It is really difficult to find a book that is meant for couples to read together, if they both have a reading habit. Women mostly select books on relationships and emotions; while guys look out for adventure and mystery thrillers. The following are some good books for couples to read together. A couple is sure to find these interesting.
* Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen): A classic and one of the most read books of all times, the romantic novel, Pride and Prejudice is a good option for couples to read together. You can even read Emma, by the same author.
* Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus (John Gray): This book is meant to know more about man-woman relationship and understand it in detail. It is fun reading the book together.
* The Five Love Languages (Gary Chapman): A popular among couples, this book will help you to know different languages of love, is your language of love similar to that of your spouse, etc.
* Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell): This classic and one of the most loved book of all times, has it all; romance, drama, and war. Couples will enjoy reading this book together.
Books containing a mixture of action and mystery is a sure hit among guys. They do not look forward to reading books about feelings and relationships. Neither they want a book with mushy emotions and teary incidences. The Book Thief (Markus Zusak), The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas), Three Men in a Boat (Jerome K. Jerome), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide (R. L. Stevenson) are among the good books for boys to read.
Among the other good books to read, you can go back to the old classics and you will definitely not be disappointed. Try reading Lucky Jim (Kingsley Amis), Animal Farm (George Orwell), Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert), Complete Short Stories of Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle), The Lord of the Rings (J. R. R. Tolkien), etc.
Jumat, 25 Juni 2010
10 Good Books to Read
* Twilight (Stephanie Meyer): The most popular series of the year, Twilight has it all; romance, vampires, mystery and fantasy. It is extremely popular among teenagers and adults equally.
* Angels and Demons (Dan Brown): Filled with mystery and adventure, the novel will keep you enthralled and spellbound. You will also get a lot of historical knowledge from Dan Brown's book.
* A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini): The story is about the life of two Afghan women, who meet and part in the war times of Afghanistan. If you liked the author's earlier bestseller, The Kite Runner, this is a must read for you.
* The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho): The Alchemist is the wonderful tale of life. Although philosophical, it never bores you even for a moment. The author's latest bestseller is The Winner Stands Alone.
* The Client (John Grisham): This particular novel by Grisham is full of suspense, legality and a real thriller. You will without question look for all other Grisham's novels, if you like this one.
* Impulse (Ellen Hopkins): Although a serious book, it is a wonderful portrayal of teen life. The plot and the dialogs are the key aspects of the novel.
* Kane and Abel (Jefferey Archer): An international bestseller, Kane and Abel has a distinct plot and fast paced incidences. The book is really intriguing and a complete delight. The Prodigal Daughter and Shall We Tell the President are the sequels. You can even try reading the author's recent bestseller, Paths of Glory.
* The Reader (Bernhard Schlink): A recent movie with the same title is based on the novel. If you have loved the movie, you will definitely appreciate the book.
* The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand): A story of ambition, relationships and human character, The Fountainhead is one of Ayn Rand's best books and also a good book to read.
* The Vampire Diaries (L.J. Smith): You will like this series of novels filled with mystery and terror. As the name suggests, it also has vampires. It is one of the good books to read
* Angels and Demons (Dan Brown): Filled with mystery and adventure, the novel will keep you enthralled and spellbound. You will also get a lot of historical knowledge from Dan Brown's book.
* A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini): The story is about the life of two Afghan women, who meet and part in the war times of Afghanistan. If you liked the author's earlier bestseller, The Kite Runner, this is a must read for you.
* The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho): The Alchemist is the wonderful tale of life. Although philosophical, it never bores you even for a moment. The author's latest bestseller is The Winner Stands Alone.
* The Client (John Grisham): This particular novel by Grisham is full of suspense, legality and a real thriller. You will without question look for all other Grisham's novels, if you like this one.
* Impulse (Ellen Hopkins): Although a serious book, it is a wonderful portrayal of teen life. The plot and the dialogs are the key aspects of the novel.
