Give
some applause to the big balls of America
Katie Plourd
Ladies and gentlemen, and when I say ladies I mean ladies, take note of this.
It is official there can now be a man in this world dubbed with the title of “Biggest
Balls in America.”
No, it’s not that Chippendale dancer you watched shake his thing for
you on your spring break trip to Vegas, but a member of the media and a surprising
member at that.
Stephen Colbert, the satirical comedian from none other than Comedy Central,
by far has the most bravery, fearlessness and huevos in this nation.
For those who aren’t familiar with his work, Colbert hosts a satirical
show every Monday through Thursday night following
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Each night he depicts himself
as an overzealous pundit commonly seen in today’s personality driven-media
and tackles the significant issues of the day. Since the show’s inception
last fall it has garnered rave reviews from critics and many players in Washington,
D.C.
Last weekend Colbert made a one-of-a-kind and outright ballsy appearance at
the White House Press Correspondence Dinner in which he displayed the fearlessness
and audacity much of the media of this country lacks. Members of the American
media should download the presentation and take notes.
During the address, Colbert, standing a mere five to six feet from President
George W. Bush, did something a majority of the
White House press corps fail to do. He called Bush out, not for the way he
talked, as did other performers of the night, but for his ghastly policies,
ineffectual actions as president of the United States and radical use of executive
power.
It is this amount of executive power the media holds with such prestige that
they are too afraid to question when he presents his ideas, motives or reasoning
behind the actions he pursues and the decisions he makes.
Contrary to what Bush, or anyone for that matter, thinks, he is not God, nor
did God think he should be president. So why does the American media act like
he sits up on a pedestal so high they can’t yell, “Mr. President
when are you gonna start telling the American public the truth?”
What is more disconcerting is the media knows it has been wrong in its questioning
of the president’s policies. Take, for example, the preemptive strike
on Iraq in 2003.
At first, it was inspiring during last month’s Journalism Day panel discussion
to hear a producer from NBC admit the media, including herself, had royally
messed up when they neglected to “ask the tough questions” when
it came to Iraq and said Hurricane Katrina was a wakeup call for the media
to get its act together.
I asked the panel, made up of an array of reporters who had covered the disastrous
situation in the Gulf Coast, how their respective media outlets have acted
on this revelation. The answer from the NBC woman skirted around the issue
by declaring “Today Show” Co-Host Matt Lauer had stuck it to Michael
Brown from the Federal Emergency Management Agency following the hurricane.
The discrepancy with the response of the media upon the dawning of its royal
screw up is that they realized they messed up and have yet to grow the balls
to challenge the most powerful person in our country, if not the world.
Americans,
and also the media for that matter, forget
public officials are people too. They are
elected into office by the people. Although
most may have more prestige and probably
more money than the norm, when it comes
down to it, we are all the same people.
What Colbert did that is so important is he treated Bush like he is the same
as everyone else. He put a face on the machine, took away the aura that surrounds
the White House and although he didn’t ask any “hard questions,” he
brought up the subject.
For those who argue we can ask the tough questions but assume they’re
not going to answer them, if nothing else bring up the subject. If the media
keeps bringing these issues up over and over again, eventually someone is bound
to answer.
Although I love the Colberts and Stewarts of the world, I’m sure they
would without a doubt give up their satire and comedy to simply get the answers
to the tough questions.
Katie Plourd is a senior journalism major and the managing editor of
the Daily Forty-Niner.
|
