Extensive coverage of pope brings complaints of overkill

[Algorem]

Saturday, April 09, 2005
G. Jeffrey Macdonald
Religion News Service
The blanket of nonstop media attention draped on the late Pope John Paul II may have warmed hearts and raised ratings, but not everyone was pleased.

Secular critics say the coverage was overkill, and some Catholics say it missed the mark...
Yet frustrations are coming to the surface. CNN acknowledged on the air in the days following the pope's death that it was hearing from angry viewers who thought the papal coverage, which at times drowned out other news, was too frequent and flattering.

The subject of papal coverage brought a range of views to the Internet. E-mail sent to Fox News, posted on a Fox Web site, pleaded with producers, such as this one from D&J Hignite of Quitman, Ark.: "I love all of you, but please can we hear something besides, 'POPE, POPE, POPE . . . ?" ...

http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/111304620968960.xml

[Jade Fox]

1. Terri, Terri, Terri. Pope, Pope, Pope.

You mean that's not good news coverage? :dunce:

[Javaman]

12. Late breaking news from faux...Terri is pope...

oh wait, they are both DEAD.

[Arugula Latte]

47. For it to be good coverage

it would also have to include Michael, Michael, Michael.

[SoCalDem]

54. and .."coming soon to a TV near you..."

followed by

[babylonsister]

2. And now 'the' wedding while this is going on in Iraq:

They want us out of there. Is anyone listening or reporting???????

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/galleries/137-1.html?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Edit to add: this site must be updated regularly. See a few pix into the photos to get an idea of what's going on.

[UpInArms]

3. the Pope-A-Rama will be followed

by the quest for the next distraction from the MSM

:banghead:

[MADem]

21. Charles, Camilla, and DREADFUL HATS!!!!

ALL DAY!!!! This will only last a day, though...unless they cause some news on their "honeymoon."

[Mugweed]

26. What was with the hats?

They looked like they hit some low branches on the drive over. One looked like a pheasant had smacked right into a woman's head.

[MADem]

28. It is some quirk in the Brit genetic code, I fear

Same with the shoes. It always seems to me like they throw them out (the hats and shoes) and wear the boxes they came in instead.

[susu369]

4. Shark Alert

:evilgrin:

[northzax]

38. ooh, a shark summer

we haven't had one of them since, what 2001?

[never_get_over_it]

5. Just one question

is the pope still dead?

[TankLV]

27. Father Guido Sarduchi for Pope!

Where is Guido Sarduchi when you need him?!?!

(SNL commedian from the 70's when JPII first hit the scene for those too young to know or to old to remember).

[warrens]

39. No, Nader. There's NO difference between all the others. NT

[rocktivity]

40. Here's father Sarducci

Since Larry King saw fit to interview the star of the Passion of The Christ, I'm surprised he wasn't a guest commentator!

:headbang:
rocknation

[JNelson6563]

6. Anyone else notice a pattern?

First we get a done-to-death distraction story. Then, because the media practices over-kill (to leave no time for real news), they become the story and can, in the absence of another distraction story, talk for days about themselves. They seem to do this on a regular basis now. They never seem to learn from all the "self-analysis".

Julie

[Javaman]

13. Who is faux news looking for to be their next dead person of the week?

[atommom]

7. Is anyone NOT sick of this?

I'm really getting disheartened by the media (even though I stay away from MSM for the most part). They say they're hungry for news, but then ignore actual news in favor of concentrating on one high-profile story a week. It's no wonder Americans know so little about what's actually going on.

[Gregorian]

43. You couldn't say it better!

So obvious. In a world with so much change, there is no loss for real news. But that takes work, and money. It's like a perpetual motion machine- news feeding off of news. It's more like hearsay than news.


Oh, by the way, as I read this, I am listening to WUSB radio where there is a woman who is saying that we should be publicly supporting those soldiers who have decided to not go back. Those who have found the courage to stand up and decide to make a change.

Furthermore, if the media were doing a real job, then it would process uncomfortable information. Sort of like how we overthrew an elected government in Iran, in 1953. But they seem to forget that stuff these days. Just follow orders from above. It's already a dictatorship, if you ask me.

