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This is news?

13 comments on This is news?

This is news?

: The Today show this morning reported on a career day in a California School in which a salesman gave out a list of careers that included, among scores of others, “stripper” and when an 8th grade boy asked about it — playing his part perfectly — the salesman made the mistake of telling them how much strippers make and how much more they make when surgically enhanced.

So it was a very stupid thing to do but the salesman knows it and the principal knows it and I trust that these 14 kids in this class are smart enough not to change their lives based on this two-minute discussion (“Mommy, can I get new boobs for Christmas?”).

But is this national news? Is this news at all? Is this a story that affects our lives? Is this a story that reveals some larger trend in society of which we should be aware? Is this a story that reveals a scandal and saves innocent victims?

Or is this pathetic pandering for ratings?

I vote the latter. It’s all terribly predictable: Local papers write about this; bookers see the story and know it will warm the heart of TV “news” producers, and on the air it goes. They know it’s not a real story, but if they try to treat it as a scandal, they hope it’ll get them water-cooler juice.

Meanwhile, this slub salesman is now branded as a child-corrupter and this school is slimed as Stripper U.

In the “news” segment of this “news” show, they also bravely reported about firemen freeing a kittie’s paws frozen to a fence.

Film at 11.

: Martha Feingold — citizen reporting from the scene! — adds this in the comments:

My kids go to that school, although they’re in the 7th grade, so didn’t go to career day. Leslie’s right, it’s a lot of nothing. We have a local daily paper that feeds on stories like this, my guess is one of the parents called them and they took it from there..and placed it above the fold. And the local and national media took the bait. Thank God I don’t work in TV news anymore. Note one of the 2 complaints came from a parent who said the guy inspired them to go after a career based on what they love to do..so now he wants to be a fisherman. I guess that’s not good enough for Palo Alto.

13 responses to “This is news?”

  1. Kat Avatar
    Kat

    I read this study and I thought of all the porn advocates–you know who you are.
    http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/114/3/e280

  2. Leslie Turek Avatar
    Leslie Turek

    I saw an interview with the principal of the school on CNN this morning. The interviewer was very hostile and called the principal “brave” for appearing at all. The principal was calm and reasonable and gave the context of the situation. The best part was when the interviewer said, “I’ll bet you got a lot of complaints from parents” and the principal responded that since there were only 14 students in that particular talk (which was one of about 40 that were going on throughout the day by representatives from various careers), he had only heard from 2 parents. The whole thing is another made-up sound-bite scandal.

  3. Martha Feingold Avatar
    Martha Feingold

    My kids go to that school, although they’re in the 7th grade, so didn’t go to career day. Leslie’s right, it’s a lot of nothing. We have a local daily paper that feeds on stories like this, my guess is one of the parents called them and they took it from there..and placed it above the fold. And the local and national media took the bait. Thank God I don’t work in TV news anymore. Note one of the 2 complaints came from a parent who said the guy inspired them to go after a career based on what they love to do..so now he wants to be a fisherman. I guess that’s not good enough for Palo Alto.

  4. Kat Avatar
    Kat

    (According to Fried and students who attended the talk, Fried told one group of about 16 students that strippers can earn as much as $250,000 a year and that a larger bust — whether natural or augmented — has a direct relationship to a dancer’s salary.
    He told the students, “For every two inches up there, it’s another $50,000,” according to Jason Garcia, 14.
    As word of the remarks spread among students and parents, school officials found themselves forced to answer why a previously successful program had come to address a rather adult topic. While administrators said only two parents had formally complained about the presentation, other parents reached Thursday said the references to stripping did not belong at school. )
    Sick bastard, recruiting kids to feed his perverted fantasies.

  5. Michael Zimmer Avatar
    Michael Zimmer

    Is this news at all?
    Are you only now realizing that most of what’s on television news is just “pandering for ratings”?!?!

  6. Leslie Turek Avatar
    Leslie Turek

    Kat,
    Apparently you did not read the description of what actually happened. The speak did not come to talk about stripping. The theme of his talk, which he had given several times before, was that students should keep an open mind when searching for a career, and should do something that they enjoy doing. As part of the presentation, he displayed a list of 140 possible careers, just to show the many possibilities that were out there. He wouldn’t have even mentioned exotic dancing/stripping except that some smartass kid asked him about it. Of course, where he went wrong was that he didn’t take a careful look at that list of careers beforehand, and when the boy asked him to talk about stripping, he should have tempered his remarks taking into account the age of his audience. But it’s still not that big a deal.

