ABSTRACT
Television has gone from strength to strength in the audience ratings throughout the world. But the Press has conspicuously survived; and not least among its saving graces has been, a torrent of relentless criticism against Television where it has shown itself to be most vulnerable—its irresponsibility, superficiality, mindlessness, sheer insipidity. Samuel Johnson had hit upon the fatal attraction in his bitter explanation of a rival's success with the public, namely: "His folly appealed to their folly." Still, the distinction between trash and rubbish, a piece of medieval scholasticism which would count the number of garbage men dancing on the point of a rusty needle, may have its tactical uses. The new "leads" have been devised, of course, as a technique for awakening the reader's appetite, to arouse his curiosity, and lengthen his attention span. Even the structure of a news dispatch is shaped, bent, and twisted so as to capture attention and stimulate instant interest.
