'The Body' vs. 'The Jackal'

Today I joined the ranks of Hulk Hogan and Macho Man as people who have directly incensed Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. When I spoke with him Sunday at the National Governors' Association Winter Meeting, the economic development committee members who had lingered after the session fell silent. \nThey turned to see why "The Body" was blasting the intern. I'll admit, the room got about 20 degrees hotter for a few minutes, but my esteem for Ventura rose much faster than my temperature. \nMy respect for him first soared during a plenary session, during which the nation's governors sat at a square table, as if lining the outside of a wrestling ring. Round One featured the likes of former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, now secretary for health and human services, and Andrew Card, George Bush's chief of staff. \nVentura entered the ring after Roderick Paige, secretary of education, spoke. After Paige's soaring, inspirational rhetoric came in for a landing, Ventura asked him a tough question: Where is the 40 percent of federal funding the department promised to provide for children with disabilities? The administration has only come through with 14 percent of the funds, I heard Ventura tell a reporter.\nPaige replied with conciliatory remarks, and Ventura stood out as the only governor willing to speak up for the rights of the people who elected him. \nAnother aside before I take you to my exchange with Ventura: jackals. As a joke, Ventura issued "Official Jackal" press passes to Minneapolis reporters, complete with a full-body photo of a riled-up Ventura. It's been a controversial week for the plastic-coated tokens of Ventura's fiery relationship with the media. \nAll things considered, does anyone else see a tinge of irony here? Ventura stepped into the ring in the interest of holding Paige accountable for a promise. At the same time, media professionals serve as guardians of the people, holding the government accountable. Because I admired that he questioned Paige, I asked Ventura if he saw irony in the fact that he's ribbed the media for the same kind of behavior that he (rightly) displayed. \nThis is where I giggle sheepishly and admit that asking Ventura that question was like pulling the pin on a grenade. He launched passionately -- albeit eloquently -- into his defense. "Who holds the media accountable?" he boomed. \n"In a Minnesota newspaper there was a big headline: 'Governor cuts education spending,'" he said, emphasizing each word of the headline. The incident caused uproar throughout the state, when the real situation was that Ventura had ensured full funding, but made cuts to the overall wish list for new programs. \nAs he lambasted the media for running a miniscule retraction, two reporters from Minneapolis -- one a card-carrying jackal -- perked up and headed over to hear what Ventura was ranting about. "See -- red meat," he indicated, pointing to himself. "Here come the jackals." \nHe pointed out that when he moved policy forward to open up trade between China and Minnesota, one television news crew came out. But when he made a cameo appearance on the "Young and the Restless," it took three shifts to accommodate all the media. "They're in the business of making money," Ventura said. "They want what's titillating. Meat and potatoes don't sell."\nAt this point, I was grinning haplessly, agreeing with Ventura's assessment of everything that's wrong with the media. I offered a plea in my defense -- what about the journalists who want to cover the real issues? \n"You want to make changes now," Ventura said. "But the system changes you -- you get cynical." \nThat, my dear governor, is where you are wrong. Before I jump to my defense, I applaud Ventura for fighting a battle conscientious journalists wage every day. Barring the mistakes and miscommunication, Ventura is hitting on an ugly trend in broadcast, as well as print, journalism. It's a mentality that says papers need short, "snappy" stories dwarfed by glitzy photos. \nMany corporate conglomerate media executives see no problem with feeding people "McPaper" because people like it, and it sells. They're probably at the same papers that tell us we're the MTV generation with short attention spans, so we won't argue when they give us McNews. The trend will continue as long as mass media consolidations continue to drain the printers' ink from the blood of newspaper executives. \nI don't want to work for a paper like that, and I know most IDS staffers feel the same way. Gov. Ventura, (I know he's reading this; his press secretary took note of my name), please keep fighting for increased quality in journalism.\nPeople deserve the kind of stories that equip them to see that some of your tax cuts are regressive, not that your soap opera performance was impressive. Keep fighting, but don't let the battle revolve around personal grievances, and be careful not to shout "burger and fries" in cases when you're dealing with meat and potatoes.