and reality.
The poem demonstrates many different puposes of the press. Newspapers are used to spread stories that are not always factual, and usually consist of violence or other negative topics. The newspaper also gives out guilt or innocence based on the writers opinion and rarely on actual evidence. It is also a form of business where writers sell their "wisdom" to people who do not know any better. Finally the newspaper is a game, because it is not taken seriously and sories are used to entertain rather than inform.
I believe that Crane had a negative view of newspapers and the press. I see this when he calls the newspaper "feckless life's chronicle". To me he is saying that the articles are incompetent and pointless because they focus on the "stupidities" of life.
I see this in todays' press throughout the tabloids. Most stories are about gossip and violence. The gossip articles half the time are not factual. I feel today that people do not take tabloid newspapers seriously either because of the stories they write. There does not seem to be many articles that cause you to think. You mainly just read it and move on.
In this poem I think that Stephen Crane views the press as a marketplace, where whichever ideas sell best to the public seem to become the most important ideas. This affects his opinions concerning the press because as a result of this the press becomes a place for biased and unfair opinions. “A newspaper is a court where everyone is kindly and unfairly tried by a squalor of honest man,” really captures his opinion about the press. Depending on who you are and what you do, the press may spin a story in a positive or negative light. This relates back to his original statement that “A newspaper is a collection of half-injustices” due to the fact that the press may include their opinion in the story, which may cause them to leave out some facts, only giving you half of the story or a partial truth. In his poem he also speaks about how the press turns seemingly meaningless news into newsworthy articles. He speaks about this in the last four lines, “A collection of loud tales concentrating on eternal stupidities, that in remote ages lived unhaltered, roaming through a fenceless world.” I feel that idea is especially relevant today, where the press focuses on celebrity happenings and other gossip, which overwhelmingly infiltrates daily newspapers, sometimes even making it to the front page. I think it’s the idea of an unrestrained press, a press that will do anything to sell a paper, that allows for this to happen. I think back to when Anna Nicole Smith died, and how the press covered her death 24/7, I can’t even remember anything that happened that week other than her death. And what was her significance as a role in society? A Calvin Klein model? The face of a weightloss product? World leaders pass away, and they’re lucky if they’re acknowledged for 30 seconds on evening news programs.
"A Newspaper is a collection" describes how a journalist takes stories of social injustice and current events and brings them into households where people are naturally inclined to be comforted by the internal events in their own lives, but soon become learned on the wrongdoings of their political systems and are therefore included in current events that those people would otherwise know nothing about. I understand from this poem two types of journalistic styles popular during the late 1800s: muckraking journalism and yellow journalism. The former is a style used by honest men who are uninhibited in their explanation of unjustice and the popularization of the spread of societal errors resulting in the victory of the journalists intention to record the truth. The latter, which I believe is also described in this poem, is the concentration of stupidities that people use as a distractionary tool moreso than an informative tool, in which the errors recorded in the journalistic publications could result in the death of knowledge and the true meaning of journalism- which is to bring truth to the public about current events.
I was reminded of tabloid journalism of today when he alluded to yellow journalism, mostly because today the media is often used as a grounds for corrupt governments to make the public believe things are happening in their world that are more important than issues that they could possibly change: for example, celebrities in the limelight as opposed to global warming. The original intention of journalism is evident in this piece, as I think it still is today, but there will always be corruption slithering in places where the intention is good, but the outcome is something different.
In “A Newspaper is a Collection,” Crane sees the press as a way to expose information, whether factual or falsified, to anyone who will eat it up and will spread the word about the story so more people will buy the paper. The press makes an effort to grab the most attention by printing information that is more desired by the readers, rather than by publishing what is actually true. This description reminds me of today’s tabloids which are covered with headlines that are later confirmed false, but make hundreds of thousands of people buy the magazine because they are so interested in the downfall or the trauma of what they see advertised on the cover. People are so willing to believe anything that they read in a newspaper or magazine, that writers know that they can create stories and will have them be believed by readers.
In "A Newspaper Is a Collection" Stephen Crane suggests that the general purpose of the press is to feed the public with stories. He seems to look towards the press with disdain because he sees the press as having been corrupted by society " a million merciful and sneering men" aka society. His use of paradoxes such as "Where his error scores the player victory" suggest that by indulging society only in what they want to know that newspapers are acting in ways they should not be. Crane holds that newspapers were not intended to filter information.