* Kane and Abel (Jefferey Archer): An international bestseller, Kane and Abel has a distinct plot and fast paced incidences. The book is really intriguing and a complete delight. The Prodigal Daughter and Shall We Tell the President are the sequels. You can even try reading the author's recent bestseller, Paths of Glory.
* The Reader (Bernhard Schlink): A recent movie with the same title is based on the novel. If you have loved the movie, you will definitely appreciate the book.
* The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand): A story of ambition, relationships and human character, The Fountainhead is one of Ayn Rand's best books and also a good book to read.
* The Vampire Diaries (L.J. Smith): You will like this series of novels filled with mystery and terror. As the name suggests, it also has vampires. It is one of the good books to read
Why is Reading Important?
Why is reading important? The short answer to this question is that it enriches oneself in all aspects. To know all about the benefits of reading, read on …
Why is Reading Important?
Prof. A.C. Grayling, in a review of ‘A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel’ that was published in Financial Times had said, "To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries." So true! Reading is really like taking a flight to high altitudes in pursuit of information and knowledge. It is a journey in search of enlightenment.
Have you asked yourself the question, "Why is reading important?" What was the answer that you got? I am sure your heart must have answered in favor of reading. Reading is like providing the mind with nourishment. Knowledge is the food for the mind and soul. Apart from giving us the basic information about the world around us, it also provides us with the food for thought. It encourages us to think. It increases our hunger for knowledge and our thirst to learn more.
During the ancient times, reading was limited to books. But today, it encompasses reading on the web. We have some very good sites providing their readers with authentic information. Reading from the Internet is an easy option for one and all. Reading from the web does not undermine the pleasure one can get from reading books.
We are introduced to the concept of reading at a very early age. It remains with us in different forms throughout our life. School-life begins with books. Books are our close companions in the youth. Reading continues to remain the favorite pastime of a large number of people even during their old age. For voracious readers, books are their lifelong companions.
It is very important to inculcate the habit of reading right from childhood. You can put in children the habit of reading bedtime stories. Reading during the early years helps the child in improving his/her language skills. The child learns to recognize written words. Reading when young helps you in your later life. Studies say that reading before going to bed helps the child feel secure and comfortable while sleeping. Emotions can be best understood through the characters in stories.
A child who grows up reading is definitely enriched as a young person. He/she automatically takes to reading. If the habit of reading is formed during an early age, reading soon becomes the person’s hobby. Teenage years are the growing and developing years of one’s life. This is the period of one’s mental growth as well. So it is nice to read good books during these years. Youngsters often relate to the story of heroes and try to emulate their behaviors. They idealize their favorite authors. They dream about their future and plan for it. Feeding the brain with loads of information from all around the world during this phase of life helps a person base his ideals on positivities. Reading helps the person shape his/her life.
Reading is an activity that keeps us occupied. Reading results in the fruitful usage of time. It helps us get rid of our anxieties. It diverts our mind from monotony and boredom. It is one of the best ways of relaxation. Reading novels or stories takes us to a new world where we forget our sorrows and fears. Books make very good friends.
Books and the web are the richest sources of information. They cover a wide range of topics and store an enormous amount of information. Numerous websites covering different areas of information or innumerable books that flood the libraries tell us of the vastness of knowledge. Reading leads us only to read more in the never-ending pursuit of knowledge.
Research has shown that avid readers stand out from the rest because of improved cognitive abilities. They can think creatively. It improves their grasping power. It makes them better analyzers and problem solvers. Reading helps a person be successful in life.
I hope you have read all about ‘reading’ and are convinced about why reading is so important. Keep reading …
Why is Reading Important?
Prof. A.C. Grayling, in a review of ‘A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel’ that was published in Financial Times had said, "To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries." So true! Reading is really like taking a flight to high altitudes in pursuit of information and knowledge. It is a journey in search of enlightenment.
Have you asked yourself the question, "Why is reading important?" What was the answer that you got? I am sure your heart must have answered in favor of reading. Reading is like providing the mind with nourishment. Knowledge is the food for the mind and soul. Apart from giving us the basic information about the world around us, it also provides us with the food for thought. It encourages us to think. It increases our hunger for knowledge and our thirst to learn more.
