Books, News Reporters and other Odds and Ends

We have a book problem in our house.  Today I'm wearing a T-shirt with a message: "Lead me not into temptation ... especially bookstores".  The News and Observer had a weekend column by a local lady saying "The Books Have Taken Over".  Those two sentences fairly well describe our situation.

And what do I read this evening?  Megan McArdle writing the praises of the Amazon Kindle.  I went there, watched the video, and recognized that for the small fee of $399 all our book problems are solved.  Except - we would need two, one each for Marrianna and me.  But what's $800 when you're faced with having to make coffee tables of book piles (see the article).

What force is happening here?  I pulled the T-shirt off the shelf before I'd read the column from yesterday's paper.  Then, the McArdle blog comes across my line of cognition, a very weak line I should add.  Serendipitous occurrences like that could almost make me believe in a personal god who watches over my every need.  Almost.

For Odds and Ends I have another blog entry.   Dan Guerino, a local writer, had an entry today about news people and the "Newseum."  Dan's a newspaper person, though after years of working for the N & O, he stopped to write a book, start his own business, and write the blog.  Today he is taking on the Newseum.  He thinks that having a museum declaring the glory of news is - I'll let him tell it.

It is revealing, of course, that journalists (or at least their overlords who funded the facility) have put a self-regard on display equal to that of the movie industry or professional sports. In fact, news people have gone one better over each of those: Hollywood has the Oscars and major pro sports have shrines to themselves, like the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Journalism now has one of each: The Pulitzer Prizes (only the most significant of the embarrassingly high number of honors news people award to themselves) and now a landmark $450 million facility in the heart of the nation’s capital that memorializes such profoundly important items like — and I’m not making this up — Wonkette’s bedroom slippers.

After almost fondly recalling the days when:

Until, say, the 1970s, journalism had a disreputable, raffish air to it. It was a business with alarmingly high percentages of drinkers, drifters and borderline con men. It was the domain of thrillseekers, muckrakers and zealots. Sober, responsible people generally didn’t go into the news business.

he ends with what I consider the ultimate slam.

What other private industry group would muster the hubris to not only erect a temple to itself, but also locate it square in the middle of our institutions of government?

It’s impossible to miss the subconscious message: Journalism, often called the “fourth estate,” actually considers itself the fourth branch.

I think he is correct about news reporters.  As with politicians, it takes a special kind of person to want the job.  They're very much alike in my opinion: ego, thrill of power, and knowledge others aren't privy to. Though I don't much care for psycho-babble commenters, I think the reason Guerino's description of news people before the 70's was correct is they were disgusted with themselves.  Politicians, on the other hand,  in general don't have as developed conscience as reporters.  Now that news reporters have become the fourth branch, they have hardened their conscience.

Enough for one evening of wild accusations.