The image Crane presents of a newspaper as a court suggests Crahne detects much bias in the information the press provides to the public, since trials end up taking only one outcome and representing only one side. He claims that the newspaper spreads its curious "opinion",and does not mention anything about the factual evidence of stories in the media or what the press is choosing to leave out of the news.
When Crane writes that "wisdom sells its freedom" he is implying that the press will compromise truth and important information for stories that will sell. This is very true of today's press, in our tabloid culture, where entertainment, makes up a huge portion of the news. People are more interested in sex, celebrities, and gossip than polital and environmental news. The press however, succumbs to society and feeds them more and more of this type of information.
In a "Newspaper is a Collection", I feel that Crane sees the overall purpose of the press is to produce a story which the public will want to buy even if the story is not completely accurate. Crane's overall attitude of the press in 1890 was very negative. Crane saw the press for what they were and not as professionals who cared about quality accurate news stories. Even today the most bizarre stories are what grabs the publics attention. The more outlandish the better. His description of the press still holds true today, "And melons are crowned by the crowd. A newspaper is a game where his error scores the player victory. While another's kill wins death." Today's tabloids gain attention and subscriptions because of their far fetched cover stories and false claims. The public wants to read about bizarre stories, extreme violence, or brutal crimes so that's what newspapers will print.
I think the overriding purpose of the press as described in Stephen Crane's "A Newspaper Is a Collection" is that it is a corrupt business. The press is selling information and stories of any kind, whether they are true or embellished. I think this shows his distrust and disappointment in the press. It was and still is a business where the product is words and pictures. It's a "game", as Crane says, and in order to win you have to produce some juicy stories. It is interesting to see that something written in 1890 still has relevance today. As we discussed in the last class, sex, scandals, and celebrities sell and too often, they are sold over what we tried to label as dignified or investigative reporting. I really like how kimplummer brought up Anna Nicole Smith and her death coverage. Sadly, I realized even when we try not to fall subject to the lust of the tabloids we often do. I wonder if that will change, or if the press will always sell the gossip.
After reading the poem "A Newspaper Is a Collection" it is clear that Crane sees that the overriding purpose or purposes of the press are to inform the very judgmental public about "news" which he considers unjust and at times untrue. In other words, the purpose of the press is really just to spread the opinions of the journalists about poorly researched stories. Crane obviously has a very negative attitude toward how the press of his day operates. He notes at the end of the poem that we live in a "fenceless world," which to me means that there are no longer any boundaries in what reporters will write about. There is nothing left that is private or sacred, especially if the media feels that it is "newsworthy." Also, he feels the biggest problem is how one-sided news stories can be. The audience believes everything they read, and base their opinions on information that at times, is not completely accurate. His description of the press reminds me a lot of today's media. Specifically, the presidential elections. Republican publications will obviously do what they can to politely bash Obama, while Democratic publications do the same towards McCain. For example, Fox News has been well known to be a news channel that loudly expresses their opinions, with anchors such as bill O'reilly who refuses to accept any opposition to his strong opinion.
The overriding purpose of the press, from Crane’s perspective, seems to be a need to interpret information in a way that is more tolerable and less questionable, which is an interesting concept in relation to current media practices. The first five lines describe the idea of accusations and rumor through “[a] collection of half-injustices/Which, bawled by boys from mile to mile/Spreads its curious opinion”, and go on to suggest there is a harsh crowd on judges, “…a million merciful and sneering men,” while people calmly hear of the information from the comfort of their home, “While families cuddle the joys of the fireside/When spurred by tale of dire lone agony”. This poem, in relation to the idea of making news “acceptable” and non-offensive, maybe even entertaining, is of course a reflection of current media practices. How many troops die everyday?
According to the poem, Crane’s idea of the press is that it uses stories to get peoples attention whether they are true or not. It says that “his error scores the player victory,” which I feel means that because “wisdom has sold its freedom”, the press’s integrity is lost. It will release information and stories that it chooses and that will grab people’s attention, which may not be the most newsworthy stories, nor the ones that are in the best interest of the audience. In doing this the player, the press, has won victory and has control over itself and its audience.
One thing that reminded me of today’s media was the line “every one is kindly and unfairly tried” I think that today’s newspapers, some without meaning to be, show their own thoughts on the subject and can therefore impose how they feel about a topic onto their readers. Also nothing says that the newspaper has to print every detail. Therefore the reader may not be getting the whole story. Tabloids especially use text out of context or the most unflattering pictures for their readers to judge celebrities.
Also the last line about roaming through a fenceless world, I think, is very similar to the society we live in where people feel they have no boundaries and in some cases exploit certain rights like freedom of the press and print whatever they please, even if it is a blatant lie.