During the ancient times, reading was limited to books. But today, it encompasses reading on the web. We have some very good sites providing their readers with authentic information. Reading from the Internet is an easy option for one and all. Reading from the web does not undermine the pleasure one can get from reading books.
We are introduced to the concept of reading at a very early age. It remains with us in different forms throughout our life. School-life begins with books. Books are our close companions in the youth. Reading continues to remain the favorite pastime of a large number of people even during their old age. For voracious readers, books are their lifelong companions.
It is very important to inculcate the habit of reading right from childhood. You can put in children the habit of reading bedtime stories. Reading during the early years helps the child in improving his/her language skills. The child learns to recognize written words. Reading when young helps you in your later life. Studies say that reading before going to bed helps the child feel secure and comfortable while sleeping. Emotions can be best understood through the characters in stories.
A child who grows up reading is definitely enriched as a young person. He/she automatically takes to reading. If the habit of reading is formed during an early age, reading soon becomes the person’s hobby. Teenage years are the growing and developing years of one’s life. This is the period of one’s mental growth as well. So it is nice to read good books during these years. Youngsters often relate to the story of heroes and try to emulate their behaviors. They idealize their favorite authors. They dream about their future and plan for it. Feeding the brain with loads of information from all around the world during this phase of life helps a person base his ideals on positivities. Reading helps the person shape his/her life.
Reading is an activity that keeps us occupied. Reading results in the fruitful usage of time. It helps us get rid of our anxieties. It diverts our mind from monotony and boredom. It is one of the best ways of relaxation. Reading novels or stories takes us to a new world where we forget our sorrows and fears. Books make very good friends.
Books and the web are the richest sources of information. They cover a wide range of topics and store an enormous amount of information. Numerous websites covering different areas of information or innumerable books that flood the libraries tell us of the vastness of knowledge. Reading leads us only to read more in the never-ending pursuit of knowledge.
Research has shown that avid readers stand out from the rest because of improved cognitive abilities. They can think creatively. It improves their grasping power. It makes them better analyzers and problem solvers. Reading helps a person be successful in life.
I hope you have read all about ‘reading’ and are convinced about why reading is so important. Keep reading …
Today’s Earthquake Fact
Today’s Earthquake Fact
Thousands of earthquakes occur every day around the world, although most are so small they can only be detected by sensitive seismographs. As more and more seismographs are installed, more earthquakes can be and have been located. However, the number of large earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 and greater) that occur each year has stayed relatively constant.
Thousands of earthquakes occur every day around the world, although most are so small they can only be detected by sensitive seismographs. As more and more seismographs are installed, more earthquakes can be and have been located. However, the number of large earthquakes (magnitude 6.0 and greater) that occur each year has stayed relatively constant.
20 Centres for 2010-world cup
“20 Centres for 2010” is the Official Campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. Its aim is to achieve positive social change through football by building twenty Football for Hope Centres for public health, education and football across Africa. The centres will address local social challenges that young people face in disadvantaged areas by helping to improve education and public health services. “20 Centres for 2010” will promote social development through football long after the final whistle of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, leaving a tangible social legacy for Africa.
A Football for Hope Centre consists of facilities dedicated to education and public health as well as an artificial turf football pitch.
Education
Football-based activities are used as an incentive and a tool to provide engaging learning environments for young people. To further support them, the centre provides equipment such as computers.
Public health
Poor health poses a major challenge to socio-economic development. The centres address these challenges by offering a range of services including health awareness programmes for young people as well as a referral system to nearby health facilities.
Football pitch
With its unique appeal and core values that reach across generations and cultures, football offers common ground for engaging in a wide range of social and human development activities.
The first eight Football for Hope Centres
Mali
Baguinéda, Bamako
Centre Host: Association Malienne pour la Promotion de la Jeune Fille et de la Femme (AMPJF)
Focus: Empowering girls and young women by helping to strengthen their self-esteem and social status in the community.
