Last Thursday I attended a free discussion sponsored by the Journalism school of my alma mater. Michele Norris, of NPR fame, was the sponsored guest. The subject of the talk was the election and whether or not the media "got it right." I enjoyed it very much. What I did not enjoy was the fact that during the Q & A someone decided start off the evening with a question asking for a good microphone recommendation. And from there the questions went from dumb to pointless to meandering. At one point Ms. Norris even said, "I don't think I understand your question." Yes, that's Texas for you. There's not much of an intellectual verve here.
I was a bit nervous when it was my turn to ask my question. I don't recall its exact wording, but I do remember that I was curious as to Ms. Norris's opinion as to whether or not the media has any responsibility in aiding the general population become more discriminating media consumers. In other words, what responsibility might the media take in creating more mindful consumers during an age when our range of choices has become so broad given that it seems we are less informed than ever before? I won't go into the answer I was given. The only point of this post was to mention that three people complimented my question (which was nice) and that two people (including Michele Norris) asked me if I was from Berkeley, California. They only asked because I rock my Berkeley hoodie all about town. I'm not wearing any fucking ugly ass burnt orange. Besides, Berkeley is a much better school than my alma mater. I probably should have lied and said, "Yes, I am from Berkeley." But I didn't. I merely sighed and said, "No, but I lived in the Bay Area and miss it like mad."
Anyway, Michele Norris thought I was Californian and that made my week.
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