Protecting Freedom Of Press, Printing —Cagle
AT PRESS time, the nation was gripped with caucus fever. It was still anyone’s game for both parties, with Barack Obama getting traction early for the Dems, and John McCain and Mitt Romney jockeying for position for the Republicans.
Each candidate is seeking to be viewed as an agent for change. It’s tough to differentiate between them, and the gloves have yet to completely come off. That will have to happen, sooner or later, in order to create a sound bite that can be the cornerstone of each platform. For example: Obama will say “Hillary Clinton wants us to look back, but we can’t live in the past. It’s time to start thinking about tomorrow.” Sure, it sounds deeply profound, but it’s a hollow statement—means nothing. After all, anyone with half a brain has his/her eye on tomorrow.
The sound bite is, of course, an option in lieu of judging candidates on the basis of issues. Sure, some people will bother to do their homework, but many citizens will rely on TV’s talking heads to sway their thinking. The only reason the early primaries are important is that people tend to follow the leader.
The whole point of this isn’t that the U.S. election process stinks. Some feel it is flawed. But it is what we make of it, for better or worse, and there are times we need to sit back and appreciate our electoral system and the many freedoms we enjoy (get Lee Greenwood and cue up “Proud to Be an American”).
Take Malaysia, for example. Never been...I’m sure it’s lovely...but their church and state are less than separate. Its government is threatening to pull a Catholic newspaper’s printing permit for its use of the word “Allah.”
In late ’07, the government decided that the word “Allah” could be used only by Muslims to avoid confusion. It wasn’t revealed in what form that confusion could manifest itself in, but OK. Non-Muslims were directed to use “God,” or “Tuhan” in Malay language, despite the fact that “Allah” has been used in Malay-language bibles for centuries, presumably without confusion.
The newspaper in question, The Herald, has filed a suit in protest over the edict, according to AFP. It should be very interesting to see how this drama plays out in a country where religion and language are extremely touchy subjects.
The U.S. secular press is far from perfect, and it has seen its authority as an influencer usurped by electronic technologies. But an example like the Malaysian issue is exactly the reason why we cannot allow laws to abridge freedom of the press. Our wonderful media helps you to arrive at certain conclusions, like deciding on the next president of the free world.
After all, you wouldn’t want something as innocuous as the Patriot Act becoming a censor for Freedom of the Press, would you?
Allah forbid!
PRINTER APPRENTICE: Did you catch the January 17 airing of “Celebrity Apprentice” on NBC? Two teams of celebrity contestants, divided into men and women, were tasked with creating a Kodak Mobile Printing Station in New York City that drives brand messaging and awareness of Kodak’s All-in-One Printing System.
Celebrity Apprentice features teams of well-known contestants, including Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, boxer Lennox Lewis, actor Stephen Baldwin, ex-“Taxi” star Marilu Henner, supermodel Carol Ault and softballer Jennie Finch. Like its parent show, “The Apprentice,” one person is “fired” each week from the losing team by Donald Trump.
The episode, titled “Mr. Outside the Box,” showed two distinctly different styles of doing business. The women’s team, led by Simmons (a surprise crossover), crafted a solid presentation with neatly-piled stacks of Kodak EasyShare All-in-One Printers, strong graphics and an overall professional appearance.
The men’s team, however, saw their presentation go up in smoke during a photo shoot when coffee was spilled into the laptop computer that contained all of its graphics. They were forced to use an all-night printer to produce signage that ended up falling off the print mobile, and the empty EasyShare boxes falling into the gutter resembled Christmas morning mayhem.
A slam dunk victory for the ladies? Not so fast. Kodak doesn’t value flash (no pun intended) over substance.
Jeff Hayzlett, vice president and chief business development officer for Kodak, sat with representatives of both teams in executive briefings to relate the company’s desired message.
Hydra, the men’s team, attended the meeting en masse and absorbed Hayzlett’s instructions. Empresario, the women’s team (plus Gene Simmons), sent two representatives who talked instead of listened.
“Getting the word out to consumers about high-priced ink was a major thing for us,” Hayzlett said. “That is why we stressed it during the executive briefing. The guys got it; the women’s team did not.”
Alas, Empresario lost, and Simmons was canned.
—Erik Cagle
- Companies:
- Eastman Kodak