Ghana
Cape Coast
Centre Host: Play Soccer Ghana
Focus: Integrating education into health, social and football programmes to promote leadership and socio-economic development.
Namibia
Katutura, Windhoek
Centre Host: Special Olympics Namibia
Focus: Providing individuals with intellectual disabilities and special needs with adequate learning facilities, HIV/AIDS awareness and assistance in job searches.
Rwanda
Kimisagara, Kigali
Centre Host: Espérance - Association des Jeunes Sportifs de Kigali
Focus: Supporting young people through counselling and training to overcome ethnic divides and become peace advocates in their communities.
Kenya
Mathare, Nairobi
Centre Host: Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA)
Focus: Educating on HIV/AIDS awareness, leadership and the environment, including organising clean-up groups.
South Africa
Khayelitsha, Cape Town
Centre Host: Grassroot Soccer
Focus: Using football-based programmes to educate on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention as well as on how to lead healthy lives.
Lesotho
Maseru
Centre Host: Kick4Life
Focus: Teaching HIV/AIDS awareness including education and testing, essential life skills, personal development and work training.
South Africa
Mogalakwena, Mokopane
Centre Host: South African Red Cross Society (Mokopane Branch)
Focus: Serving social service and youth development programmes, peer education, public health, volunteer counselling and testing, and first aid.
A Football for Hope Centre consists of facilities dedicated to education and public health as well as an artificial turf football pitch.
Education
Football-based activities are used as an incentive and a tool to provide engaging learning environments for young people. To further support them, the centre provides equipment such as computers.
Public health
Poor health poses a major challenge to socio-economic development. The centres address these challenges by offering a range of services including health awareness programmes for young people as well as a referral system to nearby health facilities.
Football pitch
With its unique appeal and core values that reach across generations and cultures, football offers common ground for engaging in a wide range of social and human development activities.
The first eight Football for Hope Centres
Mali
Baguinéda, Bamako
Centre Host: Association Malienne pour la Promotion de la Jeune Fille et de la Femme (AMPJF)
Focus: Empowering girls and young women by helping to strengthen their self-esteem and social status in the community.
Ghana
Cape Coast
Centre Host: Play Soccer Ghana
Focus: Integrating education into health, social and football programmes to promote leadership and socio-economic development.
Namibia
Katutura, Windhoek
Centre Host: Special Olympics Namibia
Focus: Providing individuals with intellectual disabilities and special needs with adequate learning facilities, HIV/AIDS awareness and assistance in job searches.
Rwanda
Kimisagara, Kigali
Centre Host: Espérance - Association des Jeunes Sportifs de Kigali
Focus: Supporting young people through counselling and training to overcome ethnic divides and become peace advocates in their communities.
Kenya
Mathare, Nairobi
Centre Host: Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA)
Focus: Educating on HIV/AIDS awareness, leadership and the environment, including organising clean-up groups.
South Africa
Khayelitsha, Cape Town
Centre Host: Grassroot Soccer
Focus: Using football-based programmes to educate on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention as well as on how to lead healthy lives.
Lesotho
Maseru
Centre Host: Kick4Life
Focus: Teaching HIV/AIDS awareness including education and testing, essential life skills, personal development and work training.
South Africa
Mogalakwena, Mokopane
Centre Host: South African Red Cross Society (Mokopane Branch)
Focus: Serving social service and youth development programmes, peer education, public health, volunteer counselling and testing, and first aid.
Man of the match
Man of the Match
What is the Man of the Match award?
For the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup™, the Man of the Match award for each match will be chosen by you, the fans!
This means you decide the best player and who gets to receive the Budweiser Man of the Match trophy when the game ends.
Where can I vote for the Man of the Match?
We are making it easy for you to vote.
If you are following the FIFA World Cup on the Emirates MatchCast feature here on FIFA.com, you will be able to vote in the MatchCast on every single match!
Or you can simply bookmark, www.fifa.com/man to ensure you can place your votes with only a few clicks of the mouse.
How does the vote work?
