Commentary

Thank You For Reading This Blog: A Comment On You Commenters

TV Blog

I have been writing this daily TV blog only since September and already I have been called “stupid,” “silly,” “dumb,” “dick-ish,” “dismissive,” “uninformed,” “unenlightened,” “a knee-jerk reactionary Fox fan,” and “Mr. Beckman.”

Please allow me to refute at least one of these: The name is “Buckman,” not “Beckman.”

In comments posted here in reaction to various blog posts, I have been accused of: Hating both President Obama and President Bush (the younger one), lacking “historical perspective,” and harboring “a grudge” against Neil Patrick Harris.

The truth is, I don’t have particularly strong feelings either way about presidents Obama and Bush, and I have nothing in particular against Neil Patrick Harris.

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I reread my blog post of Nov. 5 in which I commented about Harris’ sudden ubiquity online and on TV, and it didn’t read to me as if I had a grudge against him.  And yet, one reader felt differently. “This reads as though you have a grudge against the man,” this reader wrote in a comment posted on the blog. “Are you looking to subtract from his popularity? Are you jealous that he’ll never know your own personal financial struggles? Maybe you were scorned when he declined an interview or maybe even a date? …”

As for the accusation that I lack “historical perspective,” that arose in one of the comments -- most of them angry -- that were left on my blog post last week in which I complained about President Obama’s appearance on “The Colbert Report.” Many commenters took me to task for not mentioning that Richard Nixon appeared on “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” and that John F. Kennedy had appeared on Jack Paar’s “Tonight Show.”

I was well-aware of these and other famous TV appearances by prominent politicians. The difference to me was that these appearances were not made while Nixon or Kennedy held the office of president. In hindsight, maybe I should have made that distinction in the blog post.

If I had, I might have been spared the comment about my lack of historical perspective, and other comments like it. Then again, maybe I wouldn’t have been. No matter what one writes, readers will continually surprise you with reactions or interpretations that you don’t expect.

In my three-decade career as a journalist on the TV beat, I have long been fascinated by the reactions of readers to what I wrote. I find the subject so fascinating that I wrote an entire book titled “JERK,” subtitled “How I Wasted My Life Watching Television.” (Self-promotion alert: You can find this book on Amazon.)

The “JERK” title was inspired by a piece of mail I once received from an irate reader when I was a newspaper columnist. She tore out my column from the paper (a column about Dr. Laura Schlessinger), circled my photo and wrote the word “Jerk” above it. That’s her handiwork in the image accompanying this blog post. 

After a while, you get used to the name-calling and the complaints. They come with the territory when you put your opinions out there -- on a Web site or in a newspaper. While no one really likes to be called names, one does become inured to it in this business.  Perversely, even the most negative comments indicate that a reader was engaged with your work. Engagement equals readership, and isn’t that the goal?

On that subject, please allow me to take this opportunity (since I rarely, if ever, post replies to reader comments on the blog) to thank each and every one of you who has taken the time to leave a comment (sometimes more than one) here on my various blog posts.

Whether you agree or disagree with the opinions and/or attitudes expressed in these posts, I am grateful for your readership, your input and your advice -- even when you have advised me to: “Go back to watching Fox News,” “lighten up” and quit the business of writing about television altogether.

“I think we have enough TV critics,” wrote one of you. “Perhaps, you can find something more productive to do with your time.”

Ouch.

 

5 comments about "Thank You For Reading This Blog: A Comment On You Commenters".
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  1. Linda Shafran from NBCUniversal, December 15, 2014 at 3:20 p.m.

    Love this post and I remember the "jerk" picture! I for one do not think you are a jerk and enjoy reading your opinions all these years. And I enjoyed your book and recommend it to all! (sharing where you can order it: http://tinyurl.com/m7op3un )

    So, keep writing and we will keep reading !!

  2. Jonathan McEwan from MediaPost, December 15, 2014 at 3:25 p.m.

    You're welcome. The joy of the modern blog is that we can be provoked to think and respond either in support of or in argument against the ideas expressed. Though I don't think name calling is a very constructive means by which to win an argument. As someone who has commented in the past, I can tell you it wasn't because I was too bored to read what you wrote. Engaged all the way! Keep it up and happy holidays!

  3. Chuck Lantz from 2007ac.com, 2017ac.com network, December 15, 2014 at 5:55 p.m.

    Yes, Mr. Beckman - Buckman? - whatever, ... you have found us out. Everyone of us out here who read your blog meet weekly and discuss your work. We then take a vote, deciding whether the majority thinks your work deserves praise or the other thing. One or two of us then volunteer to type-up our group decision (ain't it funny how the same people always seem to volunteer?), and off it goes to your comments column.

    Anyway, now you know. Gotta go. If I hurry I just might make this week's meeting in time.

  4. Leonard Zachary from T___n__, December 16, 2014 at 9:13 a.m.

    I never comment to a candy blog....ooops I just did.

  5. Nicholas Schiavone from Nicholas P. Schiavone, LLC, December 16, 2014 at 10:53 p.m.

    http://youtu.be/iQ5CIkSlUFI

    Adam Buckman: Three times that I've had this question — and I will try to answer it again for you, as clearly as I can, because the question you're asking is, "What kind of qualifications does Adam Buckman have to be a media commentator," "What kind of qualifications do I have," and "What would I do in this kind of a situation?" And what would I do in this situation? [...] I have far more experience than many others that sought the office of media critic in this country. I have as much experience in the Press as Mr. Beckman did when he sought media attention. I will be prepared to deal with the people in the TV Industry if that unfortunate event would ever occur.
    Judy Woodruff: Mr. Schiavone?
    Nicholas Schiavone: Mr. Buckman, I served with Mr. Beckman. I knew Mr. Beckman. Mr. Beckman was a friend of mine. Buckman, you're no Beckman. (Prolonged shouts and applause.)
    Buckman: That was really uncalled for, Schiavone. (Shouts and applause.)
    Schiavone: You are the one that was making the comparison, Buckman — and I'm one who knew him well. And frankly I think you are so far apart in the objectives you choose for our media that I did not think the comparison was well-taken.
    JOLLY HOLIDAYS TO ALL AND TO ALL
    HAPPY HANUKKAH & MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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