OK, time for breakfast.....

[robertarctor]

8. More bread and circuses from the Bushist Republic of Jesustan

The media are hopelessly broken in this country, and are making themselves more irrelevant with each passing day.

[Mz Pip]

9. Reagan's death didn't

get this much coverage.

I was flipping through the channels on day and found a whole segment on the Pope's tailor. Like who really cares? :eyes:

Mz Pip
:dem:

[DrZeeLit]

10. Think they'll overkill (ha ha) Prince Rainier funeral?

They did 24/7 Princess Grace death/funeral coverage, but she was former US queen o'screen.

We have funeral and perhaps crowning of Albert to look forward to. After all, Americans love the monarchy....

tut tut

[tblue37]

14. I have to tell you--

I adore this picture of your dog and cat. I actually send it to friends who love animals. It never fails to make me smile!

[Jane Austin]

31. That's a popular greeting card. :)

n/t

[TankLV]

29. Yes - and aparently some royalist IDIOTS here on DU too!

They got quite upset with me when I dared to criticize these leeches on society.

I am truly surprised at the lowlifes that masquerade on this site as "democrats".

[cliss]

11. Only 1 solution to this problem, Dear DU:ers.

Turn off your TV. Put it in a cardboard box. Put it out in the garage. You will not miss it, believe me.

The ONLY thing that will get the media's attention is a mass protest. When people start turning off their TV's, they stop buyin the crap they advertise. When the advertisers get pissed, they will demand some action to bring back the disenchanter viewers, who in the meantime have "flown the coop" and migrated to the Internet, where things are more fun.

By the way, this is actually happening.

[bling bling]

16. And your blood pressure/heart rate will thank you for it too.

I turned off TV on 11/4/04 and haven't gone back except for occassional Daily Show and South Park.

The computer has completely replaced TV for me as news source.

It took about a week to get over the habit of wanting to watch the news but after I got used to it I was like "why didn't I do this a loooonngg time ago."

[Zerex71]

50. I agree with you.

I don't even watch TV other than "Chappelle's Show", occasional glances at The Weather Channel, or if my sister calls me and tells me to put on the Food Network or something. I quit reading the NY Times website every day, only if a DU link points me there, and quit even bringing up CNN.com just for the headlines. I've washed my hands of the presstitutes.

[DrZeeLit]

24. YES! We are going on 5 years TVFREE! (and I don't mean pirated cable) --

No t.v. -- and do NOT miss it!

(was on vacation during Pope Death Watch/Funeral Week and saw few moments of 24/7 coverage -- oi!)

[Hardrada]

33. We need to watch great old flicks on TV

or we would go nutz!

[DrZeeLit]

45. Netflix is cheaper than cable! Or... your local library has dvd & vhs and

...ours is free for one week. Can take out up to 4 different tapes/dvd's. I love that.

So we listen to NPR and VPR (Vermoont Public Radio), read books and magazines, and actually have conversations -- even play Scrabble and other games.

I'm enjoying life way more w/o t.v. Currently, writing chapter 10 of my novel. Hooray.

[northzax]

41. but...but...without the Teevee

how do I watch porn?

[AlCzervik]

15. while i think these stories should be covered it shouldn't be

to the exclusion of everything else. The media has pack mentality.

[Festivito]

17. .. must ... delay .. DeLay. .. nt

[suegeo]

18. Hey! Ratings are Up!

Since their ratings went up, they can now charge advertisers more for commercials. A dead pope makes these tools rich.

Sick.

[lildreamer316]

19. But DID you see this quote from the article?

<Catholic League President Wil liam Donohue said that because coverage began in earnest before the pope had died, "by the time he died, there was exhaustion" among the public. Catholics grateful for the attention paid the pope may have felt a backlash, he said, because "overkill has a way of rebounding against you." But he extended little sympathy for those who felt excluded.

"They're in a country where nearly everybody believes in God," Donohue said. They have to grow up and get used to it." >

WHAT??
If we were beating him about the head with a no-religion media blitz; he would be screaming to the rafters! AAAUGH!

Sorry. A little frustrated.