All you have to you is choose the player you feel deserves to win the Man of the Match award.
Voting opens during each match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup as soon as the second half begins. You can vote, and even change your vote, until the match ends.
When does it start?
You can start voting during the Opening Match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The match kicks off on 11 June, 4.00pm CET. Voting will open at the beginning of the second half of each match.
Be sure to visit FIFA.com on 11 June, and every matchday, to place your vote!
What is the Man of the Match award?
For the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup™, the Man of the Match award for each match will be chosen by you, the fans!
This means you decide the best player and who gets to receive the Budweiser Man of the Match trophy when the game ends.
Where can I vote for the Man of the Match?
We are making it easy for you to vote.
If you are following the FIFA World Cup on the Emirates MatchCast feature here on FIFA.com, you will be able to vote in the MatchCast on every single match!
Or you can simply bookmark, www.fifa.com/man to ensure you can place your votes with only a few clicks of the mouse.
How does the vote work?
All you have to you is choose the player you feel deserves to win the Man of the Match award.
Voting opens during each match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup as soon as the second half begins. You can vote, and even change your vote, until the match ends.
When does it start?
You can start voting during the Opening Match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The match kicks off on 11 June, 4.00pm CET. Voting will open at the beginning of the second half of each match.
Be sure to visit FIFA.com on 11 June, and every matchday, to place your vote!
how to save the world
The Job of the Media...
billmaherThe job of the media is to make interesting what is important. That was Bill Maher's challenge to CBS's Lesley Stahl on his show last night. He's exactly right. What the legacy media do mostly now, an indication of lazy, cowardly, chintzy, risk-averse journalism, is try to make important what the lowest common denominator of viewers find interesting -- irrelevancies like celebrity trials and sensational crime stories. In a recent post I said it was time to give up on the mainstream media and create new ones with a progressive compass and a deep sense of journalistic responsibility -- the responsibility to do precisely what Maher challenges them to do.
The example he used, and which he has used more than once on his show, is the environment. I'm delighted that he understands this as one of the most important issues of our time. He even took Howard Dean to task on this issue. The way you make this important issue interesting, he suggests, is to present it in a context that people can personally relate to, and can and should be outraged about -- the poisons in the air, water, in our food, and in the medicines largely doled out to remedy the poisons in the air, water and food. He blames big agribusiness (and the massive agricultural subsidies paid to them by governments of every stripe) for the poor state of nutrition and the accumulation of toxic products in the food we eat -- hormones and antibiotics in meat, over-marketed milk, and high-calorie low-nutrition corn-based sugars that are added to almost everything on the grocery shelves. (Contrary to rumour, he's not a vegetarian, though, like me, he is working towards it). And he suggests that big pharma is quietly working in cahoots with big agribusiness -- the former selling people treatments for the illnesses the latter are negligently and recklessly causing.
The American and Canadian media have been at least sporadically on issues like trans fats, asthma, and the dangers of aspartame, e coli bacteria infection, anti-depressants and, of course, the Swine Flu threat. They appreciate that these items are news, and they have even done a bit of investigative journalism on them. The problem is that the media are set up to deal with news that are either one-shot events that are reported and promptly forgotten, or ongoing stories where there is a continuous feed of new facts to report. Because they fit this model so well, stories about crime, law and justice make up over half of all legacy media news reports. "What is important" -- issues like the environment, the debt crisis, the cycle of poverty and illness in the third world, global warming, domestic violence, the treatment of prisoners and the mentally ill and animals in factory farms and laboratories, the lunacy of the 'war on drugs', etc., do not lend themselves to this model -- they are not manifested in a single 'event', nor is there a continuous daily flow of new information that 'keeps the story alive'. So what are the media to do?
