There's a certain formula that goes into a speech like the one I gave Wednesday night in my comedic debut at the Washington Press Club Foundation's Congressional Dinner.
In that formula, the first 85 or 90 percent of your remarks are supposed to be funny -- biting, a little bipartisan, and significantly self-deprecating. The rest of your speech is supposed to be serious and generous in your praise for the audience -- in this case, journalists.
The first draft of my "serious close" was longer than the comedic part of the speech, so we pared it down significantly. I have a great deal of respect for journalism, but rarely get such an opportunity to speak about the field, so I thought I'd share that first draft as an alternate ending.
Here's what it said:
A few weeks ago, I was profiled in a story where I revealed my affinity for playing Madden with my kids -- and my addiction to Angry Birds on my iPad.
With the number of Senators who came up to me after the story appeared to tell me about their own love for that ridiculous game, I genuinely thought we could have convened an Angry Birds Caucus.
Least. Productive. Caucus. Ever.
(And that's a high bar!)
That's also, by the way, the reason we should never allow iPads on the Senate floor.
I've had an iPad since Christmas and it really is terrific. In between frustrating levels of Angry Birds, I turn to some of my favorite news apps -- Huffington Post, Politico, the Post, the Times -- to catch up. Next to my staff and the paper copy of the Wilmington News Journal that arrives at my front door each morning, my iPad has certainly become my primary source of news.
It is remarkable how news consumption has changed.
Never before have Americans had as much information at their fingertips as they do now. The Internet has not only redefined the way we communicate with others, but has fundamentally changed the way the nation gets its news.
Twitter is a truly extraordinary tool not only for distributing information, but for collecting it. I remember during the campaign I'd occasionally peek over the shoulder of our new media guy and check out his TweetDeck screen. I was in awe of the sheer volume of information being conveyed in those columns.
It was clear, though, that while Twitter has plenty of reporters, it has too few editors.
Despite the volume of information and the degree of transparency that the Internet offers, it comes up short on accountability. That's why there has never been a time when Americans have needed high-quality journalism more than we do right now.
Competition has always been a part of newsgathering and, for the most part, it's been a good thing. It's healthy. Competition promotes innovation and stimulates creativity.
But competition can never be a substitute for judgment. The rush to be the first should never trump the need to be accurate, even in a 24-hour news cycle, and even in this Internet age -- where content producers outnumber journalists by a staggering ratio.
It's been distressing to watch as profit has replaced principle and entertainment has crowded-out the news in so many areas of the media. Especially now, in these consequential times at home and abroad, it is more than distressing -- it is dangerous.
Our country doesn't need more content -- it needs better news.
I have great respect for the role journalists play in our democracy, but that role has nothing to do with being first, or being the loudest. It has everything to do with being accurate and fair.
Just as the news media stopped asking the KKK for its opinion to provide "balance" to stories about the civil rights movement, it is time to stop putting people on television to "balance" stories about Don't Ask, Don't Tell simply because they hate gay people.
Journalism is about shining a light on subjects masked by shadow, obscured by confusion and hidden by deception to reveal a truth undiscoverable to those without the insight or access to find it.
The journalists bravely risking their lives in the streets of Egypt to offer a window on the real situation on the ground are testimony to the heavy burden of that mission.
We're counting on you to carry it forward.
Follow Sen. Chris Coons on Twitter: www.twitter.com/chriscoons
Charles M. Firestone: Egypt: The King's Speech Where Everyone Is King
Beth Knobel: Why CBS News, and Everyone Else, Needs to Remember Mike Wallace
Given the audience, "our country does not need more content; it needs more news" should go a tad further. All professional news writers would surely agree that our media needs more accuracy, real reporting, and investigative journalism, rather than unfiltered random thoughts, biased rants, and illogical analogies about Nazis.
Yet, hundreds of millions of people here and around the world are being harmed by economic and financial decisions made as a result of this severe recsssion. There are hundreds of millions of unemployed or "disinguished unemployed" humanity throughout the world, including the United States. Reporters should report more on the economic issues and how they arise and help and harm. Lucid reporting of the changes inthe economy and their root causes are in the public interest. Given the facts the people are able to make up their minds, if allowed legitimate choices.
Delaware ..................... Needs a "Line Item Veto" and "Recall" for Senators!
Think before you speak, post or tweet. Then don't.
Well, that is its curse and its promise. The information coming in is, necessarily, less than a centimeter in depth, yet is covers a broad area.
This begs a question as to what value it has.
Certainly it has the potential to mislead and misinform, if this crucial characteristic isn't understood, or if it gets used by someone with a "Twitter Mind" to start with. Sarah Palin is a walking cautionary tale for both. She thinks in shallow simplistic terms and believes complex truths are just so much liberal claptrap, and consequently, accepts Twitter messages as revealed truth.
If one understands that Twitter is a scan, that can provide an overview of things, and that some of these things you'd actually like to learn more about through a media offering the capacity for in-depth analysis, it can be a good filter, but nothing more.
Absent that understanding, we will all be dumbed down to the Sarah Palin level -- a truly frightening prospect that presages the complete fall of the US.
Maybe it did, caused us to use all those drugs, but overall things got better. Less pollution, ended draft: EPA created and draft ended under Nixon, of all people (he had no choice, US was in revolt like Egypt now).
Less war: 4x as many US died in Vietnam than in all wars and terrorist acts since. In terms of casualties per population, the last 30 years are the most peaceful in US history. Much more sexual freedom and gender equality, preference included.
Americans today are the least prejudice in history, and the younger, the more that is true. I have sons in late 20's: the kids are all-right. Lennon sang "you tell me it's the institutions, but you better free your mind instead". Changing Americans attitudes is more important than "the system", and that's happened dramatically in my lifetime. You'd almost have to be 60 to see it, it's so slow. We still had segregation when I was a kid.
So no - we will never get to the Sarah Palin level. In fact, we are all being "lifted up to where we belong", to quote Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warren. Stewart and Colbert alone defeat all the right-wing media among the young, and that's who matters, isn't it? Change mostly happens as generations die off.
Everything is getting better, though it's hard to see. Keep the faith as we used to say.
I am 67. I've fought in a war, worked with people in Africa and spent time both north and south of this country. I've seen it happen and it didn't happen all that slow. The slope has been steadily steepening! It isn't about faith, it is about action and awareness of what is really happening.
Abortion, stem cell research, the death penalty, marijuana, corporate monopolies, public schools, foreign affairs, and on and on. These are all subject worthy of discussion. If we are going to discuss them let's discuss them with respect, intelligence, and a driving ambition to provide a solution with a common good. I'm not saying it will be perfect, let's just do it and move on.
Citizens of the United States, I ask you to prevent the political stirring of the pot. The civil argument is not owned by the Pharaoh. It's ours and I have a suggestion for how to participate.
A dozen individuals is required to move this idea forward. Current funding does not exist. Twelve disciples in search of a higher good will determine the path forward.
The Do Good Gauge
http://www.dogoodgauge.org
How refreshingÂ. Thank you.
Wanda the Witch?
Samantha Stevens?
Sarah Palin? Michelle Bachmann? Sharron Angle? Christine O'Donnell, yeah, that's the one ...