Usually there are no news posts here on Sundays or Saturdays. However, I couldn't pass up the story below on the new fair and balanced Barnes and Nobles. A picture is worth blah, blah, blah...
The following is from Trembling Indignation.
Fair and Balanced Barnes and Noble
Last night I was at Barnes and Noble with my family. Specifically the Barnes and Noble in Appleton, Wisconsin.
As you may have guessed, in addition to novels and discounted books, my favorite sections are the social sciences and current affairs. However, much to my chagrin I was met in the “current affairs” section by this:
Yes, you are seeing that right. The authors include:
Bill O’Reilly
Karl Rove
Michael Steele
Glenn Beck
and, off to the side, Sean Hannity.
Then, to top it off, some of the other books are written about how liberals are destroying themselves (John Edwards).
To be clear, I have no problem with these books being featured at Barnes and Noble. My problem lies in the fact that they are not balanced with an equal number of well-known progressive authors. How blatant can the bias be?
(As an aside, having worked at a bookstore I know that the books that face outwards are the ones they are featuring – so this section is a featured section. It is intentional.)
I was angry, and so were my parents, so I talked to an employee. He was largely disinterested, and I can’t blame him given his minimum wage and likely disattachment to his job. So, when I got home I wrote a letter to the customer service desk at the corporate headquarters. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Sigh.
As you may have guessed, in addition to novels and discounted books, my favorite sections are the social sciences and current affairs. However, much to my chagrin I was met in the “current affairs” section by this:
Yes, you are seeing that right. The authors include:
Bill O’Reilly
Karl Rove
Michael Steele
Glenn Beck
and, off to the side, Sean Hannity.
Then, to top it off, some of the other books are written about how liberals are destroying themselves (John Edwards).
To be clear, I have no problem with these books being featured at Barnes and Noble. My problem lies in the fact that they are not balanced with an equal number of well-known progressive authors. How blatant can the bias be?
(As an aside, having worked at a bookstore I know that the books that face outwards are the ones they are featuring – so this section is a featured section. It is intentional.)
I was angry, and so were my parents, so I talked to an employee. He was largely disinterested, and I can’t blame him given his minimum wage and likely disattachment to his job. So, when I got home I wrote a letter to the customer service desk at the corporate headquarters. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Sigh.
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