Running Thoughts
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Entry #4 March 28th 2007
Title:
The Effects Of A Media That's Out Of Our Hands
And Out Of Our Control
I recently heard about this story and thought it pertinent to share with you here. After graduation from college Christine Chubbuck worked for a number of small television stations. In August of
1973 she was hired by WXLT-TV, Channel 40, and soon after began her first on-camera work, a morning public affairs program called "Suncoast Digest."
By all accounts she is a competent professional doing
her best in something of a small pond. WXLT is a small station, only a few years old at the time and making-do with rather older equipment. Her biggest complaint with her job is not the size of the endeavor but the flavor.
The station owner, Robert Nelson, prefers the sensational
in news reporting, what Chris often referred to disparagingly as "blood and guts" TV. In addition, an interview was often part of the morning show's format. Nelson tended to book local
business leaders more than Chris felt was appropiate. She felt they ended up pandering to their advertisers to much.
Her show on
July 15th, 1974, would gain national attention for her and scores of newspaper headlines. Chris opened the show that morning from the news desk. She did three quick pieces of national news followed by a short story and a film clip about a
local shooting at a restaurant the night before. At this point another film clip was to begin to accompany her main story. When Jean Reed, the camerawoman, indicated to her that there was a technical problem and the film was not going to roll,
Chris continued with her next piece: "In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts and in living color, you are going to see another first, an attempted suicide." At which point she produced a .38
caliber revolver from under the desk and shot herself in the head, taking her own life on live television. Pronounced dead 14 hours later she was only a few weeks shy of her 30th birthday.
I have read the whole story (see the link below), the background leading up to this event as well as how it's affected society since then. I see the bigger picture as well as those points she intended to make.
Those issues she was dealing with up to this climax event were her preparation for her action (a communication to the masses) to come.
Beyond a linear view now, think and feel in terms of our greater
self and its purposes, working in a spacious present where all alternate and probable realities are in play. And remember, there are no accidents. There are reasons for everything that happens.
My point of view is that no one physically dies in vain and no consciousness however small is forgotten, not even the littlest sparrow. Furthermore, this being we know ourselves as (with personality) does not cease to exist after physical death.
We continue on, just not with this physical body.
Spiritually speaking, each physical death serves a purpose. While not limited to one purpose necessarily, there is a specific message or meaning to each one. We each choose (at an other than
conscious level) to have our passing make a difference. All actions are communications, suicide included. How do you read the symbolism of her act? My take on it is that she was making a statement about the media, its
sensationalism (shallowness) and it's continual pandering to advertisers. Boom there it is!!
But one can find many other communications within Christine's action. It's a statement of how people held back from
really relating with a human being. No one really approached her to become close, to understand and really know her, even as a child. Also, she was a kinesthetic or, feeling oriented person and thus as a living barometer of the level of
humanity around her when she got involved with this station she relatively soon got to where she could not stand the callousness, the shallowness with which it was run and so had to make a declaration. With her action she is saying, Hey! I am
a human being and this I know to the core, this is not what news, journalism or life is about, period!
Another meaning she intended in this is that it serve notice to the media itself. With this kind of action she
sends an obvious Wake Up call!. What else can you and I see her saying via this symbolic and real act? I hear her saying "Your heart is gone! We have to get back to those subjects that really matter, the depthful material, the honesty,
the realness, the integrity of real broadcast journalism over the commercial interests of money.
Lastly, I think that the government, the station and the family of Christine should make the video of a real event be
made publicly available on general principle. Same goes for Rebel groups beheading of captives in Iraq and the maimings and so much more in Darfur etc. It is because these are edited from our experience by "authorities" that these things
continue to go on.
Anything not personally experienced is less real, at least in our so-called western culture.
I say show the bodies of our American Servicemen and women coming home in caskets! The "Bushites"
have decided to hide the reality of this so-called war. Thus it is not in our face, impinging on our space with an immediacy and thus impact that would otherwise call us to action.
Bush doesn't want us to
know the grim reality of our actions. For instance of how many Iraqi people have died due to our war over there. He doesn't want the people to know so the military isn't counting those dead. Neither do they show us the coffins of our own young
men and women because doing so puts the death of our dear ones in our face in a way that would again, call us to action. No! we would say, we will not allow these travesties of justice and human decency to continue. We will find a way through
this, without war!
We will start to really relate with one another again. Understand that there are reasons why they hide things from us. They deny us first hand knowledge of some things so that we won't go our own way but will follow the path they are leading us down via the controlled media and it's bias and propaganda for starters.
Until we "jam up" and reject the
realities they are attempting to program us with and reclaim our media, we are going to get nothing but static, and someone else's at that. Their plan plainly does not lead to enlightenment but it's opposite, unconsciousness so, learn about
the issue. We are going to have to take the media by the horns, wrestle it down and hog tie it until we have set up some proper parameters that represent the peoples interests, because it's now in the peoples hands.
Commercialism has to go and I say that because with where our consciousness is heading we will be wholly revamping our media to serve the whole self needs of the people holistically, that is to say specifically that it will be about supporting
their spiritual enlightenment. http://darwen.us/southcon/2006/09/reality-on-television.html
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is the space the Governor uses to share certain of
his thoughts and perspectives on items and issues
that occur for him in his daily living.