  7. Eileen Avatar
    Eileen

    Weren’t these 8th graders? Didn’t he present the list which included stripping in the first place? You don’t think he knew it was in there? Did he create the list? Didn’t he then tell the kids that big boobs bring big bucks? Fabulous indoctrination for the boys as to what is ‘valued’ as beautiful in women; pitiful esteem-reducing indoctrination for the girls.
    I guess a more complete list should have also included escort services, lap dancers, prostitutes, porn stars…
    Increasing numbers of teenage girls are seeking augmentations and other kinds of plastic surgery these days so they can look more like Britney or other big boob augmented stars they’re bombarded with every day. It’s similar to Barbie being the ‘measure’ of perfect body type in my day.
    “Reality” television, young celebrities and peer pressure have all contributed to increased interest in the 16-20 age group who are considering getting their breasts enlarged and are consulting with plastic surgeons about it.” http://www.plastic-surgery.net/teen-breast-enlargement.html See more about the effects of negative body image in teenagers there.
    Newsworthy? Not in my opinion. Not a big deal? It is to some. Inappropriate career topic for that age group? You bet.

  8. Eileen Avatar
    Eileen

    And Leslie, you said: “Of course, where he went wrong was that he didn’t take a careful look at that list of careers beforehand..” Ya think?
    From Kat: “He told the students, “For every two inches up there, it’s another $50,000,” according to Jason Garcia, 14.” Does this stat as well as the annual salary information he handily provided suggest to you his inclusion of stripping was an accidental oversight? Sounds to me like the guy has some special knowledge on the subject. Anyone around here ever hear these particular ‘facts’ before today?
    I’ve been a career advisor to middle school students on career day here locally. That occured as a result of teachers and parents who knew my background well and recommended me to the principal involved. How well did the school know their salesman? Unfortunately, Kat’s assessment of him may be spot on.
    As I spoke about careers in various fields of law to my little 8th graders (and they Were little), did it occur to me to include ‘exciting’ topics such as planning and zoning issues related to red light districts? Uh, no.

  9. tim wg Avatar
    tim wg

    The correct question is “Is This A Career?”
    Stripping may make money for those who are quite talented, capable, and devoid of self-respect and morals, but it isn’t a career. It is a job, quick and dirty. It requires no skills, training, or education. It only has the ability to entice people to a life of self destruction.
    Is it news? Yeah, to me it is more reason to take kids out of public education. Now its about baring assets to the public.
    The 8th grader had a question to ask. What would an 8th grader know about stripping unless he was handy with the information? What would the salesman know unless he knew how to answer the question? I had career counselors in the past. Perhaps I should test them next time on stripping. I guess the quality of the counselor is based on knowing enhancement make the difference between a middling stripper and a enhanced stripper.
    No big deal? You’ve got to be insane.
    To think the last election was about morals!!!

  10. Richard Aubreyr Avatar
    Richard Aubreyr

    While the admin might not be responsible for this in a positive sense, they are responsible for this in the sense that the buck stops somewhere.
    I will bet a buck or two that next year the guy is back. There’s a frisson to being in power and telling the peons to pound sand, not to mention quit being such bluenoses and what are they going to do about it. I’d give that about a thirty percent chance.
    I will go 90% that, next time some kids are hauled out of the system for homeschooling, the ‘crats will be able to keep a straight face while pretending to be bewildered at why their mealtickets are leaving.

