"Burying the Lead" May Bury Us

(Disclaimer: To be completely clear on this point, to avoid any confusion, and the entirely understandable accusation of not practicing what he preaches, The Flying Curmudgeon will now clearly state the lead of this post, from the very beginning of said post:

"Burying the lead" in a news story - especially for the sake of political correctness, in a news story dealing with the War on Terror/Radical Islam - may have potentially disastrous consequences for our nation - and for its people.

Now...onto the post.)

Imagine it's December 8th, 1941.

You are downtown in any major metropolitan city in the United States - New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, etc. It doesn't matter. You pass a newsstand and pick up the local paper. Above the fold, in bold, black letters, you read the following:

Nationwide Welders Strike Called - Dust-Up in the Pacific

As you delve into the riveting details of the impending job action, (dateline: Morgantown, West Virginia), half-way through the article, (which, after turning to page 5, you dutifully continued to read), you see the following sentence: "Yesterday's cowardly attack on our fleet at the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, means even more demands will now be placed on these over-worked, under-paid, and under-appreciated men," a union spokesman was quoted as saying.

Or it's the 23rd of November, 1963, and you're walking past a newsstand in Times-Square. You spot a stack of that morning's edition of "The Gray Lady" and see this:

Many Floats to Appear in Parade, Despite Yesterday's Tragedy

Purchasing your own copy, you step away from the newsstand and continue reading.

Completely engrossed in the story, upon turning to page 8 you learn that after speaking with newly sworn President Lyndon B. Johnson, the head of Macys has bravely decided NOT to cancel this year's annual Thansgiving Day gala, on account of the tragic assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas the day before.

Relieved, you continue walking towards Times Square, glance up and sure enough, the News Ticker confirms the good news: "...The Parade Must Go On, Macys Head Says..."

"Phew, that was close. For a minute, there, I was afraid I'd have to tell the kids there'd be no parade this year."

Both of these admittedly absurd examples are illustrations of what is known in the news business as "burying the lead."

The "lead" of a news story is the "Who," "What," "When," "Where," "How," and "Why" of a story. It is, by definition, the main thrust or point of a news story. As such, it is crucial to get to the lead of a story as soon as possible, preferably within the first few sentences.

Therefore, to "bury" the lead of a news story is to relegate the most important part of that story to a less than prominent place within said story.

And as any first-year journalism student can tell you - well, okay, back when The Flying Curmudgeon was a first year journalism student, anyway - "burying the lead" is something "professional" journalists are taught NOT to do.

When the average person picks up a newspaper, he or she will typically skim the headlines, and maybe the first few sentences or paragraphs of a given news story, to see if it's worth the time and energy to continue reading.

If the article's writer uses crisp, engaging prose, provides the pertinent facts early on in the story, (the "lead"), and captures the reader's imagination from the beginning, then the reader is more likely to commit his or her precious time and energy to reading the entire story.

As the reader continues, he or she is then more likely to read the entire newspaper, and in the process, come across the all-important advertising contained within.

If not, then the reader quickly becomes bored and will likely discard the paper - without coming across the ads.

And whether one is talking about the 19th Century's New York Tribune, or today's New York Times, the bottom line in the newspaper business is advertising.

Without advertising, there are no newspapers.

As we begin the second decade of the 21st Century, with the Internet providing an ever-increasing number of cyber-news options - and traditional newspapers failing at an alarming rate, or at the very least, forced to make massive cutbacks - it is even more crucial for those papers that are left to hold onto their remaining readers.

With that in mind, consider the following scenario:

This morning, as is his custom following an overnight hotel stay, The Flying Curmudgeon went down to the lobby to pick up a paper, and then to partake of some nourishment.

Picking up the December 31, 2009 edition of The Wall Street Journal, he then went into the restaurant for some breakfast. Having made his selection from the menu, with coffee cup in hand, he began to peruse the paper.

On the front page, above the fold, below and to the right of the main headline, which read 2009: Banner Year for Stocks, he saw a secondary headline which read U.S. Probes Cleric's Tie to Jetliner Bomb Plot. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126222205417710939.html

"Hmmmh." Intrigued, The Flying Curmudgeon began to read.

In the first sentence, he learned that a certain, American-born, radical Muslim cleric of Yemeni-extraction by the name of Anwar al-Awlaki, had "...surfaced in multiple terror probes..." and was "...emerging as a central part of the Christmas Day airline bomber investigation..."

