The view from the podium
Bill Maher (I hate myself for writing about him) to hecklers during Friday night’s program:
This isn’t the Iowa Caucus. It’s not a debate. The debate’s between us (pointing to his panel). You’re in the audience. Audience comes from the Latin “to listen.”
I’m posting this only because it so beautifully describes what’s happening in media generally. We’re losing the stage, and we don’t like it.
Please don’t misconstrue this to be an endorsement of hecklers. God forbid! The goal of hecklers, however, is to hijack the stage — even if for only a moment — and this friction (or the perception of it) is responsible for the defensive posturing of traditional media as they’re confronted with the personal media revolution.
