The Ugliest Guckling: reflections on what makes a journalist tick

One of the most frustrating moments of my career in publishing happened over what should have otherwise been one of those perfect moments sharing wine and pizza with your colleagues. I was working at the Nashville Scene, a grandpappy of an alternative weekly. A the time, 10 years ago, the Nashville Scene was coasting on what little outsider cred it had, being "alternative" only amongst the Christian Music fapsters living in the suburbs. I was just figuring this out.

The early years of the Scene were marked by outing "business pigs;" the mid-years were spent groveling for entré as said "business pig;" now the entity that owns the Scene now owns the Village Voice and the LA weekly. If success is measured in dollars and cents, the Scene hasn't done bad.


http://johnsoncity.blogspot.com/mega

If, on the other hand, success for an alternative paper is measured in valuing journalism for the people, the Scene falls somewhere between the Wall Street Journal and Better Homes and Gardens. The trajectory of being a successful capitalist always confronts the trajectory of being a successful journalist. Every little publication -- every journalist -- will face this fact sooner or later. You can either be a successful voice for your community or a successful business. When you lean to one side, the other fades away.

Illustrating this devolution is the Scene's special WAR issue they did Bush went to war in 2003, called, WAR? Scene Writers Opine. Nineteen Scene writers and editors got three paragraphs each to present their arguments FOR or AGAINST the war. Seven argued FOR the war, 11 against, and one took a pass while instructing readers to visit Counterpunch to make up their own damn minds. It broke down like this, folks who covered culture argued elegantly against the war citing international law and lack of evidence of a link to terrorism. Those who cover the news beat were overwhelmingly for the war.

You might say, that's good, the doves won. But, not so fast. After some nauseating name-dropping, the editor-in-chief, makes a three-point argument for his support of Bush's war: "First, I think the war can be fought with the loss of few American lives. Second, the Middle East is strategically important to us (oil). Finally, we're the world's superpower, Saddam is making life difficult, and we have to make him behave."

So, if someone has something we need, or they are annoying us, and IF it isn't too much trouble, GO FOR IT! I would like to end this with saying, "I wonder how he feels now," but I really don't care and I bet neither does he because since the buy-out, he finally got invited to join the Belle Meade Golf Club and probably doesn't spend much time worrying about anything more challenging than his swing.

My "most frustrating moment" in publishing was actually a moment of clarity and a blessing in disguise. The editor-in-chief had just brought his staff pizza to calm our hunger while we finished up the boards. Sitting around the break-room table, he regaled us with his take on the "state of journalism" and made the claim that stopped me in my tracks. Affecting a dramatic stare, he said "nobody makes it in journalism without a degree from Columbia." Journalism is a privilege offered to the children of money -- a vanity career for trust fund nerds.

I had never considered this, and initially wrote the comment (and the Scene itself) off as clearly "not my people." I was in debt to armpits from my Kudzu League education and still living with roommates trying to "make it in the music business." If pedigree were essential to success in this culture, why bother?

Fast-forward 10 years.

Here we sit in the midst of the Bushies' Velvet Coup with the groveling compliance of sycophants infinitely more connected than the small time capitalist pigs at the Scene. Checks and balances are a thing of the past right along with fair elections, and equal protection under the law. As the direct result of having no people of with values beyond being "in the club" we have a media that YAWNS in the face of an obvious gay Pillow Talk Affair involving the White House Press Corps. While the media gently sleeps, journalists risk prison fighting to protect the identity of sources for a story the didn't write. Our newspapers now display full-blown sleep paralysis in their insistence on letting NOVAK off scot-free, having compromised our entire Middle East WMDs intelligence operation. Lets hope they drown in their own drool as journalism evolves into a decentralized blogosphere, because we didn't "win" the Cold War only to be lectured by a Russian dictator on a FREE PRESS.

It's horrible to watch but from the standpoint of chewing on the cynicism of that old editor at the Scene, this is the only way these cards COULD have played out. The "crisis" of journalism as that editor opined 10 years ago would foreshadow the complete Materialization of Values in Journalism. For the Scene, the mission of a newspaper is commodification. It's just a business and it's goal is to make money. Journalism is done by other people with more credentials and a fuller rolodex. You can hire them and they will win awards for you, but in your heart you have no soul. That sir, is in your wallet.

Is anyone else reminded of Ivan Illich's rule of counterproductivity? That the passionate pursuit of a thing often leads to the undermining of the original goal. You don't need to know who Ivan is to understand how a "pretty young thing" might go to Hollywood to live her dream as a star only to wind up in the valley making fake porn for Marriot and Ramada Inns. Is it just too damn obvious to say we become what we hate? Or maybe that's too elegant. Maybe we simply don't have the backbone to follow our dreams.