:mad:

[MADem]

22. Donohue (the CL clown, not Phil) is a disgusting PIG

He is easily the most stupid, hateful human purporting to speak from a lay perspective for a religion on TV nowadays. I'd love the next Pope, whosoever that may be, to call him to the Vatican and slap the living shit out of him while standing at the window of the Papal apartments, to be followed by his excommunication.

Hell, I'd pay to see it!!!

[rodeodance]

25. Donohue-that prick is a jerk!!

[ckramer]

20. Good thing I turned off the fvcking TV

[Rockerdem]

23. Iraq gets minimal coverage if at all

And its all about the new democracy and the haggling over the constitution blah blah blecch.

We won, I guess, if you listen to the talking whores.

[DearAbby]

49. That's right...what about Iraq and their first taste...

of the Nectar of Democracy? Dont hear much about that. Scott scott scott...robert blake robert blake robert blake...michael jackson michael jackson michael jackson...Terri Terri Terri...Pope pope pope...

[truthisfreedom]

30. the media is linked directly to the rove administration... we distract,

you obey.

[VegasWolf]

32. Simple minded people are so easily distracted. n/t

[zann725]

34. Even Keith Olbermann over-did the POPE coverage...big time.

Real disappointing.

[demokatgurrl]

35. Well we could have some fun trying to predict

the "next big thing" to fully occupy the MSM while distracting us from the "real" news.

I haven't a clue though.

[Jacobin]

36. Gee, ya think?

[Demeter]

37. Do You Think?

The only good thing about the Pope's death (aside from his relinquishing power, although his expensively detailed will and political machinations will probably ensure a clone takes his place) was the timing: he managed to push Terri Schiavo's tragic tale off the front pages.

And now the publicity is stirring up the muck in the Vatican pool for all to see, if they will but look.

Yes, it's spring, and I sense a change in the air. Perhaps our time is come.

[Brooklyn Michael]

42. Reagan vs The Pope (round II)

June, 2004 - "Reagan single-handedly puts an end to Communism. Millions mourn his death. Stay tuned for 'round-the-clock, non-stop ad nauseum coverage right here on MSM!"

April, 2005 - "The Pope single-handedly puts an end to Communism. Millions mourn his death. Stay tuned for 'round-the-clock, non-stop ad nauseum coverage right here on MSM!"

:puffpiece:

[suston96]

44. Enough is Enough

Yeah, enough with the Pope. And the election of the new Pope is just down the road.

Thank God, er. Well, thankfully we have the Michael Jackson trial and those juicy (sorry) details about what he is alleged to have done.

The Pope? Michael Jackson's trial?

No contest.

We have our priorities in this country.

[raccoon]

53. the way MSM covered Reagan's death

--definitely overkill.

I'm surprised somebody wasn't calling for him to be made a saint.

[hatrack]

46. Aside from the Pope, how bad is it getting? An example:

Last night, over at the MIL's house, fixing dinner. I picked up the remote and went to MSNBC on the off chance that something vaguely related to "news" might be on.

And what to my wondering eyes should appear? Continuous coverage from the tape library of Charles & Diana's wedding ceremony, straight out of 1981. It went on, and on and on.

Little note to MSNBC: she's still dead, they were divorced long before that, and WE DON'T CARE ANYMORE.

[katty]

48. Disgusting display of Popery,pandering and politics

the Pope was not God, but if you just landed on chaos earth you would never know that he wasn't.

[Bridget Burke]

51. "Popery"--yet another vocabulary lesson!

Yes, the coverage may have been excessive. Since I don't watch TV 24/7 & rarely watch cable news, I'll have to accept what I read.

But do you really need to use a word that belongs to the days of Oliver Cromwell or the days of Cotton Mather? Just like "Papist"--this particular word has fallen out of favor unless you're a follower of Ian Paisley.

Your criticism of media overkill loses validity because of your personal agenda.

[collin]

52. Well, the Pope passing was HUGE news.

Aren't something like a billion people Catholic? Of course, they did it for ratings...many Catholics, myself included, were glued to the tube for more info. Get them to stay watching...ratings go up.