"So far so good," TFC thought to himself. "But, al-Awlaki, al-Awlaki, where have I heard that name before?"

He continued reading and learned that U.S. investigators had "...uncovered intelligence 'chatter' indicating contacts between "Mr." al-Awlaki...and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a wealthy Nigerian who is accused of trying to down Northwest Airlines Flight 253 with explosives hidden in his underwear."

In what remained of the article on the front page, the authors wrote of the U.S. intelligence community's prior failure to connect "Mr." al-Awlaki, a known associate of Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch, and the aforementioned Nigerian bomber. As the article reached the end of the column, the reader - in this case, your humble correspondent, The Flying Curmudgeon - was instructed to "Please turn to page A5."

As he turned to page A5, TFC was struck with the thought: "I know I've seen or heard the name Anwar al-Awlaki before. But where?"

Continuiing on page A5, lo and behold, there was a picture of "Mr." al-Awlaki, in traditional Muslim dress. He immediately recognized the man in the picture

"He certainly looks familiar, " thought TFC.

Continuiing to read, in the third paragraph on page A5 finally, there it was - the proof he had sought.

Halfway into the article, it's three authors - Evan Perez, Margaret Coker, and Siobhan Gorman - had written, " 'Mr.' Awlaki was in contact with an Army psychiatrist charged in a shooting spree last month at Fort Hood Army base in Texas. "

"That's where I'd heard the name before."

" 'Mr.' Awlaki was in contact with an Army psychiatrist charged...?" The Flying Curmudgeon repeated to himself. "How could this be?" The authors had buried the lead - in a BIG way.

He felt at once vindicated, and at the same time, a bit sickened, as the impact of what he had just read struck TFC like the breakfast omelet he'd just eaten, hitting his stomach.

As hard as it was to believe, the authors had waited until page A5 to reveal the most important part of the story, the fact that "Mr." al-Awlaki, the former imam and spiritual advisor to the (ahem) "alleged" Fort Hood shooter, U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was also linked to the erstwhile 2009 Christmas Day Bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Incredulous, The Flying Curmudgeon immediately turned back to the front page, and took another look at the masthead.

Nope, it clearly read The Wall Street Journal, and NOT The New York Times.

Strange?

Burying the lead for politically correct purposes was de rigeur for the editors of The Gray Lady.

They'd engaged in such shameless, harmful conduct for years.

This sort of thing was NOT what The Flying Curmudgeon had come to expect from the folks at The Wall Street Journal.

A bit saddened, he pressed on anyway.

Turning back to page A5, seven paragraphs later he then read "With his strong English skills, 'Mr.' Awlaki built a substantial following in the U.K. with video and audio recordings of his sermons."

"Strong English skills?" The Flying Curmudgeon thought to himself. "The man was born in the United States, for crying out loud. He's a native speaker of English. Of COURSE he has 'strong English skills.' "

Just when he'd about given in to his dejection, TFC saw it. There was STILL hope in Mudville!

After dancing around the subject for half the story, the authors must have suddenly realized their journalistic faux pas. (Perhaps their editor was out for the holidays?)

In a small box in the middle of the text, they wrote:

"Mr." Awlaki was in contact with an Army psychiatrist charged in the shooting at Fort Hood.

Oh well, better late than never. :(

Happy New Year!

The Flying Curmudgeon

"I deplore...the putrid state into which our newspapers have passed and the malignity, the vulgarity and mendacious spirit of those who write for them...As vehicles of information and a curb on our functionaries, they have rendered themselves useless by forfeiting all title to belief...This has, in a great degree, been produced by the violence and malignity of party spirit." - Thomas Jefferson to Walter Jones, 1814

(Note: Both of the "headlines" used in the opening were actual sub-heads taken from side-bar stories, from actual U.S. newpapers on the aforementioned dates: The Kinsgport (Tennessee) Times, and The Parkersburg (West Virginia) Sentinel, respectively.)

FLY AWAY, LITTLE BIRD

"Fly away, little bird, now fly away home.
Your time here is done - in the sky, you must roam.

Spread your wings and take flight. Above all the pain,
Looking down from on high, none can hurt you again.

Fly away, little bird, though your time here is passed,
For those who have loved you, your memory will last.

