The Best and Worst
in Austin and National Media
1. Missing Persons. Tired of reading about Ron “impostor on the roster” Weaver?
So are we. But at least we are all being truthful about our pasts now, right?
Wrong. The Statesman‘s January 7 bio of Oliver Revell, the former FBI
assistant director hired to investigate the ex-UT football player’s
whereabouts, neglected any mention of his close relationship with Oliver North,
his subsequent testimony at the Iran/Contra hearings, or his approval of
surveillance of U.S. citizens opposed to the Reagan presidency. If this is the
hidden identity you are more interested in learning about, read Ross Gelbspan’s
Break-ins, Death Threats & the FBI.
2. Dumb and Dumber. Having emerged as the city’s second most-watched news team
in the November Nielsens, the crew at K-EYE are beginning to set the tone for
Austin news coverage. Too bad. We had always assumed intelligent Austin viewers
were above the kind of dumb-downed approach the folks at this station have
consistently brought to the local airwaves. No, the viewers have spoken and
this is apparently what a lot of them want.
3. What You Can’t See… On November 20, the Statesman editorialized
against a commercial produced by P-FLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays) that deplored intolerance and the potential to spark hate
crimes. When queried by a Chronicle staffer, a member of the paper’s
editorial board could not confirm that the person writing the piece had ever
viewed the spot in question.
4. Spineless Broadcasting. On December 23, National Public Radio (NPR) issued
an apology on behalf of Andrei Codrescu for a satiric commentary regarding the
Rapture, a commentary that apparently offended Christian Coalition executive
director Ralph Reed. Not only did NPR lack the backbone to stand up to Reed’s
complaints, they didn’t have the stomach for Codrescu either. According to the
Detroit Metro News, the popular commentator was unaware the network was
putting his name on an apology until after the statement had aired, when he was
contacted about the matter by several news organizations. Says Codrescu: “NPR
pulled a fast one on me and apologized on my behalf for the content when they
shouldn’t have.”
5. Completely Undiluted. The Statesman‘s January 9 report about the
low-flush versus no-flush urinal controversy at the new Austin airport was the
paper’s most entertaining story in months. We particularly loved the phrase
about trial usage of such toilets at UT, where five waterless urinals are
“sprinkled across campus.”
6. Checkbook Journalism. Sunday morning mainstay David Brinkley recently
ventured into the print world, writing an essay about the “twisted” logic of a
federal tax code ostensibly aimed at “soaking the rich.” The article was
commissioned (and paid for) by Rising Tide, a glossy mag published by
the Republican National Committee. We’re glad that he has such a strong opinion
on this matter. Unfortunately, now that Brinkley’s shilling his viewpoints to
the GOP for so much meal money, it’s hard to be too confident of his ability at
objective analysis. — Hugh Forrest
This article appears in January 19 • 1996 and January 19 • 1996 (Cover).