>
> At 6:28 PM -0400 on 3/31/99, Jon E. Johnson wrote:
>
> > Yeah, I remember when I used to think the same thing about the
> >Boston Globe. "The Globe? Make up stories? It'll never happen...."
> >Oh, we were innocent then! We had a song in our hearts and a spring in
> >our step!
>
> Have any reporters made anything up, or is it limited to columnists?
>
> Bob
>
I have a confession. As a reporter on my high school newspaper, circa
1973, I fabricated a band, The Froglegs, and their debut album, "Tastes
Like Chicken," and wrote a review about them. I tried to make it as
outlandish as possible, for instance, describing the music as a hypnotic
mix between Yes and CCR. The next day, a guy came up to me and wondered
why his record store had no knowledge of this record. I told him it was an
import. He was disappointed because he thought it sounded like a great
record. So, I guess I broke the mold in journalism -- I started as a cynic
and wound up as an idealist.
That article Neal posted was pretty amazing, and depressing. And the
obvious question, for me at least, is does this picture of the music
business represent a tailspin into bottom-line greed, or is it just more
of the same old shit? And, if it's the former, is there a corresponding
reduction in the product at the end of the assembly line? That is, of
course, assuming that differences in quality do exist in music, and it's
not all just equivalent mush that only takes on character when we
opinionated human beings decide whether it sucks or not. -- Terry Smith
ps I'll vouch for the LA Weekly, too. A good paper, which I'm hoping would
double and triple-check the veracity of the reporter's tale. This thing
looks so much like it could be a hoax that any responsible (and observant)
editor would make absolutely certain it's not before letting it get in the
paper.
