Newspapers: Reading Between The Lines
By Mitch Berg
Signs it’s a slow news day: the Strib covers a inter-city feud trumped up by comedian Mo Rocca for an upcoming “Tonight Show” bit:
According to “Meet Minneapolis,” the plan is for Rybak to take Rocca on a bike ride and Coleman to play bagpipes in his office.
Rybak, who often rides his bike to work, was delighted. But Coleman hasn’t played the bagpipes in a while and wasn’t sure he could pull it off, noting that both the instrument and the player need tuning.
Sign it’s an even slower news day: the Twin Cities’ media’s Expert on Everything, Larry Jacobs, is quoted again:
That the first major national TV news feature on the convention comes from the “Tonight Show” is no surprise to Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute.
Jon Stewart and “The Daily Show” started the trend, Jacobs said. “In the old days, journalists chose the news. Today it’s the comedians setting the agenda.” He said eventually the mainstream news media will catch up, and the Twin Cities will be inundated with thousands of journalists.
Parents; for keen insight like that, send your kids to the Humphrey Institute. Prepare them for a career as DFL lobbyists.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:23 am
I never pass up a chance to rip the Star-Tribune, but you know, ad revenue is down. Circulation isn’t what they want. You have to do silly entertainment things to sell newspapers.