Opinion
Journalism not
to entertain
Stars are not automatically
qualified to report news
Oh boy, ABC.
The network had a minor mess to clean up Tuesday, when
president David Westin had to e-mail his staff that Leonardo
DiCaprio was not, in fact, going to be the point man during the
network’s Earth Day coverage April 20.
Seems that ABC wanted His Leo-ness to be sole inter-1*
viewer of President Clinton on all issues environmental.
Westin denies the claim after The Washington Post reported
such an interview would occur. But the White House affirmed
that DiCaprio was going to play center stage.
Westin still intends to use the virile actor, the Post report
ed, but in a smaller role as a celebrity.
Part of us would have liked to have seen the move actually
More and
more,
serious
coverage of
network
events is
permeated
by actors,
models,
musical
- artists and
so on.
pulled on, with DiCapno, whose new
movie “The Beach” was skewered by
environmentalists for destroying nat
ural resources, interviewing the one
man who might have a looser libido.
But that’s only a guilty pleasure.
Thank the Post for saving us from a
ratings winner, but a journalistic low.
More and more, serious coverage
of network events is permeated by
actors, models, musical artists and so
on. More and more, serious journal
ists give up their objectivity by
appearing in advertisements and var
ious other forms of uselessness.
Consider the Larry King column
in USA Today, which serves as noth
ing more than plugs and product
endorsements. Here is a man who
knows no more than anyone else
about books or movies, as he is not a
critic, but uses the forum to flex his
proverbial muscles.
The same goes for so-called objective journalists who
choose to appear on programs extrapolating their opinion on
various political issues. Punditocracy (Jesse Jackson’s word)
is rampant, more than ever.
Of course, sports coverage, with its deluge of stars and
washed-up retirees, is the worst example. A fine example
existed a few years ago? when KLIN employed former
Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier to say a few lines at
each football game, hoping to increase ratings.
Leonardo DiCaprio just fits into this vernacular as the
highest life form on the selling-out food chain. There comes a
point when journalist and celebrity start blurring together.
We don’t want to reach that point.
Editorial Board
Josh Funk (editor) • J.J. Harder • Cliff Hicks • Samuel
McKewon • Dane Stickney • Kimberly Sweet • Lindsay
'Young
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Obermeyer’s
VIEW
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Letters to the
EDITOR
Resolving all issues
Recently a letter appeared in the
DN that was in support of my work
within the chemistry department at
UNL. I am encouraged that students
at this university are not apathetic
about the quality of their education,
and I am encouraged by that support
on a daily basis. Some facts, howev
er, need to be brought to light.
I was in discussions with the
department about possibly extending
my current contract, which extends
through the next academic year.
These discussions are sensitive and
do require a bit of time to resolve.
I am very pleased that the depart
ment chair and vice chair were both
open to discussion. In fact, they
worked to resolve all issues, with
support from the dean, in a profes
sional manner that is beneficial to the
department. I am personally happy
that I will be continuing to contribute
to both the research and teaching
roles of the chemistry department.
Charles W. McLaughlin
professor of chemistry
Collegiate commodity
I agree completely with Lesley
Owusu. There is a definite degree of
difference between athletes and non
athletes. Let me offer you my opinion
on why this is, mostly from a sarcas
tic point of view.
Look at the Athletic Department.
You may see it as a subordinate of the
university that coordinates UNL col
legiate competition with the best
interests of the citizens of Nebraska.
The Athletic Department has
nothing (hypothetically) to do with
the University of Nebraska. The
Athletic Department may just as well
be called the Nebraska Collegiate
Athletic Corporation (let’s call it
NCAC).
The Athletic Department is no
longer here to give students the
chance to compete and instill pride in
all of Nebraska. Face it, the NCAC is
here to make money, to stay in the
black and activate a never-ending
search for ways to commercialize
and market its product. (Ever hear of
the Athletic Marketing Department?)
To carry this out, it searches the
globe over for prospective associates
to carry out its mission.
Upon accepting a position, these
P.5. Write
associates are given everything they
need to compete. In addition to these
tangible benefits, these associates are
given a contract to the local universi
ty to receive a college education.
What kind of person with the right
talent would turn this down?
Ah, but there’s a catch. You’ll
have no life. You’ll have no friends,
unless you’re lucky enough to be
compatible with your teammates,
with whom you spend an immense^
amount of time. You might as well
forget about your family. You will
maintain a certain weight.
You’ll miss so many classes from
the school you’re contracted to while
on the road that you will be forced to
study on buses, planes and in hotel
rooms. If you don’t study, the instruc
tor may let it slide. You’ll dress in a
certain way (more of an unwritten
rule) in order to advertise the compa
ny that provides your clothing. You
are a walking commercial.
You want even more segregation?
Try treating the regular students who
try to support these teams like peons.
Give them crappy seats at sporting
events or no seats at all. These goods
seats can be sold for more money to
rich people who are too lazy to stand
and cheer.
Face it, collegiate athletics are
being transformed into a commodity
nationwide. Any college that hasn’t
done this yet won’t be able to afford
facilities, staff or coaches (sound
familiar?) for very much longer. It is
really quite disgusting, but oh well,
what can I do? I’m just a regular stu
dent. GO HUSKERS!!
David Franzen
senior
agribusiness
White identity
According to David Baker, white
trash is a cultural space one can move
in and out of freely, depending on the
type of behavior one exhibits as a
poor white. The determining behav
ior he names reads like a fairly com
prehensive list of conventional
stereotypes of white trash, including
substance abuse, unhealthy dietary
choices, poor personal hygiene and a
sense (or lack) of decorum that devi
ates from the"white middle-class
norm.
More importantly, he adds that
“white trash can be distinguished
from simply poor whites in their utter
lack of woik ethic and culture of fail
ure.” Several questions arise here.
Who determines whether or not poor
whites, whose poverty suggests they
have failed thus far at achieving the
middle-class dream, are white trash?
It seems Baker is suggesting that
these poor whites have found some
bootstraps with which to pull them
selves up; in other words they have a
“work ethic.” Does this work ethic
really prevent these hard-working
whites from being labeled as white
trash by upper- and middle-class
whites who simply resent poor
whites’ inability to uphold the stan
dards of mainstream middle-class
white culture?
And I find it interesting that
Baker opens his column with a racist
quip about the existence of white
trash: “Usually trash is dirty, but
sometimes it comes out white.” This
is a very concise example of the
racist and classist construction of
white trash as a despised Other.
. “Usually,” the quote begins,
“trach is Hirtv” — which in this case
implies not white. White trash is a
class of people, white people, who
exhibit behavior and live in social sit
uations that are associated (in the
white middle-class imagination) with
the lifestyles of poor people of color.
This is the unforgivable sin white
trash commits. Their ultimate trans
gression is having so much in com
mon with disempowered and colo
nized people of color. This under
mines the notion that white privilege
is indeed a norm and that people of
color need to be “brought up to our
level.”
White trash threatens and dis
turbs the status quo because of this,
and it is therefore vilified by middle
class white folks. The existence of
white-trash forces thinking individu
als to call into question the intersec
tion of class and race, as well as their
attendant privileges and disadvan
tages.
It is disappointing to see that the
first opportunity to seriously discuss
whiteness as a racial and social iden
tity and institution was wasted on fur
ther demonization and trivialization
of people identified as white trash.
Andrew Ascherl
sophomore
women’s studies and Spanish
Mebraska Union, 1400 “R" St., Lincoln,
)r e-mail letters@unl.edu.
phone number for verification.