Sunday, April 26, 2015

Nerd Prom and Our Journalists Suck

Prom is presented as a treat for graduating students.  The administration makes it clear that you only get to attend prom if you are passing all your classes and don’t get suspended.  Graduation I was told is for the parents, while prom is for the students.  Prom is a privilege, not a guarantee.  This brings us to the White House Correspondence’s Dinner which is otherwise known as “Nerd Prom”.  Here all the people in the news media get to dress to the nines and dine with celebrities while watching the president and a top notch comedian shoot barbs at the political and media scene.  From the looks of the whole gathering, “nerd prom” sounds like quite a scene.  But as previously mentioned prom is a privilege, not a right.  So why does the media get to celebrate themselves with celebrities and comedians when they obviously do not deserve it?

When was the last time you saw something from a news network that actually made a positive difference?  When was the last time a journalist from one of the big three or from one of the cable news behemoths did something worthy of admiration and not of scorn or mockery?  These guys do a terrible job and the proof of this is that Jon Stewart is considered the most trusted “newsman” in America.  It’s come to us praising a topical comedian, a brilliant one albeit, over real news people.  Think about the accomplishments of the two competing sides of late.  Jon Stewart helped to get the 9/11 1st Responders Bill passed through Congress while the news media covered what was being said on Twitter.  Jon Stewart rallied against the reporting on the 2008 financial crises while the news media just sat there and took the side of Wall Street.  Where was the 4th estate on that one?  Today Jon Stewart isn’t the main go to for news anymore; it’s another comedian John Oliver.  Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has garnered more praise and hit on more stories than the media ever cares to cover.  He goes deep into a story and doesn’t play to corporate interests.  He is a comedian doing a better job at journalism than the people who went to school for it.  If anything he should be at “nerd prom” while the rest of these phonies should be at home sulking over the terrible job they’ve been doing.

The media doesn’t deserve a night of celebration because they suck.  They don’t deserve to get roasted by comedians like Cecily Strong, Joel McHale, or Conan O’Brien because a roast implies some level of respect between the participants.  Watching the speeches of these comedians is great because they obviously don’t like the people they are roasting, similar to watching the roasts of Justin Bieber or Donald Trump.  The comedians have been following in the vein of Stephen Colbert and just taking it to our fourth estate and their lack of vigilance.  For that I enjoy “nerd prom” because it reminds me of Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes.  It’s good when those in a bubble are forced to confront the fact that not everything they do is gold.  I enjoy seeing the rich and powerful squirm and get offended over a few jokes.  So I have nothing but praise for these comedians because they are doing a great service in my mind.  Plus it’s impossible to follow the performance that was Stephen Colbert in 2006.  Nothing will ever top that speech but I welcome those who try.


In conclusion, unless the press corps decides to do a better job they should not be allowed to have nerd prom.  You have to earn prom and so far nothing I’ve seen these journalists is anywhere close to earning a glamorous night out with celebrities who are only there to be seen.  In short I close with this new rule from Bill Maher who sums up my disgust with the news best:

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