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>But this is an archetypal example of how the media manufactures outrage and manipulates people’s emotions. Why is this not the DoE manufacturing outrage? Are
by inflatableDodo 7y ago
>But this is an archetypal example of how the media manufactures outrage and manipulates people’s emotions.
Why is this not the DoE manufacturing outrage? Are you suggesting that calling natural gas 'Molecules of US Freedom' in an official press release from the DoE is not newsworthy because the Department of Energy is just carping about and running a comedy act? If that is your position, isn't displaying such an utter lack of seriousness something that is newsworthy in and of itself?
edit - I like jokes, I can be one of the silliest bastards around when I want to be. However, if I was writing press releases for the DoE, I would do my level best to be serious, level headed and considerate of the issues. And I would expect to be fired should I do anything outside of that. If the energy department of the world's largest economy has decided to abandon seriousness in their public dealings, then that is a pretty dire situation to be in and not one that should be tolerated or swept under the carpet with a 'hey, chillout, they were just joking'.
- rayiner 7y agoPeople make jokes. Judges make jokes in court opinions all the time. They make jokes at trial in cases involving billions of dollars. And those are for general public consumption. Press releases are pretty much only ever read by reporters. People read them in the form of articles based on the press releases. Putting an Easter Egg in there, playing on a term created by a reporter, does not display an “utter lack of seriousness.”
- inflatableDodo 7y agoI just had a read through the press release and the way this 'joke' is disseminated does not read at all in the same light as jokes I have read in court opinions. I find I am still in complete disagreement with you here. To not report this use of language would be a much greater issue and it is one indication, out of many, that there is a fundamental diconnect and utter lack of seriousness at the top. edit - also, I regularly hunt out press releases after reading an article on a topic, I am sure that I am not the only person to do so.
- davvolun 7y ago> Judges make jokes in court opinions all the time. Yep. And sometimes they get punished for it, for example when they cross a line. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/utah-judge-trump-joke-mock-suspended-michael-w-kwan-supreme-court-a8930946.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politic...