On this earth, little bird, you knew heartache and sorrow,
But now, in the sky, there's always tomorrow.

Look there, little bird, look at the clouds, how
They've come out to play. So won't you, right now?

Over there, little bird, there's a dog and a cat,
And a smiling young boy, with a ball and a bat.

Dance and play, little bird, in the sky, bright and fair,
For the things of this world, can't bother you, there.

Fly high, little bird, from there you will see,
That God really does love you - and, so do we.

Be at peace, little bird, and while you are gliding,
Know that one day, in Heaven, we'll all be abiding,

With our Lord - in whose arms - and seeing His face,
You now are at rest - in His Light and His Grace.

For you see, little bird, you've left this world early,
But, for the rest of us, here, the same journey

Awaits. And we'll all, someday, take it,
Cross that Divide, in hope that we make it,

To that very same place, where the Bible has said,
'Where, Oh Death, is your victory, Oh where is your sting?'

For on that day, little bird, we'll join our voices and sing,
To the sound of the Trumpet. First, the Dead will arise,

With the voice of the Archangel, they'll take to the skies.
Then those who are left, we'll all join together,

With Jesus, our Lord. With Jesus, our Savior.
And know this, little bird, on that Glorious Day,

In His mercy - these tears - God SHALL wipe away.
So fly away, little bird, fly. Fly away,

Once Eternity's here, together, we'll stay."

Rest in Peace, Marcus.

M.G.E.

(September 8th, 1983 - August 23rd, 2008)

Memorial Day - 2008: Are We Squandering Their Sacrifice?

"Happy Bloody Christmas!" he said to his comrades, as he dropped the firewood next to the hut.

It was indeed.

Behind him in the snow, Private Jedediah Smith of the Continental Army had left bloody footprints, his bare feet wrapped in filthy rags. Staggering over to the small fire, he sat on the ground - his legs straight out, feet to the flames.

It had been nearly three months since he had owned a pair of shoes. Now, in the bitter cold and snow of Valley Forge, shoes were not the only thing the young soldier and his comrades lacked.

They were low on everything, including food and ammunition. Desertion was on the rise. Just the day before, three men had stood before a firing squad, shot as an example to the rest of the army.

As he rubbed his feet, trying to restore the circulation, Smith had a thought. "Maybe those buggers they shot are the fortunate one's, eh?"

"Aww, shut up, will you? Here, have some firecake."

One of his hut-mates threw the piece of hard "bread" in Smith's direction. He tried to eat the lump of flour and water, but gave up, and threw it in the fire instead.

"No thanks, I'd rather be hungry."

Private Smith was not alone in his misery.

By the time they had moved into their winter quarters along the Schuylkill River, half of General Washington's army was barefoot. Most lacked proper winter coats. Diseases like typhus, dysentery, and pneumonia threatened to kill those that didn't starve.

Out of a total force of 12,000 men, on any given day nearly 4,000 were listed as "Unfit for Duty." But in spite of the hunger, disease, and general privation suffered by those first American soldiers, the winter of 1777-1778 would prove to be the turning point of the American Revolution.

As they left their bloody tracks in the snow, Baron Friedrich Von Steuben, the Prussian officer who had served on the staff of Frederick the Great, whipped the rag-tag army into shape. By the following summer, they were pursuing the British into New York.

The training and discipline soldiers like "Private Smith" received that terrible winter, turned a bunch of farmers into a fighting force that, a short five years later, would defeat the most powerful army in the world.

"Naked and starving as they are, We cannot enough admire, The incomparable Patience and Fidelity of the Soldiery. - George Washington.

Four score and six years later, at a small, Pennsylvania crossroads town less than 100 miles away, two large armies would be locked in an epic battle. That battle would prove to be the turning point in another war. When the slaughter ended three days later, over 50,000 men had become casualties. Of these, neary 8,000 were dead.

The previous Fall, near a place in Maryland called Antietam Creek, America would be sad witness to the bloodiest single day in its history. Before the carnage ended that terrible day, 22,720 Americans would lay on the crimson battlefield - wounded or dying.

At places that became known to History as Miller's Cornfield, Dunker Church, and the Sunken Road, nearly 4,000 Americans died the 17th day of September, 1862.