The answer: Change the model. Unless you're cynical enough to believe most people don't care or want to hear about issues that are really important, the media need to come up with a new model of how to report the news, one that does accommodate and "make interesting" important news stories. The New Yorker has done this by providing insightful, in-depth investigative reporting, and analysis, and allowing its journalists to write about meta-issues that have nothing to do with daily events -- issues like learned helplessness, the tipping point, and the wisdom of crowds. The success of the magazine and the many successful books it has spawned (not to mention the volume of online journalism that has picked up the conversation on these issues) suggests that people do care and want to hear about these issues. Programs like '60 Minutes' have tried to emulate this model by doing in-depth analysis and even some investigative reporting, and such programs are quite popular.
urgentimportantBut as worthy as these attempts are, they do not constitute a new model, and have had minimal impact on the quality or quantity of information conveyed to the average viewer, listener, or newspaper reader. We need a completely different model to "make interesting what is important". That new model cannot pander to the short attention span or passion for gossip of the audience, nor can it self-censor information that the audience might not really want to know, because it's unsettling or suggests popular wisdom is wildly misguided. Such a model should be built on the following principles:
1. If a news item is not actionable by the audience, it isn't news and should not be reported. This is a lofty principle, but if we really believe people are so busy they only have time for thirty minutes of new information a day, shouldn't that scarce and valuable time be spent telling people about things they can actually act upon? This means an end to crime blotter reporting, coverage of local fires and distant natural disasters (unless they call for immediate humanitarian action), and regurgitation of 'press releases' and 'press conferences', the greatest abominations of the fourth estate, which are advertising, promotion and public relations, not news.
2. News items should be long enough to inform the audience what needs to be done. That means no sound bites, no items less than 1000 words or shorter than 15 minutes, and that time should be spent conveying only important information and discussing its implications in an interesting way. This will require a complete revamping of the layout of newspapers and news broadcasts, and weaning the consumers of news off the 'empty calories fast-food' news diet and onto a completely different one with a lot more fibre. The best way to do this is by simply presenting something that works better. If people realize that a nightly detailed, hour-long explanation and analysis of an important and actionable issue is useful and interesting, and that they don't miss in the least the old-style news broadcast or newspaper with its useless and superficial coverage of events that they can't do anything about anyway, they'll vote with their feet, and the other media will be forced to switch to keep up. Just because that old model has been around since the invention of the telegraph doesn't mean it's the right one for today.
3. Reports should be assessed on their position on Covey's urgent/important grid, and only items in quadrants I and II should be reported. And if someone asks the meaning of 'important', just tell them to consider whether 'urgent' news like the state of the Pope's or Michael Jackson's bowel movements or the arrest of a local arsonist will be remembered as important five years from now. If it won't be considered important with the benefit of hindsight, it's not important now.
4. The media should abandon the pretense of objectivity. There is no such thing, especially when you start telling people what action to take. The reason Faux News is so popular is that it tells people what to do with the (dis-)information it perpetrates -- lobby their representative to attack Islamic oil states, assassinate abortion doctors, kill homosexuals, nuke Canada. The fact that this advice is abominable is beside the point -- people want information that is actionable, and they want guidance on what to do. That's why there was such a frenzy over duct tape and plastic sheeting after 9/11 -- Ridge was the only guy meeting this need, albeit incompetently. Everyone else was just saying 'be vigilant', and the public found that advice completely useless. If there's no action needed, it's not news, so stop talking about it. And be honest enough to say 'we believe' before you tell the audience what you think they should do.
5. Every story should be followed up on a regular, scheduled basis. If it's important, it's not going to go away, and that means the actions you recommended on the first broadcast should be built upon in the subsequent programs. The media should actually like this, because it makes their job easier -- every second Thursday is Environment Day, so they can stop running around looking for news and do some advance research, analysis, and investigation in an orderly, measured, scheduled way actually reporting the news -- the important issues that five years from now people will look back and say "Whew, good thing we learned about that and took action in time."
I think that's all the principles. To me these are common sense, a simple explanation of "understand what the customer needs and deliver". But the implications are enormous. Imagine a whole daily paper consisting of 50 in-depth stories on a single subject, each concluding with well-reasoned advice every reader can take. Imagine that at the bottom of page one of that paper it says "No paper tomorrow -- our next issue on Saving the Family Farm will be out Thursday". Imagine the content of these newspapers being so useful -- so valuable -- that readers keep them for years in their library and refer back to them regularly (especially if you're an advertiser).
