Big Tex: I woke up at 7:00 AM on Sunday and sporadic reports were coming in. Not much more was put together for the 10:00 PM news. The station likely had more images to air of Reggie White than of the tsunami, so they adjusted their coverage accordingly. This makes the news more eye-catching, which improves ratings, but as a side effect dumbs down most viewers by only presenting TV-friendly news. Sports has everything to do with the tsunami because both are considered news events. Why are the results of a game considered news? It's ludicrous to consider an event like the kind of megadeath that took place akin to a sporting event, yet the sports section takes up ample time and space in news programs and newspapers. What if half the newspaper was devoted to soap opera updates?
11,800 died in the Indonesian eathquake. Let's not forget that just because a ball player died on the same news day. And I mean no disrespect to Mr. White, but his reasons for notoriety are insignificant compared to the equivalent of 4.5 September 11's.
I know, I know. Guess who's not a footbal fan.
I don't see any condemnation or finger wagging. At least not from my post. Could you please show me a specific quote, if you have one?
Xena: It's awfully naive to think Reggie White is getting any attention for anything other than his football career. Perhaps as a football player he set himself apart with being an "outspoken Christian" as someone said, or doing volunteer work, etc., but his football career is the only reason his death is a news item, and his personal life is but an anecdote to anyone who didn't know him. I'll prove it: what if Dennis Rodman died? Would he get any less attention? No, unfortunately Rodman's "bad boy" image garnered him more notoriety than White's philanthropist reputation. If Rodman was just another freak off the street, and he died, would the nation pause to notice? Of course not. There are many freaks in the world, and there are many devout Christians who do volunteer work. But only when they're famous for something else, ie doing tricks with their respective balls, do you hear about it on the evening news. You knew him, so your perspective is different. But if I asked 1,000 people on the street "Who is Reggie White?" how many do you think would respond with anything other than variations of "he's a football player?" Was he a good man? Sure, if you say so. I never once implied otherwise, did I? If I did, show me.
