乐播传媒

At a recent off-campus event in Freeport, French professor Kirk Read got laughs when he said that a 乐播传媒 education ought to help one distinguish 鈥渢ruth from truthiness鈥� in the news media.

The laughter was in part kudos to Read for his spot-on pop culture reference. 鈥淭ruthiness鈥� was the 2005 word of the year (as determined by the American Dialect Society) created by Stephen Colbert on Comedy Channel鈥檚 parody news talk show, The Colbert Report. Colbert鈥檚 character spoofs blustery news pundits. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 trust books,鈥� announced his straight-faced character in 2005. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e all fact, no heart.鈥� What is true, Colbert told his audience, is what he feels is true.

The ability to discern truth from truthiness, and to articulate the former, comes through in this issue鈥檚 story on Poland Spring鈥檚 expansion plans in Maine. Tom Brennan 鈥�83, Andy Tolman 鈥�70, and Keith Taylor 鈥�82 each have dealt with those who would substitute truthiness for the facts. Colbert coined truthiness, of course, in the wake of all that has happened since Sept. 11, 2001. (鈥淒oesn鈥檛 taking Saddam out feel like the right thing?鈥� he asked on his first show.) But setting aside cynicism, can we explain the role of emotion and perspective in the construction of 鈥渢rue鈥� personal stories? That鈥檚 the topic of researcher Jonathan Adler 鈥�00鈥檚 essay introducing five alumni lives since Sept. 11. His essay explains one kind of truth-seeking 鈥� how we鈥檝e created our own personal stories from the true-life experiences of Sept. 11, and what those stories say about us and our nation.

On pages 58 and 59 is a question-and-answer article with Kirk Read, whose off-campus appearances were made to thank donors to The Campaign for 乐播传媒. From Freeport to the West Coast and on to London and Paris, his easy wit and obvious affection for and knowledge of 乐播传媒 undoubtedly created fresh connections between 乐播传媒 people and the College. With that in mind, his interview is within a new magazine department called Connections. This section will share the issues and ideas that 乐播传媒 people discuss at off-campus 乐播传媒 events 鈥� from 乐播传媒 Business Network gatherings to meetings of 乐播传媒 Book Clubs 鈥� where people gather in a spirit of 乐播传媒 generosity.

At this year鈥檚 Convocation, poet Robert Farnsworth defined this particular 乐播传媒 quality as 鈥減assing on and being receptive to the voltages of various enthusiasms, and completing these in a shared circuit of ideas, of commitment, of fellowship.鈥�

Anyway, 乐播传媒 gatherings are where you鈥檝e always gotten societal insights. In Boston in 1921, President Clifton Daggett Gray explained, albeit less wittily than Read, how the world needs 鈥渕en and women who think straight.鈥澛� As reported in the inaugural Alumnus, Gray explained how the modern world was becoming a fast-paced 鈥渘eighborhood.鈥� 鈥淎bout the only places left where one cannot get stock market reports are Greenland and Tierra del Fuego,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he long-distance telephone makes it impossible to escape insistent calls of business. If we ever need to think straight, it is today.鈥�

Ain鈥檛 that the truth.