If you think this is a stretch, recall that newspapers started as broadsheets -- partisan, single-subject reports cranked out by activists, and that at one time people were so engaged in long-term thinking that they flocked to meeting halls to hear advocates, philosophers, scientists, and writers talk at length about one subject, and then retired to the local bars to debate about what to do.
Now, think about the current model for online journals (blogs). Let's see, we write mostly short articles talking about events we read or heard about in the legacy media, those articles are displayed in reverse date order, and after a week or so, they disappear into the 'archives' never to be seen again. Hmmm...
billmaherThe job of the media is to make interesting what is important. That was Bill Maher's challenge to CBS's Lesley Stahl on his show last night. He's exactly right. What the legacy media do mostly now, an indication of lazy, cowardly, chintzy, risk-averse journalism, is try to make important what the lowest common denominator of viewers find interesting -- irrelevancies like celebrity trials and sensational crime stories. In a recent post I said it was time to give up on the mainstream media and create new ones with a progressive compass and a deep sense of journalistic responsibility -- the responsibility to do precisely what Maher challenges them to do.
The example he used, and which he has used more than once on his show, is the environment. I'm delighted that he understands this as one of the most important issues of our time. He even took Howard Dean to task on this issue. The way you make this important issue interesting, he suggests, is to present it in a context that people can personally relate to, and can and should be outraged about -- the poisons in the air, water, in our food, and in the medicines largely doled out to remedy the poisons in the air, water and food. He blames big agribusiness (and the massive agricultural subsidies paid to them by governments of every stripe) for the poor state of nutrition and the accumulation of toxic products in the food we eat -- hormones and antibiotics in meat, over-marketed milk, and high-calorie low-nutrition corn-based sugars that are added to almost everything on the grocery shelves. (Contrary to rumour, he's not a vegetarian, though, like me, he is working towards it). And he suggests that big pharma is quietly working in cahoots with big agribusiness -- the former selling people treatments for the illnesses the latter are negligently and recklessly causing.
The American and Canadian media have been at least sporadically on issues like trans fats, asthma, and the dangers of aspartame, e coli bacteria infection, anti-depressants and, of course, the Swine Flu threat. They appreciate that these items are news, and they have even done a bit of investigative journalism on them. The problem is that the media are set up to deal with news that are either one-shot events that are reported and promptly forgotten, or ongoing stories where there is a continuous feed of new facts to report. Because they fit this model so well, stories about crime, law and justice make up over half of all legacy media news reports. "What is important" -- issues like the environment, the debt crisis, the cycle of poverty and illness in the third world, global warming, domestic violence, the treatment of prisoners and the mentally ill and animals in factory farms and laboratories, the lunacy of the 'war on drugs', etc., do not lend themselves to this model -- they are not manifested in a single 'event', nor is there a continuous daily flow of new information that 'keeps the story alive'. So what are the media to do?
The answer: Change the model. Unless you're cynical enough to believe most people don't care or want to hear about issues that are really important, the media need to come up with a new model of how to report the news, one that does accommodate and "make interesting" important news stories. The New Yorker has done this by providing insightful, in-depth investigative reporting, and analysis, and allowing its journalists to write about meta-issues that have nothing to do with daily events -- issues like learned helplessness, the tipping point, and the wisdom of crowds. The success of the magazine and the many successful books it has spawned (not to mention the volume of online journalism that has picked up the conversation on these issues) suggests that people do care and want to hear about these issues. Programs like '60 Minutes' have tried to emulate this model by doing in-depth analysis and even some investigative reporting, and such programs are quite popular.
