John Stossel News Letter

ABC 20/20 ^ | 7-2-03 | John Stossel

[cd jones]

passing on John's newsletter

=================================

Hi, 20/20 runs on the Fourth of July this week. Will anyone be watching? That's what people often say in the TV business: "It's a holiday — nobody's watching." What nonsense. Millions of people will be watching on the Fourth of July! Viewership declines on holidays, but on network TV, it's still a huge number of people. It's an audience a Broadway show producer would die for.

Sorry about that outburst. Just had to vent.

Friday will cover "Justified and Stripped," the tour Christina Aguilera headlines with Justin Timberlake. It's being called the sexiest tour on Earth. We examine diva demands — the little things that make big stars feel bigger. The band Van Halen wanted M&M's with all the brown ones removed from their candy stash. And we'll show you the astounding dance troupe Bandaloop; they dance on the sides of mountains and buildings.

Finally, my column is about uptight homeowners' associations. The tyrants of taste told a Vietnam vet he had to get rid of his flagpole. On the Fourth of July, I say, "Give me a break."

Last week's "Give Me A Break" column brought these e-mail comments:

"You couldn't understand why the head of tourism would pay $10,000 for a stock photograph when a tourist could take a similar photograph for only $200. That surely could be compared to "why would a television network hire John Stossel to narrate 20/20 when they could hire me for $200 to read off a teleprompter." I found this segment of your program insulting to all artists, including yourself and Ms. Walters." Teri Walderman, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

"If your bosses want you to be me the 'mini me' of Andy Rooney you have to get better subject matter. Someone copied what a photographer did for $200. That is not the same as creating the idea, setting and taking the shot. That's more of what Martha Stewart does, takes others idea and claims them as her own. Whom do you think would go to Miami if the brochures put photos of all those really, really old people from the Lower East Side bitching at each other on the beach? Do you think Disney World would show shots of haggard families at the end of day, hot, dead tired, out of money with a kid screaming for another toy? Do you think the photos of tomatoes in catalogs are the ones your seeds are coming from? Do you think hospitals use actual (smiling) patients in their own facilities in ads having CAT scans to chemo? Did you know they use shoe polish to make a turkey look like it is basted and Crisco to create ice cream in photos? Call Super Stock 1-800-828-4545. Have a look at one of their catalogs. You will know why they call them 'slicks.' " Michelle Taylor, Carrollton, Texas

"Your piece on photo retouching was irresponsible and reckless. To suggest that 'a local photographer' could reproduce a photo at a fraction of the cost of the stock image shows your ignorance of the photography industry and a blatant disregard for the profession of photography. If you had done your homework you would have known that "stock photography" is licensed, not sold and that the value is based on usage, i.e. how the photo is to be used and for how long. Depending on the distribution, size, etc. The photo shot in Hawaii could well be worth $10,000, whether you think so or not. In addition, to suggest that a local photographer 'copy' the image implies that copyright infringement is OK with you and sends a terrible message to the public. I wonder if someone copied your piece and used it on another show without paying you how you would feel about it. Give me a break!!!" Robert Randall, Carlsbad, Calif. Apparently, there are a lot of angry photographers watching. And fortunately, people are watching in China, too.

"I'm a student of Chinese University, Nanjing University. This is my first mail to you. I like your programmes very much." Hope you watch 20/20 on Friday at 10 p.m. (9 o'clock Central), and please let me know what you think. My e-mail address is JohnStossel@abc.com.

[LiteKeeper]

SPOTREP

[Jack Wilson]

John Stossel : The Exception That Proves The Rule

[newgeezer]

The Exception That Proves The Rule

Please explain that cliché. I fail to see how an exception (John Stossel is not a leftist) to a rule (Network TV is full of leftists) "proves" the rule.

[kevkrom]

Please explain that cliché. I fail to see how an exception (John Stossel is not a leftist) to a rule (Network TV is full of leftists) "proves" the rule.

If you can point to something as an exception, that implicitly demonstrates that there is some rule to be excepted from. It's a kind of inductive reasoning: Stossel, as a conservative commentator, is a rarity, so therefore, the vast majority of commentators are leftist.

[gcruse]

The common misconception (which you will find in several books,
including the Dictionary of Misinformation) is that "proves" in
this phrase means "tests". That is *not* the case, although "proof"
*does* mean "test" in such locutions as "proving ground",
"proofreader", "proof spirit", and "The proof of the pudding is in
the eating."
As MEU says, "the original legal sense" of the "the exception
proves the rule" is as follows: "'Special leave is given for men to
be out of barracks tonight till 11.0 p.m.'; 'The exception proves
the rule' means that this special leave implies a rule requiring
men, except when an exception is made, to be in earlier. The value
of this in interpreting statutes is plain."
MEU2 adds: "'A rule is not proved by exceptions unless the
exceptions themselves lead one to infer a rule' (Lord Atkin). The
formula in full is exceptio probat regulam in casibus non
exceptis." [That's Latin for "The exception proves the rule in
cases not excepted."]
The phrase seems to date from the 17th century. (Anthony Cree,
in Cree's Dictionary of Latin Quotations (Newbury, 1978) says
that the phrase comes from classical Latin, which it defines as
Latin spoken before A.D. 400; but no classical citations have
come to our attention.)

[gcruse]

Additionally, John Stossel is not a conservative. He is libertarian. How does that fit in? ;)

[Jack Wilson]

'Proving' a rule means to 'test' the rule. So if you have a hypothesis that the media is blatantly liberal, finding a non-liberal helps you test or confirm your rule. I think.

[newgeezer]

Ah, yes, I'd forgotten about how "test" could be a synonym for prove.

In that regard, I suspect "the exception proves (i.e. tests) the rule" by contradicting the rule, showing that the rule is sometimes wrong. Thanks!