Though he spoke the words for the men who had fallen at Gettysburg, they most assuredly would apply to all those others who fell, during those four bloody years in our nation's history:

"...The world will little note...what we say here...but it can never forget what they did here...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion...we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain...that this nation, under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

-Abraham Lincoln

Throughout our history, in times of peace and times of war, young men and women have sacrificed their lives, in the service of Freedom. From the Revolution to the Civil War. From the battlefields of France - in two separate wars - to the islands of the Pacific. From the frozen fields of Korea, to the sweltering jungles of Vietnam, the mountains of Afghanistan, the desert sands of Iraq, the blood of America's youth has been shed, so that we could enjoy the blessings of liberty.

As we celebrate Memorial Day 2008, The Flying Curmudgeon wonders if we are honoring that sacrifice, and preserving the legacy so many have died to bequeath us.

"No Taxation without Representation!"

What would those who died at Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill and Yorktown think of the profligate spending of an out-of-control Congress, some 230 years later?

Staring into cannon loaded with grape-shot, as they marched across the killing fields of Gettysburg and Antietam, at Shiloh and Spotsylvania Courthouse, what would those who, mere moments later, would literally be blasted into Eternity, think of the corruption of 21st century elected representatives?

Would they believe in term limits?

The Statler Brothers had a hit, thirty or forty years ago, called Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott?

Though he would go down in history as one of the legendary defenders of the Alamo, before his date with Destiny, Davy Crockett had served as a U.S. congressman from his home state of Tennessee. From 1827-1833, Crockett championed the rights of ordinary people, and throughout his abbreviated career, would be known as a political reformer.

Upon his defeat in 1833, he famously said:

I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not...Since you have chosen to elect a man with a timber toe to succeed me, you may all go to Hell, I will go to Texas.

And so he went.

Maybe Rush Limbaugh's resident musical parodyist, Paul Shanklin, could come up with the song:

"Whatever happened to Davy Crockett...?"

As we reflect on the tens of thousands who have died to secure and sustain liberty over the last 232 years, as Americans we owe it to all of our honored dead, not to squander the legacy of freedom that they bought - at such a terrible price.

In honor of our fallen heroes, during this election year, The Flying Curmudgeon asks all Americans to remember those who have sacrificed so much, and not let their deaths have been in vain.

Let's not sacrifice freedom for a false sense of security. We need to rein in the entitlements and the earmarks.

Let's take back Washington, and return it where it belongs - to the people.

It's time to push for balanced budget legislation again.

Let's end the tyranny of political careerism. As unlikely as they might seem with the current Washington status quo, we need to keep pushing for term limits. Let every representative serve for six years, then go home. Senators could serve for ten.

Every tax-paying American needs to get behind the Fair Tax. Its time to take the purse strings away from the congressmen and their pals on "K" Street.

It's the least we can do for our dead....

and for our children.

God Bless America!

TFC

Operation Chaos: That's Entertainment

For as long as Rush Limbaugh's radio program has been nationally syndicated - this August will be twenty years - his many detractor's on the Left have tried to dismiss him as simply an "entertainer."

He is certainly that...but to his loyal listeners, he's so much more.

Speaking as a loyal "Ditto-head," The Flying Curmudgeon, along with million's of Rush's other regular listeners, has enjoyed countless hours of cutting-edge political humor, as well as some of the most original satire available on talk radio. (For an earlier discussion of this topic on TheFlyingCurmudgeon, see "Bill Clinton MADE Rush? PUUUHHLEEEEEZ!!!!" posted on December 29, 2007.)

A regular part of Rush's show, Paul Shanklin has produced some of the most hilarious musical parodies ever produced. Check out all his CD's at http://www.paulshanklin.com/.

Yes, Rush Limbaugh has kept his millions of loyal fans - and if they were honest enough to admit, many of the "loyal opposition," as well - laughing for years. He is, quite simply, one of the most original and consistently funny "entertainers" that has come along in decades.

However, to dismiss him in such a facile manner indicates a complete misunderstanding of who Rush is, and what his show is all about. Case in point - the tremendous success of Rush's recent, self-proclaimed "Operation Chaos."

As the "Wunderkind," Barack Hussein Obama, appeared to be running away with the Democratic nomination earlier this year, Rush decided it would be beneficial, and only fair, if the Democrats got a taste of their own medicine; namely, as so many Democrats had done in many of the Republican primaries, Rush encouraged Republican voters, in key Democratic primaries, (wherever it was legal under local election law), to come out and "pull the lever" for Hillary, thereby keeping her in the race.