Guckert didn't graduate from Columbia, but he made it to the White House Press Corps. The Scene editor wasn't born in the Cabbage Patch, but he's made a pile in "journalism." Somehow that seems right for the zeitgeist. Somehow that leaves the universe wide open for others to observe and write about it while everyone else is busy screwing each other.

Then went to JC Blog and found that interesting. Thanks.

although we live in nashville, we spent many many years in Johnson City when there was quite a music scene -- so JC Forum is a way to keep up with people who have scattered and provide a lefty voice for Tennessee's first district and most paleo-conservative region.

:)

(This is my first post on Democratic Underground. I posted it previously at mensnewsdaily. and at chronwatch, two conservative sites. They both told me "Go back to DU" -- I'd no idea what they were talking about, but now I'm here.)

Jeff Gannon aka James Guckert akd J Daniels is not a "whore with a heart of gold". This is an evil man without a conscience, though he professes to be a good Christian. He embodies Evil, and just like W, is totally unaware that he is Evil, since his motives of supporting Right wing Republicans are so pure.

Guckert reassures himself that no matter how criminal or foul his behavior, he is a good Christian and God will love and forgive him, even as God has forgiven our president.

When he got paid, Gucky probably claimed he was a church. That's what a lot of trashy super right wing guys do. And this man is trash. Actually, this man's behavior really makes all of us appreciate the fine moral standards maintained by those who are brought up in trailer parks in the rural South and housing projects in the urban North.

When folks paid him, he wouldn't need to report those "charitable contributions" he collected. And the fellows who gave him contributions really didn't want to be bothered to track those receipts for "charity".

I'm sure Gucky's a burglar, too. I've never heard of a prostitute who won't commit burglary, although when I talked with Mike Malloy on his show on Friday night at 2/25 at 11:50 PM, Mike said he had. After Gucky had done the deed with a John, don't you think he might decide to take along any loose knick-knacks lying around as a "souvenir"?. When he took a shower afterwords, in the John's home, do you think he kept his hands off the medicine cabinet? If he saw a prescription bottle of oxycontin worth $500, would he say to himself, "Oh, no, my client will complain to the police," or did he say, "Eureka. I'm getting paid double if I just pocket that prescription bottle"?

Considering the bad habits whores fall into of lifting stuff away when they've been visiting "customers" at home, I think there's a strong possibility that Gucky has also lifted some stuff from the White House. If the DC police were to search his apartment, they'd undoubtedly find an ashtray or sterling silver teaspoon or a fancy Presidential pen that he did not receive as a gift, but that he stole from the White House or from one of his johns.

In addition, Gucky has not been adverse to committing white-collar crimes. Bedrock corporation -- the last line of the Flintstones' theme song is "Bedrock, bedrock and we'll have a gay all time" -- that he set up to clear checks has acted as a factor, financier, and a collection agent. Asserting false claims against families of the recently deceased and offering to improve the credit of economically marginal people, for a fee, are some of the "work" Bedrock performs.

Asserting false claims against bereaved widows, documented at the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office, evinces how Gucky and his supporters have the capacity to cross the line from being an antisocial, non-violent criminal, to being criminal, even violently so, without conscience. We are not just fighting hypocrisy here, but EVIL: evil that is inspired by the moral direction of George W. Bush and Karl Rove.

The Right claims the moral high-ground while relying upon EVIL criminals to accomplish its objectives. It's not just a gay prostitute who was close to the president, but a grifter, part of a whole group of far-right grifters, stealing directly from the poor and destitute to enrich themselves. Getting cash from a young soldier's family, after he has died young, by asserting totally false claims against his widow is a crime, anytime.

Guckert reassures himself that no matter how criminal or foul his behavior, he is a good Christian and God will love and forgive him, even as God has forgiven our president.

Gucky undoubtedly sees as his role models for good Christian behavior George W. Bush and Karl Rove. In doing so, he imitates President Bush who supports the right of infants to be born, but not their right to stay alive: thousands of children are to go to bed hungry, without health care, because of reduced funding for food stamps and Medicaid.

productive and fulfuilling than on the con-sites. altho, i can understand the need to needle them.

great comments!

i like your observation about Bedrock -- gay old time. that's priceless.

if you are following The Guck (and who can resist), please take a look at some of the other stuff i've written and feel free to comment there too:

http://johnsoncity.blogspot.com/2005/02/gannonguckert-entire-jc-forum.html