Woogly World

Historians will examine this decade to determine what went woogly. Someone will have to take responsibility for the disappeared dollars (about twenty trillion) and, the beginning of the ice age. And, oh yes, the raging cannibalism when the starving masses realized lawyers could constitute fine sources of protein.

Historians will examine this decade to determine what went woogly.

Someone will have to take responsibility for the disappeared dollars (about twenty trillion) and, the beginning of the ice age.

woogly

And, oh yes, the raging cannibalism when the starving masses realized lawyers could constitute fine sources of protein.

What will lead to our woogly world of the future?

One of the main culprits: SFWTS — “sources familiar with the situation.”

Google it, you get 7,500,000 hits.

Do a search for:  “a source familiar with the situation.” That gets a mere 5,000,000 hits — seems journalists would rather take the word of two or more unknown people than one.

My journalism professors demanded I identify sources. Later, when I worked for a large city daily, my editor would have bounced my typewriter off my skull if I used SFWTS.

Do you recall The National Enquirer of about 35 years ago? If I said Betty Boob dated a four-headed monster who took her to Mars where he “probed her” that was okay with The National Enquirer as long as Betty Boob existed.

Enquirer fact checkers would hound the neighbors to make sure there was a Betty. If Betty existed, albeit insane, that was Crackerjacks. She was a cover story.

Today, identifying a source seems not to matter a wit. Especially when it comes to international events.

Try finding out who said what when bin Laden was — as sources say, tapped. Tapped twice he was, according to sources familiar with the situation.

We are led to believe that “the sources” were holding the weapon that “done in” the bearded terrorist.

Of course other phrases also mask the identities of news sources with expressions like “a CIA spokesperson” or “government spokesman.”

And these sources are busy, very busy — “a CIA spokesman” according to a Google search, commented on over 50,000 news stories. The guy must put in for overtime.

“Lock your doors” advises a law enforcement spokesman familiar with the situation. A woogly world controlled by anonymous sources is on the way.

According to sources familiar with the situation all forms of journalism are at a point where it’s impossible to believe anything that is written or broadcast.

A CIA spokesman refused to comment on the above.

And no one, who can accurately comment, returns calls.

How many times does 60 Minutes use that one to button an investigation?

Hello Woogly World.

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jaron

Jaron Summers wrote dozens of primetime television and radio programs, including those for HBO, CBS, ACCESS TV and CBC. He conceived the TV and Film Institute of Canada. Funded by the University of Alberta and ITV, Jaron ran the Institute for 12 years, donating his services for a decade.

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