If they could stomach doing so, that is.

Apparently, quite a few Republicans were able to "take one for the team," as it were, because Hillary's primary wins, earlier in Texas, and most recently, in Indiana, have been attributed to this "crossing over." A number of prominent Democrats, among them, Sen. Obama himself, now acknowledge the impact Rush is having on the current primary process. http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_050708/content/01125106.guest.html

Thanks to the efforts of El Rushbo, and the millions of self-less Republicans who crossed over and "pulled the lever" for Mrs. Clinton, it looks like the Democratic primary race will not be decided until the Convention.

Now That's Entertainment!


TFC

RIP Charlton Heston (Oct. 4, 1923 - Apr. 5, 2008)

Charlton Heston is dead.

The Oscar winning actor succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer's disease, having announced he had contracted the debilitating illness in 2002.

His death follows the deaths in March of actor Paul Scofield (the 19th), and of Richard Widmark (the 24th), completing the most recent "Celebrity Death Trinity." (As in "Celebrities Always Die in Threes.")

In addition to his Academy Award-winning performance in Ben Hur, Heston also gave Oscar-caliber performances as Moses in The Ten Commandments, and as Col. George Taylor in Planet of the Apes. He was the original I Am Legend character in the classic The Omega Man.
One of the first Hollywood heavyweights to come out in support of Civil Rights, he was later vilified by the Political Left for his support of the Second Amendment and the National Rifle Association.

After hearing Heston had contracted Alzheimer's, George Clooney famously, if not callously said Heston "...deserved whatever was said about him for his involvement with the NRA..." When asked to respond, Heston merely said he felt sorry for Clooney, noting that he (Clooney) was just as susceptible to Alzheimer's as anyone else.

Like President Ronald Reagan before him, Heston had been head of the Screen Actors Guild, and wasn't afraid to speak out in support of his Conservative principles. In a speech at Harvard Law School in 1997, about Political Correctness he stated, "If Americans believed in political correctness, we'd still be King George's boys - subjects bound to the British Crown." He went on to say, "Political Correctness is tyranny with manners."

Heston was one of the last of a dying breed - one of the greats from the Golden Age of Hollywood. He will be missed.

Charlton Heston - dead at 84.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Heston.

TFC

They Beat Horses, Don't They?

Now that ROOT BEER 203 - A Fighter Pilot's Story has been cast to the winds of the World Wide Web, it's time to go Back to the Future, er, back to the present, and deal with one of the pressing issues of our day.

Namely, who is going to be the next President of the United States.

As the saga of the Democratic primary has continued, as mentioned in an earlier post, it has been rather amusing to watch members of the Drive-by Media feign surprise and shock, and HARUUMPH! about the possibility that the junior senator from the Empire State might be less than forthcoming with the truth.

With apologies to Claude Rains, (RIP), in the (slightly altered) words of Capt (Wolf Blitzer) Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that Hillary is a liar. (Average, tax-paying American) Croupier: Hey, aren't those my winnings (taxes) she's got there?

PUUUUHHLLEEEEEZ!

The Flying Curmudgeon has to admit, however, as a long-time observer of the Clintons, even he was surprised by the lengths to which Ms. Rodham-Clinton went to conjure up the Tuzla "Sniper Incident."

Is it possible she has reached a new low?

Not according to Dan Calabrese of the NorthStar Writer's Group. http://www.northstarwriters.com/dc163.htm

In keeping with TFC's theme today, here's a blast from the past.

Enjoy.

TFC

Agents/Film Producers - Looking for Your Next Project?

Calling all film producers and interested agents...

After posting Parts 1 and 2 of ROOT BEER 203 - A Fighter Pilot's Story, (which equate to the first 24 pages of the screenplay in Final Draft format), The Flying Curmudgeon will now trust that if the film is supposed to be made, these two excerpts will be enough to spark interest in some studio exec/independent film producer, or agent out there in "The Ether," who is looking for his or her next project.

If anyone is interested, leave a comment on this post with your contact information, and The Flying Curmudgeon will have his people get in touch with your people. (As all comments are moderated before being posted, The Flying Curmudgeon promises not to make public any contact information posted in the comments section.)

TFC