couldn't help do sth
serve to
misdeed
be wild about...
cater the needs and attract more people
The speaker claims that in the world of intense media coverage, it seems to be hard for people to regard any individual as hero, not to say that they are easily be(去掉） diminished because of close media scrutiny. I partly agree with him in that the media in fact brings about a more overall view of a person whose possible flaws may undermine the possibility of being a 'hero'. But his assertion is too categorical(assertive, arbitrary): there are still heroes, and being exposed to media scrutiny does not necessarily means a diminished reputation.
The implicit rationale behind the speaker's statement seems to lies in the overwhelming revealing power of information era: information is less possible to be concealed, and the long persistency(Long standing//Perennial) of information stored online is nearly impossible to eradicate(be erased). Another ground of the statement lies in that the information era plays a de-illusion(XX)(demystified disenchanted) of the so called 'heroes', whose broader characteristics is more revealed through his interaction with media and whose everyday life exposed to the public by those dedicated reporters. Since everybody is flawed, the process of de-mystifying heroes certainly undermines their reputations held as "perfect" assumed by the public. For instance, the sex affair(sex scandal) could destroy the reputation of the second youngest President of USA easily, which could have easily been avoided where there isn't so much media coverage. This example revealed another 合理性(rationality) of the speaker's assertion that the public, who are getting used to continuous information bombard(bombing、bombarding）, are more 挑剔(picky/fastiditous) on the public figures(personalities?). This can be considered as good to democracy that forces public figures to behave properly, but as to their reputation, the 更加挑剔 of public view is disastrous.
However, the speaker overlooked the possibility of the media coverage that in fact facilitate the making of heroes. In ancient times, those eclats of individuals are so easily overlooked and remain undiscovered due to lack of transmitting methods or wittnesses. A prowess man saving drawning kids from a river could easily go unnoticed, or even if noticed, will be obliqued. But the same situation can honor a same person with a reputation of local hero for several days. Surely there is a hidden reason behind is that perhaps there are fewer people are going to "stand out" when something happens since they are now more self-absorbed that are not willing to save other people from their suffering. Another facilitation of media's role in making heroes is their revering "tech heroes", taking advantage of the public's psychology desiring "fast success". Enterpreneur such as Mark Zargerberg and Steve Jobs are carved into "milestones of the tech era" because they provided us with so many convenient and touchable products, and because of they succeeded so fast and so well.
We will also find it untenable when the speaker asserts media scrutiny will diminish the reputation of so called heroes. It is too categorical to convince me. Media scrutiny, for sure, will put those hero "naked", but this will also correct some misunderstandings. Just as examplified by Steve Jobs, who is still gaining uncomparable reputation after death, huge amount of media scrunity, after restored(HUANYUAN) him back to a human being of blood and flesh, didn't undermined his chrisma as the God of intuition and ascetic. Media scrutiny's another edge for certain kind of people, such as the stars, is obvious. The stars need media to keep themselves noticed by the public and key players in the industry, so at times even close scrutiny is welcomed.
Media scrutiny, in some countries that holds strong promulgation machine, such as China, will also help to accrue some people's reputation, where the scrutiny is, exactly speaking, panegyric. Olympic heroes are gaining excessive notice, fame and profit because of the anomolous focusing on them, facilitated by nonstop media reporting.
In sum, the statement is rational but flawed. Media could certainly put the heroes in a severe condition but the characteristic of media and information era is actually providing the society wih more role models and adding to them with more attentions from the public. We have also look into some specific countries where media is not absolutely free and see the effects there. The reputation of any who is subjucted to media scrutiny will, diminish there reputation in some cases, but will add to there reputation and provide the society with loads of new role models. 作者: 零零崢 时间: 2012-8-10 10:36:03