urgentimportantBut as worthy as these attempts are, they do not constitute a new model, and have had minimal impact on the quality or quantity of information conveyed to the average viewer, listener, or newspaper reader. We need a completely different model to "make interesting what is important". That new model cannot pander to the short attention span or passion for gossip of the audience, nor can it self-censor information that the audience might not really want to know, because it's unsettling or suggests popular wisdom is wildly misguided. Such a model should be built on the following principles:
1. If a news item is not actionable by the audience, it isn't news and should not be reported. This is a lofty principle, but if we really believe people are so busy they only have time for thirty minutes of new information a day, shouldn't that scarce and valuable time be spent telling people about things they can actually act upon? This means an end to crime blotter reporting, coverage of local fires and distant natural disasters (unless they call for immediate humanitarian action), and regurgitation of 'press releases' and 'press conferences', the greatest abominations of the fourth estate, which are advertising, promotion and public relations, not news.
2. News items should be long enough to inform the audience what needs to be done. That means no sound bites, no items less than 1000 words or shorter than 15 minutes, and that time should be spent conveying only important information and discussing its implications in an interesting way. This will require a complete revamping of the layout of newspapers and news broadcasts, and weaning the consumers of news off the 'empty calories fast-food' news diet and onto a completely different one with a lot more fibre. The best way to do this is by simply presenting something that works better. If people realize that a nightly detailed, hour-long explanation and analysis of an important and actionable issue is useful and interesting, and that they don't miss in the least the old-style news broadcast or newspaper with its useless and superficial coverage of events that they can't do anything about anyway, they'll vote with their feet, and the other media will be forced to switch to keep up. Just because that old model has been around since the invention of the telegraph doesn't mean it's the right one for today.
3. Reports should be assessed on their position on Covey's urgent/important grid, and only items in quadrants I and II should be reported. And if someone asks the meaning of 'important', just tell them to consider whether 'urgent' news like the state of the Pope's or Michael Jackson's bowel movements or the arrest of a local arsonist will be remembered as important five years from now. If it won't be considered important with the benefit of hindsight, it's not important now.
4. The media should abandon the pretense of objectivity. There is no such thing, especially when you start telling people what action to take. The reason Faux News is so popular is that it tells people what to do with the (dis-)information it perpetrates -- lobby their representative to attack Islamic oil states, assassinate abortion doctors, kill homosexuals, nuke Canada. The fact that this advice is abominable is beside the point -- people want information that is actionable, and they want guidance on what to do. That's why there was such a frenzy over duct tape and plastic sheeting after 9/11 -- Ridge was the only guy meeting this need, albeit incompetently. Everyone else was just saying 'be vigilant', and the public found that advice completely useless. If there's no action needed, it's not news, so stop talking about it. And be honest enough to say 'we believe' before you tell the audience what you think they should do.
5. Every story should be followed up on a regular, scheduled basis. If it's important, it's not going to go away, and that means the actions you recommended on the first broadcast should be built upon in the subsequent programs. The media should actually like this, because it makes their job easier -- every second Thursday is Environment Day, so they can stop running around looking for news and do some advance research, analysis, and investigation in an orderly, measured, scheduled way actually reporting the news -- the important issues that five years from now people will look back and say "Whew, good thing we learned about that and took action in time."
I think that's all the principles. To me these are common sense, a simple explanation of "understand what the customer needs and deliver". But the implications are enormous. Imagine a whole daily paper consisting of 50 in-depth stories on a single subject, each concluding with well-reasoned advice every reader can take. Imagine that at the bottom of page one of that paper it says "No paper tomorrow -- our next issue on Saving the Family Farm will be out Thursday". Imagine the content of these newspapers being so useful -- so valuable -- that readers keep them for years in their library and refer back to them regularly (especially if you're an advertiser).
If you think this is a stretch, recall that newspapers started as broadsheets -- partisan, single-subject reports cranked out by activists, and that at one time people were so engaged in long-term thinking that they flocked to meeting halls to hear advocates, philosophers, scientists, and writers talk at length about one subject, and then retired to the local bars to debate about what to do.
Now, think about the current model for online journals (blogs). Let's see, we write mostly short articles talking about events we read or heard about in the legacy media, those articles are displayed in reverse date order, and after a week or so, they disappear into the 'archives' never to be seen again. Hmmm...
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