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Quote by Elisa Gabbert

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The Unreality of Memory: And Other Essays

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Elisa Gabbert

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“If the headline asks a question, try answering 'no'. Is This the True Face of Britain's Young? (Sensible reader: No.) Have We Found the Cure for AIDS? (No; or you wouldn't have put the question mark in.) Does This Map Provide the Key for Peace? (Probably not.) A headline with a question mark at the end means, in the vast majority of cases, that the story is tendentious or over-sold. It is often a scare story, or an attempt to elevate some run-of-the-mill piece of reporting into a national controversy and, preferably, a national panic. To a busy journalist hunting for real information a question mark means 'don't bother reading this bit'.”

MediaNewsJournalismPropagandaHeadlinesNews MediaQuestion MarkReportingHeadlineNews Story
Book:My Trade: A Short History of British Journalism
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“It was October 17th, 2084 and stupid opinions were illegal in the United States of America. Up until 2059 stupid opinions had been very legal, very common, and extremely monetized. You could make lots of money off stupid opinions back before 2059. Some people made zounds of money talking about how stupid the stupid opinions were. Other people made zounds of money defending stupid opinions and building a platform on the idea that—no matter how stupid an opinion was—it was each American’s right to have and promote stupid and dangerous opinions. Few people talked about worthwhile opinions then. Worthwhile opinions were not exciting. They did not get likes or views. If something didn’t get likes or views back then, it didn’t exist. But it was 2084. A stupid opinion had not been shared online for 25 years. The internet had atrophied. It was just a big store now. The big store mostly sold banana-flavored cigarettes. Almost everyone smoked banana-flavored cigarettes.”

AmericaPoliticsMediaCapitalismSocial MediaConsumerismOpinionsInformation AgeNews MediaSensationalism
Book:Teething and Other Tales From the American Dystopia
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“If someone ever presumed to teach Charles Dickens or Thomas Hardy or Robertson Davies to my Bishop Strachan students with the same, shallow, superficial understanding that I'm sure *I* possess of world affairs--or, even, American wrongdoing--I would be outraged. I am a good enough English teacher to know that my grasp of American misadventures--even in Vietnam, not to mention Nicaragua--*is* shallow and superficial. Whoever acquired any real or substantive intelligence from reading *newspapers*? I'm sure I have no in-depth comprehension of American villainy; yet I can't leave the news alone! You'd think I might profit from my experience with ice cream. If I have ice cream in my freezer, I'll eat it--I'll eat *all* of it, all at once. Therefore, I've learned not to buy ice cream. Newspapers are even worse for me than ice cream; headlines, and the big issues that generate the headlines, are pure fat.”

NewsNewspapersNews MediaFake News Media
Book:A Prayer For Owen Meany
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“I've watched your face on TV, Mrs. Anderson. I've seen the photos and read the quotes. I think you knew she was dead but you wouldn't admit it. But I'm not sure why. Was it dire optimism? Did you think you could stave off the inevitable if you refused to acknowledge it, if you refused to admit the possibilities or to picture them in your mind's eye? Some sort of surreal hope or fear against jinxing providence? Did praying help? Did it really help? Obviously, it didn't help change the situation but did it help you get through those two long weeks of uncertainty? Perhaps it helped to think that god has a plan for everything?”

AbuseNews MediaPeter Sotos
Book:Tool
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