I read an article on the Consumerist a few minutes ago that has my blood boiling.
In a recent story, The Washington Post addressed concerns regarding the Direct Marketing Association from an environmental angle. The DMA is responsible for unsolicited advertising such as telemarketing and junk mail. Basically The WP was asking the DMA if the millions of pounds of junk mail that they distribute, almost all of which is immediately discarded by consumers, is harmful to our environment. Forest depletion, landfill usage, etc.
When asked to address the subject, DMA rep Pat Kachura had the following to say:
(regarding paper junk mail)
“The Direct Marketing Association [is] far from harming the environment; catalogues help it, by reducing the number of cars headed to shopping malls….”
(dude, are you fucking serious?)
-and-
(regarding the imposition of possible governmental regulation on junk mail, etc.)
“We certainly wouldn’t want to see a drastic and expensive and unnecessary government program created that would probably do more harm than good.”
(oh jesus christ, c’mon lady)
Now, I don’t really care about the environment, because I have a bizarre inability to consider anything beyond tomorrow, or make plans for the future of any sort. What I’m really pissed off about goes way deeper than the DMA and the environment on this one.
Here’s my point:
(deep breath)
I don’t understand why the media allows companies and officials to serve them a mammoth-ass load of glaring bull shit which they, the media, regularly swallow whole and pass on to us, the consumer. I mean what the hell already? Isn’t it supposedly the news media’s job to find the truth and bring it to the news consuming public?
Listen, I didn’t go to college. That being said, I would assume the reporter from the Washington Post would have a good education, and is reasonably intelligent. Fair? I think so. So if uneducated me clearly sees the transparency in Ms. Kachura’s statements, as should anyone who is not retarded, it would be safe to assume that the Washington Post reporter knows it’s bullshit too.
Why didn’t this reporter say to Ms. Kachura, “That’s bullshit. We both know it and I don’t appreciate you insulting my intelligence. Want to try again, pal?”
I mean, would that be so hard? Isn’t that their job? Wouldn’t it make for a better story anyway?!
But that’s not what they do. They stick their heads in the sand and go, “Duuuuh, okay.” And that’s it. Nothing is different, nothing is fixed, nothing is better.
The DMA’s behavior in this matter is mirrored by corporations, governments and other regulatory agencies on a daily basis. I don’t understand why the media doesn’t call “bullshit” when everyone with half a brain knows its bullshit. I know its bullshit, you know its bullshit, everyone knows its bullshit but that doesn’t matter one iota because as individuals we don’t have a loud enough voice. I mean, I could write something on my blog in attempts to expose lies, but what good would it do when I’m only going to reach a few thousand people? Not much. It’s not that I’m scared or unwilling to do it, it’s just that I know it would be a waste of time.
As the media, they have the power to make change. They choose not to.
I don’t understand it.
Grow a pair you fucking clowns.
[UPDATE: Someone from the Direct Marketing Association’s NYC office found this blog via google search for “Pat Kachura”.]
[UPDATE: It has been a couple years since my original post about Pat Kachura. Since then, I have received several hits from various federal agencies in Washington D.C. which initiated search engine queries on “Pat Kachura”. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one watching her. You should too.
Filed under: idiots, marketing and advertising, nyc |
PissedAndPetty.com 
Right on! Although, I will say, there are instances where the media finally stands up and does its job. For example, Anderson Cooper blew up at the governor of Louisiana right after Katrina because he was so sick of her thanking other officials when there were dead bodies in street. But overall, I agree that the media has turned into Nancy-boys.
True, true.
I almost didn’t write this post because I knew it would take 10K words to really get my point across.
As such, the post is kind of all over the place and I have left out many things I wanted to say.
I wanted to point out several examples of what I was saying, and also several examples of when the media did it right… maybe tomorrow.
I think you should go ahead and do the job the media doesn’t. As one of your regular readers, I think it would still make an impact…and you already have the pair.
I’m not big on “every person can make a difference,” but when I read what you said about how we, as individuals, don’t make an impact I have to disagree (to an extent).
Rosa Parks was one woman and her stance sparked the Civil Rights Movement. Of course, I’m sure there were other black people that tried to do what she did and just got hanged (or whatever – I know they didn’t hang people at that point) and it didn’t make much of a difference. I don’t really know what made her situation so special, but I’m just sayin….
Good story, Potts.
Erin,
What made her situation so special is that the media called “bullshit”.
This is exactly my point. When they decide to not be pussies, things get done.
You are absolutely right to say something about this nonsense. The fact that Consumerist picked it up is going to do some good, for sure, & the more people stand up & call bullshit on the crap that goes on around us, the more people will notice it. Have you noticed how bloggers & websites have begun to force corporations to get their acts together very quickly? Like the AOL search scandal – all the individuals talking about it made it a huge public outcry. We can’t rely on traditional media to tell us what’s really going on but there are a lot of sources out there that will.
http://renaissancediva.blogspot.com
Would the current adminstration be in power at all if there media had called bullshit on any number of occasions?
Good post. The same resistance and disbelief you may experience is the same reason none of the good reporters can always or even frequently call “bullshit!” You’re perfectly right, and the rich guys don’t even notice you until they squash you like a bug.
Anderson Cooper is a good example of someone who cares about people and justice, but sometimes he has to do articles on stuff like the “Taste Of Taffee” or some other nonsense.
I haven’t been back to your blog for a while now, but I certainly enjoyed it. Rave on!
You are absolutely right, Ryan. Journalists are no more than stenographers these days. Witness all political reporting where inanities are delivered up for our digestion with a straight face every day. It is fucking pathetic. You assume that these people went to college and got educated. Well, maybe they went to college…
My father was once the President of the DMA. His way of saying someone is gay is to call them a “Nancy-Boy.”
Maybe there is some weird synergy between junk mail and boys named Nancy (of whom I have met none). Whenever one is mentioned, the other must follow?
Besides, that DMA spokesman was phoning (mailing?) it in; my dad could spin that journo around so that they would be making the case for the DMA, not just swallowing his line.
But I totally agree that muckraking (or just plain calling people on their shit) is extinct. Cuz, like in the DMA’s case, the DMA spokesman gets some backtalk from the journo, the DMA guy finds out who are some big-time advertisers for the paper in question — heck, the guy might even be a VP at one of the firms doing ads — a few calls are made and suddenly the editor of the paper is slamming the journo for making unnecessary waves over a BS story.
So the spokesperson lies, the journo quotes it as the official response, the lie becomes conventional wisdom, and everyone knows that conventional wisdom is true, and before you know it, people on the street are saying “thank God for the DMA and all of their mailers! It saves me a trip to the Mall!”
It’s the Circle of Lie. I saw it in the Lyin’ King.