[speaker001:] What, what, how do you get your main source of current events?
[speaker002:] Well, uh, until recently I was taking the WALL STREET JOURNAL, and I thought that was a good way, but I have about five different magazines that I get that keeps me up on things. You know, it's a week or two late, but, uh, that's how I'm staying up.
[speaker001:] I either watch the news or, or occasionally I'll read the paper.
[speaker002:] Uh, do you like how it's presented on the news?
[speaker001:] Um, no, I think the media's a little bit too manipulative. They allow you, uh, they, they try to lead you too much, I believe, and sometimes they're not very open, I, I don't know, I think they're a little bit biased sometimes. Like for example, the Kennedy, the Kennedy rape case. The coverage on that was, you know, when it first happened it was, he was guilty, he was guilty, he was guilty. You know, they try to have you form opinions or whatever, and then I, I didn't like the thi-, the things that were going on when we had Desert Storm and stuff like that. You know, basically I, I, I think they don't present the, the whole sides of, of everything.
[speaker002:] So, it, it makes you feel like they're, uh, wanting you to take their opinion.
[speaker001:] Right. It's, it's, it's, instead of reporting the news, it's more like an editorial, I believe
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] on a lot of issues.
[speaker002:] I've noticed that too, and it's kind of distressing, isn't it?
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] And they just, I've noticed that they do it just with subtle little words, uh, usually, uh, just that sway the whole, uh, report that, you know, by just a couple of words.
[speaker001:] Well, when, when I was in school, I, um, I was a communications major, so I, I, I'm well aware of the little subtle words and persuasive speaking, and, and so forth [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] So, communications, huh. Were you looking into becoming a reporter or,
[speaker001:] I was, and, um, I we-, I ventured off in a whole entire different field, field. I went with the state.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And, uh, I, um, went with the Department of State Treasurer in retirement disability, calculate benefits.
[speaker002:] I bet that's a interesting job.
[speaker001:] Yeah. So the, so, and, you know, working, you know, working for state government you hear all about current events, about things going on within the state itself. So that, that's another source that I, I, where I keep up with current events and,
[speaker002:] Yeah, there's one that I'm reading right now. It's INFORMATION WEEK. It says A T and T to account for the, the benefits that the A I C P A now says you have to show as a liability. It's going to cost them seven point five billion after tax charge in ninety-three,
[speaker001:] [Gasp].
[speaker002:] to account for that.
[speaker001:] It's a lot of money.
[speaker002:] And it'll drop their earnings by a hundred million a year forever more.
[speaker001:] [Gasp] It's a lot of money.
[speaker002:] Yeah, it is. And, yeah, you have to stay up on stuff, and I bet in your, your job that you have to, do you read the WALL STREET JOURNAL?
[speaker001:] No, well, no, I, I, I primarily deal with the state employees, but I, I find interesting tidbits in what the news reports as far as the, like the state of North Carolina's budget, and stuff like that. And I really know what the budget is, and, and, uh, uh, when they were saying we were so poor and they couldn't pay taxes, and pay people their income tax refunds and things like that, and, you know, I'm well aware of the billions of assets that the state has, and it, it's just funny. You know, so that's, that's, that's, so I don't have a whole lot of faith in, in, you know, the news. Course it's, they, they get what they hear from, but, you know, it's not always I, I think one hundred percent reliable.
[speaker002:] Can you think of anything that could be done to make our news media more accurate and objective?
[speaker001:] I think they need to do a little bit, go into a little bit more depth, uh, before they would just report, like somebody wants to make a statement or something like that, because I mean, another example is the, uh, AIDS issue or whatever. You know, someone said, Oh, I found a cure. They immediately, the headlines on the news or whatever is, Someone says they found a cure for AIDS. And then two months later it's discovered it's not, you know, before they, before they come out with something like that they need to, to research the matter, I believe, a little bit more.
[speaker002:] I guess they do that so they don't get scooped, you know, so they have the big story.
[speaker001:] Well, that, well, yeah I, I, it, I think the,