Monday, August 01, 2022

Media Rants At 20

2024 Update: This post is continuously updated to include links to Media Rants written POST 2022 --Tony P.

Believe it or not--and most days I personally cannot believe it--August of 2022 is the twentieth anniversary of Media Rants. It started out as a monthly print newspaper column for the independent Fox Valley (WI) SCENE newspaper, which at that time had an office in Appleton, WI. Then editor Tom Breuer was familiar with (and a fan of) my media work in Oshkosh, and he asked me if I would write a monthly column of media criticism. He even suggested calling it "Media Rants." The first column was called "Local EAA Coverage Buries the Lead." 

Back then the Fox Valley SCENE newspaper was available throughout the Valley in coffee shops, grocery stores, street vending machines and other locations. Readers frequently contacted me (usually via email or phone) to offer feedback, or praise the column, or condemn it. I didn't realize that the column actually had somewhat of a "following" until April of 2006, when I was invited to participate in a panel at the Appleton Public Library on the topic of George Clooney's film "Good Night and Good Luck" (an award-winning dramatization of legendary broadcaster Edward R. Murrow's courageous stand against the red-baiting Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy.). I met dozens of people that night who were familiar with the column, which shocked me because I had always assumed that the readership was probably little more than a handful of alienated political junkies like me. One person I met at that public library forum was Ms. Lori Hoover, who told me afterward that she was a regular reader of Media Rants. In 2013 Lori and I got married, so in a real sense Media Rants impacted my personal life as much as my public one. 

 

A big audience showed up to the Appleton Public Library on April 27, 2006 for a panel discussion of "Good Night and Good Luck." 

 

The late Ed Murrow is one of my heroes, so it was an honor to be invited to discuss him. Discovering that night that Media Rants had a following was an extra bonus. 

I know I don't have the years exactly right, but around 2010 the SCENE had Media Rants (and most other columns) in both print and online versions. Around 2016 publisher Jim Moran removed Media Rants from the print version, apparently because one of the paper's major advertisers was bothered by my criticism of Fox News and threatened to stop advertising with the paper if Media Rants stayed in. Moran could not afford to lose the revenue, so he gave in to the commercial blackmail. 

I was not upset with Jim Moran, as I knew he had a deep respect and appreciation for what I had contributed to the paper. Of course I did not like being removed, but I also understood how difficult it was to keep a small independent newspaper afloat. Seeing the SCENE survive was more important to me than seeing my name in print. Besides, by that time most of the print readers of the column had discovered the online SCENE and this blog, so I did not see any noticeable drop in attention. I told readers upset with the removal of Media Rants to contribute financially to independent media so that they do not have to rely on advertising for support.  

Unfortunately, the SCENE went out of business not too long after dropping Media Rants from the print version. Though much independent media (most of it online) has emerged since, none of it in my humble opinion matches the breadth and depth that the SCENE had during its "golden period" when it was edited by Tom Breuer and then Jim Lundstrom. The loss of the The SCENE was a huge loss for the Fox Valley. 

The photo that ran in the SCENE for quite a few years.

Even without a print or online newspaper to host it, Media Rants has continued on in this space. Social media platforms drive a significant amount of traffic to it. The column continues in part because it's important to me to "practice what I preach" to my college students. As a teacher of rhetoric and civic engagement, I'm always urging my students to think critically about public issues not only so that they become more engaged as individuals, but so that they can help others frame those issues in ways that might lead to positive change. Media Rants, for better or worse, has always tried to model some of the lessons I teach students: 

*Be engaged with the community and world around you. 

*On whatever issue(s) that matter to you, avoid the temptation to repeat back tired talking points. Be original and unpredictable. 

*Do not sacrifice your integrity in order to get more clicks or expand your audience. If you cannot look at yourself in the mirror after writing or speaking on an issue, you're doing something wrong. If your work makes a genuine contribution to the public sphere, an audience will find you. 

*Appreciate that you do NOT need an audience of millions to have an impact. If all of us positively impacted a HANDFUL of people in our immediate environment, we would be in a much better place as a city, state, nation, and world. 

I've gone back over the 20 years worth of columns, and it seems like they fall into eight categories: 

  1. Local History 
  2. Media Criticism 
  3. Media Theory 
  4. War and Peace 
  5. The First Amendment 
  6. Democracy and Human Rights 
  7. Music Criticism 
  8. Public Address Criticism 

Below are links to some of my favorite Media Rants columns in each of those categories. Some of them have hyperlinks in them that are no longer active that I have not had a chance to fix--my apologies. Columns with three asterisks (***) next to them are the ones that are either my personal favorites and/or received the most audience feedback.  

Local History: 

In my high school years in the 1970s I read Ralph Nader's "Unsafe At Any Speed" and was impressed by his passionate activism. Meeting and introducing him in Oshkosh in 2004 was a huge honor.

Media Criticism

War and Peace

Tony Palmeri and Lori Hoover met on April 27, 2006 at an Appleton Public Library event sponsored by the SCENE newspaper in which Media Rants appeared. They got married in Las Vegas on May 31, 2013.

Media Theory

First Amendment

The UW Oshkosh Learning in Retirement organization invites me to speak at least twice a year. Most times I talk about themes that appear in Media Rants columns. It was an honor to receive a teaching award from the organization. 

Democracy and Human Rights 

Music Criticism

Public Address Criticism

If you got this far, I want to offer my sincere thanks for your support of Media Rants over the years. A special shout-out to UW Oshkosh Learning in Retirement, an organization that has a number of Media Rants fans as members and invites me to speak at least twice a year. Usually for LIR I do expanded, interactive versions of what I perceive to be the most engaging Media Rants columns. The response of LIR has been inspiring, and the organizers tell me that my sessions are always the most well attended. I'm deeply appreciative of the opportunity to engage that community. 

Thank you for a great 20 years! 
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