Re: Media myths (Was Townsend)

[Dave Faneuf <tklaundry@juno.com>]

On Wed, 15 Jan 2003 14:28:13 -0500 "Dan Billings"
<billings@suscom-maine.net> writes:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dave Faneuf" <tklaundry@juno.com>
> To: <billings@suscom-maine.net>
> Cc: <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>; <dlh@donnahalper.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 2:15 PM
> Subject: Re: Media myths (Was Townsend)
> 
> 
> >> You must have interesting standards for what untruths constitute 
> myth,
> 
> I looked it up.  And it depends upon what myth actually means!  (Now 
> I sound
> like Clinton.)
> 
> One definition is "a usually traditional story of ostensibly 
> historical
> events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or 
> explain a
> practice, belief, or natural phenomenon."  If this is the definition 
> that
> you want to use then the Gore stories are myth.  They are not 
> strictly true,
> but help explain a belief or natural phenomenon, i.e. Al Gore is a 
> liar.
> ;-)
> 
> Another definition is "a person or thing having only an imaginary or
> unverifiable existence."  Looking at the sources you offered, I do 
> not think
> the shorthand version of Gore's statements rise to that level.  If 
> you look
> at the full story, in my opinion, Gore was trying to play up his 
> role in the
> events in a manner not supported by the facts.  The shorthand 
> version of
> those statements, though not accurate, communicate that idea.
> 
> -- Dan Billings, Bowdoinham, Maine

Is means what? ;-))

Of course Gore was trying to come off in the best light possible, but the
fact remains he did not make any claims that were not supported by the
facts, therefor the myth is that Al Gore is a liar and that is no more
true of Al Gore than it is for any of us.  The myths are perpetuated by
talk show hosts etc who continue to present statements like "Al Gore
claims to have invented the internet, Al Gore says he discovered Love
Canal, Al Gorre says he and Tipper were the basis of Love Story" even
though, as intelligent people, they no doubt have seen the statements in
their context, know them to be false, but continue to put forward the
"popular" beliefs.   I don't think anyone can say Al Gore has had an "an
imaginary or unverifiable existence."
df