  11. Eileen Avatar
    Eileen

    Sorry in advance for the length of this post. I’ll never do it again… Skip it if you wish.
    I retract my earlier opinion that this episode isn’t newsworthy. I was wrong. I learned my lesson today about relying on a blog overview and a few comments before submitting my own.
    After googling ‘Bill Fried career day’ and reading more than 30 articles, its’s clear the facts aren’t exactly as clear as they’ve been represented to be here. Let’s examine more of those facts, which have been reported as far away as Ireland, and which I read from a sampling of 290,000+ entries (go ahead and delete a good portion which wouldn’t end up being on topic). Nonetheless, more facts provided by the media:
    In one account, principal Di Salvo was standing by Fried and planned to bring him back next year as long as a ‘strong teacher’ was also present in the room (not so subtly suggesting the substitute teacher didn’t exercise proper control over the counselor). By other accounts, Di Salvo says Fried won’t be asked back.
    “If I managed to make some Palo Alto mothers mad, I guess I’m doing something right,” Fried said.” From: PaloAltoonline.com
    Martha, your comment regarding the kid who wants to be a fisherman from ‘perfect Palo Alto’ (yeah, I lived in Portola Valley and environs for 10 years) needs to be read in the context of a mother who was upset her kid had Also decided to forgo college in the process. There’s nothing wrong with fishing(!), but wouldn’t you want your child to first become educated? Might it not come in handy in running his business some day? You’ve got kids in this school and you think “it’s a lot of nothing”?
    Leslie, the guy Definitely prepared the list, which was part of a pamphlet and handouts which also included po-ker (couldn’t post using this word) – see below – and pistol shooting as ‘career’ options (ok about three people in the world can pull that off). Wonderful suggestions. Apparently the school was familiar with Fried’s materials; he’d been a guest counselor for two prior years at the same school on career day.
    Here are some quotes from the panoply, with my comments in brackets:
    “However, tucked into the list were also exotic dancing and stripping.
    The two careers caught the attention of students whose parents [no number given], after learning of Fried’s presentation, began phoning Principal Joe Di Salvo with serious concerns.
    “Those two should have not been in the list. It was inappropriate for sure,” he said.
    Di Salvo said a maximum of 44 students [more than otherwise reported], all eighth-graders, could have heard Fried’s presentation over three sessions. Di Salvo met with the students Thursday to talk about the incident and gave them a letter to bring home to their parents.
    Fried, who is president of the managing and consulting firm Precision Selling [not a ‘salesman’ – and his company is soon to be toast], said during one presentation a girl not a boy in the front row simply queried, “Exotic dancing?”
    “I said, ‘Sure, that’s a potential occupation. I certainly don’t recommend that to you now, but maybe some people in here could find themselves doing it later in life,’” Fried said.
    The girl, Fried said, then asked how someone becomes an exotic dancer.
    “I said, ‘Well, you study dancing and then you probably go practice it in clubs,’” he added. [And I guess he’s the expert these kids were looking up to for career options and counseling that day. Did he indicate that stripper dance schools (wherever they may be) don’t offer scholarships?]
    In another session [oh, so surprisingly stripping ended up becoming a topic with more than one group, now], Di Salvo said a few boys inquired about the job and wanted to know if the “size of your breasts” makes a difference when someone is pursuing a career in stripping or exotic dancing. [To which he replied as quoted above re 50k for every additional two inches. I wonder if he’d instead discussed increased length or width of a man’s pe-nis (couldn’t post using this word – ahh, but breast, boob, tit, tittie, etc. are ok per the software – perfect) as providing greater salaries for porn actors whether some would (now) consider this story ‘newsworthy’. Is there a difference? Not that I can see.]
    “He took that hook, line and sinker and started talking about it in the context of his presentation,” Di Salvo said.
    Fried’s “The Secret to a Happy Life” presentation [which by other accounts provided additional advice about avoiding your parents as much as possible if they were ‘negative’] included other messages that also concerned parents. In a sub-topic titled, “Military service works wonders,” he pokes fun at people in the service.
    “After you’ve taken orders from high school drop-outs with marginal IQ’s, you’ll be motivated to get a college education. … I majored in dating, drinking and gambling and achieved superior marks in all of the categories,” Fried wrote in a hand-out.” From: paloaltoweekly.com
    “School board member Mandy Lowell didn’t expect Fried’s comment to cause lasting damage but said the speaker didn’t adhere to the message of achievement the district is trying to promote. “I don’t think that your natural or implant-inflated bust size is what our schools aim to nurture,” she said. “My aspiration is not to have children in this district become exotic dancers.” From: usatoday.com
    “Student Tom Marks, 13, said he found some of Fried’s comments “weird and unnecessary” but still thinks he should return next year. “I don’t think he should have gone into all the details,” he said. “I just got upset that he talked about it so much.”
    “Fried, 64, said he does not think he offended anyone. “Eighth-grade kids are not dumb,” he said. “They are pretty worldly [13 and 14 year olds are worldly, right].” From: foxnews.com
    “I believe you should be honest and open with everyone, and there is no such thing as inappropriateness,” said Fried, 64, who owns a sales consulting firm. “Eighth-grade kids can digest a lot more than their parents believe they can. The mind will put it in its proper niche. I don’t believe any kid was marred or harmed by any of the talks.” From: abqtrib.com
    JJ says: “But is this national news? Is this news at all? Is this a story that affects our lives? Is this a story that reveals some larger trend in society of which we should be aware? Is this a story that reveals a scandal and saves innocent victims?”
    Yes to all of the above. The no-holds-barred, anything goes approach represented by Fried’s “there is no such thing as inappropriateness” says it all. It’s endemic in our culture; it Is occuring throughout the media, across all strata of our culture, in our schools… So it’s okay to foster lack of self- esteem and demeaning job alternatives for our girls while skewing the way our boys view the value of women and what constitutes beauty? We can diminish their value systems and futures and that’s all okay? According to several commenters here, apparently so. Witness our decay.
    While I agree with Jeff that these people were just plain stupid, some of the primary players continue to defend their stupid words, choices and actions. Is that ok, too?
    Yeah, it’s newsworthy.

  12. Martha Avatar
    Martha

    Eileen- Just a couple of points. While I’ll concede Fried should probably have a more appropriate list for use at school events, I believe he was goaded into the remarks about the economies of breast size by a couple of students. He should have used better judgement, but I still say this is a lot of nothing blown of proportion because Palo Alto has a daily tabloid that aspires to be The New York Post. As to the kid who wants to skip college and fish for a living, don’t forget he’s just in 8th grade, with a few years ahead of him to be influenced by others, including his parents.

  13. Richard Aubrey Avatar
    Richard Aubrey

    Martha, what’s newsworthy is the admin’s reaction and their future action.
    What could stand some investigation is the guy’s previous pitches. If sordid, or stupid, why and who let him back?