Braindead Megaphone By Emma Laudenbach

Emma Laudenbach

Lora Strey

Composition 101-12

Blog Post #2

Braindead Megaphone

In today’s society, people believe anything and everything that news broadcasters send their way.  We are in such a rush we don’t take the time to question if something is fact or fiction and sometimes we don’t even realize that it is happening.  Of course sometimes there are those reporters that have so much charisma and charm that we can’t to believe them.  This can be relevant in hockey too.  We feel like we become a part of the players lives and are there on the ice with them when in reality we are just sitting in our living rooms or in a sports bar watching the big game on the big screen television.  I know from personal experience of watching Minnesota Wild games that broadcaster Anthony LaPanta takes his role very seriously.  He was hired by the Minnesota Wild franchise in 2012 to the the voice of the games (“Anthony”).   

It’s not just the broadcasters who we listen to either.  Its the reporters who write the articles online that I would say is where a majority of the information comes from.  Its so easy for us to just pull up Facebook and the first story we see be some kind of link to an article on Buzzfeed or TMZ or a website of that kind.  The website thehockeynews.com has many stories on many teams throughout the National Hockey League. There is even a “rumors” tab at the top that has multiple stories that aren’t necessarily based on fact (“Hockey”).  

The article “Braindead Megaphone” by George Saunders explains to us the need for questioning the news.  We are so caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday lives that when we sit down to read the newspaper or watch the new on television, we don’t even want put anymore work in to ask the question “Is this accurate and reliable information?”   Saunders urges us to not just accept what the news gives us and to look into current events on our own time.  We have to take our lives into our own hands and not just let the loudest voice we hear, like LaPanta, and really pay attention to the game.

Works Cited

"Anthony LaPanta." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2014. Web. 5 Dec.

2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_LaPanta>

"The Hockey News: Insight on the NHL and the World of Hockey." The Hockey News:

Insight on the NHL and the World of Hockey. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

<http://www.thehockeynews.com/>.

Saunders, George. The Braindead Megaphone: Essays. New York: Riverhead, 2007.

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