The poem by Crane is sadly sarcastic. It made me feel that newspapers were once respectable and honest. He speaks of how the press has turned to stories of violence and half-truths for the gain of business. What is alarming is how the poem “A Newspaper is a Collection,” is still relevant to this day. His statement, “Where his error scores the player victory, While another's skill wins death.” is a sad truth about the newspaper industry. They thrive on stories of disaster and gossip. Always to make sure that their opinion or point of view helps draw in readers. The media has no boundaries of what is newsworthy or off limits. Most scenarios end up with the victim being harassed for a front page story. However, knowing this does not change readers behavior. This format newspapers use is effective and lucrative. Until we demand more respect for privacy this strategy will continue.
Ultimately, what Crane is saying is that a newspaper is nothing more to him than a rag. He goes so far as to call it a mere recounting of useless tales that would have otherwise gone unnoticed before the invention of the actual, physical newspaper. He goes back and forth, as Professor Good pointed out, heralding the newspaper for freeing some men of their actions and condemning others for theirs. The tone is a rather dry one I feel. There is a distrust of the newspaper in his tone, because of its fickle nature. It does not choose sides, but rather gives both to the public who willingly eats it up, for better and worse.
The newspaper is a symbol, a symbol of society as a whole. It constantly changes. It is a symbol of human interest, of public choice, of fickleness by nature. It gives the stories that people want, and gives them the ones they need, all in the times when THEY want and need them. It sways with the winds. This is why Crane calls it “feckless”, and this is the part that seems to ring to today’s tune. Many feel that the news simply entertains and tells “loud tales” today, with spins on Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and other celebrity personalities. Distrust of news media has grown because of the resurgence of this Crane-like cynicism.
Crane sees that the press is a way to expose and present truths of the world around us. He also sees how the press can fail to do this. One of my favorite lines was, “where every one is kindly and unfairly tried,” because I feel that he is saying a journalist tries to approach their story without bias, but judgment from one person is far from a fair trial. That is the battle journalists have to take and approach with their best efforts. Their judgment will be the one that the public sees and from where the public will obtain their opinion.
Journalists from Crane’s day seem to be very fickle and trivial towards the news. “A collection of loud tales/Concentrating eternal stupidities,” reminds me of how today’s press functions more often than not. The press seems to focus on all the wrong things, but these are the things that grab readers and entertain the target audience. The newspaper really is a symbol of what the culture is at the time and what is important to the mainstream audience, or at least what the media thinks is important.
In the poem it is said that the newspaper is a "feckless life chronicle". Which i think it means that its almost like the newspaper( if every single one were put together) would be like a huge timeline of life in general. Little bits of everything compiled together. Not necessarily everything that has ever happened, but yet what THE MEDIA decided was "important" enough to write about so they exposed it publicly through the newspaper.
The part i thnk most relates to todays press is the part about loud tales and concentrating eternal stupidities. Well duh! Why would the newspaper be filled with "quiet" stories , because then noone would want to read them. They are filled with scary, real, bad things that are going on and they attract peoples attention.
Stephen Crane's view of the overriding purpose of the press lies in the first line of the poem, "A newspaper is a collection of half-injustices." He writes this because the newspaper is nothing more than a carelessly written compilation of biased opinions that are sucked up by society to call their own. Nothing needs to be factual, in fact maybe it is intended to not be.
Crane lived in a time where people could be easily manipulated. In today's time, I don't think that it is much that the newspapers can easily manipulate people, but the newspaper does have a power over people's daily lives. I feel the last five lines of the poem show this, especially in the lines of "A collection of loud tales,
concentrating eternal stupidities." How many times do you hear people talk about such ridiculous stories they see in the paper, just allowing it to consume their lives? Or how many times do you hear people say "I have no idea what's going on today. I haven't picked up the paper yet?"
Crane's poem reminds me a lot of newspapers today. "Where wisdom sells its freedom And melons are crowned by the crowd." Like many papers today, wisdom and actual news are traded for celebrity scandals and stories. We are the crowd who are crowning these celebrities. And these stories travel faster then a wild fire, "Roaming through a fenceless world." Like the overwhelming amount of bloggers today, newspapers are, “spreading their curious opinions.” Opinions are what a majority of stories are about. Society today has traded professional work for personal opinion.
Can you tell me what are the two contrasting images that the poet creates in the first stanza??
The contrast in the first stanza is that a large number of people are crying against injustices and oppressions while media is creating sensational headlines, rather than factual news, to capture the reader's attention and increase sales.
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