It’s that time of the week again. From fan-blocked debates, too much Ebola in the news and a new UF president elect, this week has had its fair share of odd, good and frightening news for this week’s I-hope-we-don’t-lose-another-homecoming-game edition of....
Darts & Laurels
Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic challenger Charlie Crist had their second of three debates Wednesday night. The debate was marked by what might have been one of the strangest events in recent political history. Scott initially refused to participate in the debate because Crist had a small electric fan on his podium. Scott claimed that the fan violated the rules of the debate. Of course, the media took this admittedly bizarre event and ran absolutely wild with it. The front page of Thursday’s Miami Herald website read: “Charlie Crist and his portable fan have a history together.” The Orlando Sentinel’s read: “‘Fangate’ delays start of Rick Scott, Charlie Crist debate.” The media allowed “Fangate” to dominate the debate coverage, giving short shrift to other critical issues raised during the event, like minimum wage and federal funding for Medicaid. A get-your-priorities-straight DART goes to Florida media outlets.
Despite all the media sensationalism about “Fangate” and other issues, there were some rare voices of reason. One of those level-headed individuals was Fox News’ Shepard Smith. Speaking about the media’s coverage of the recent Ebola cases, Smith said: “Do not listen to the hysterical voices on the radio and the television or read the fear-provoking words online. The people who say and write hysterical things are being very irresponsible.” Smith’s words are a welcome contrast from the rest of the media, which seem determined to convince us Ebola is hiding behind every corner, just waiting to strike. An everybody-please-just-calm-down LAUREL to Shepard Smith.
Unfortunately, it’s not just the media getting worked up about Ebola. It seems like every politician, pundit and celebrity has contributed his or her two cents on the issue, regardless of his or her lack of knowledge or expertise. Perhaps the worst offender on this front was rapper and noted domestic abuser Chris Brown. Brown, who for some reason has 13.6 million Twitter followers, tweeted the following Monday: “I don’t know…But I think this Ebola epidemic is a form of population control. S**t is getting crazy bruh.” After being criticized and ridiculed by tens of thousands of outraged Twitter users, Brown followed up his conspiracy theory with another tweet: “Let me shut my black ass up!” Good call, Chris. We’re giving a please-never-tweet-again DART to Chris Brown.
HBO has produced some of the most beloved TV shows of the last several years: “The Sopranos,” “Boardwalk Empire” and “Game of Thrones,” just to name a few. In 2010, the company launched HBO GO, an online and mobile app that allows HBO television subscribers to watch these shows anywhere and anytime. However, HBO made a long-awaited announcement this week that it would begin to offer stand-alone HBO GO subscriptions in 2015 — no cable subscription required. The move is designed to compete with Netflix, which has largely dominated the video-streaming market in recent years. Though details about price and availability have yet to be released, the new HBO GO represents another step forward in the world of online entertainment. A freedom-from-the-shackles-of-cable-TV LAUREL goes to HBO.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 10/17/2014]
