Rock journalism is people who can’t write interviewing people who can’t talk for people who can’t read – this statement was made by Frank Zappa in 1977 during an interview with a writer for the Toronto Star Newspaper named Bruce Kirkland.
My understanding of the quote is that it makes reference to two set of people that a journalist needs in order to make a name, they are: people who can’t talk – people being interviewed such as celebrities, politicians, etc… and people who can’t read - the public. Have in mind that the person who can’t write is the media person (journalist).
This quote tells us that the journalist (people who can’t write) - tend to twist the story told by celebrities/politicians (people who can’t talk) for the public (people who can’t read) in order to make a name for themselves.
Basically what it means is that most journalists exploit both the celebrities/politicians and the public to make a name for themselves. They can’t write, because the work they get from the interview has to go through all sort of editing; by the time the final story is ready, almost all that was originally said by the celebrity or politician is out of context, hence, the celebrities or politicians can’t talk because their true words have been tampered with. The people, who end up reading the articles, can’t read – in the sense that they read but they do not think critically. They believe everything the media say.
Therefore, journalist are the ones who can’t write because they print half-truth about the celebrities or politicians (people who can’t talk) because their word has been tampered with by journalists – the journalist have the final say; for the public who can’t read, because they are not thinking critically. Bottom line, journalists have power over the person they are interviewing and the public.
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