Find a story

Manufacture a cause

To fit the facts or not.

Seekers of the truth

Or dishers of the dirt

Looking for a headline

a by-line

Skin the character

Expose the flaws

All is fair game

When you play

The media stomp.

Take a kernel of truth

Hold it to the heated flame

Watch it explode

Into a distorted image

Of fluff and salt

Leaving a bitter taste

Of buttered disillusionment.

Tis just part of the game

When you play

The media stomp.

Trash the man

Trash the moment

No matter what was decent

Doesn’t matter what was good

Good and decent

Are a poor exchange

For the sensational truth

Of the moment.

Sells papers,

sells time

Which is the bottom line.

When you play … The media stomp.

— Patrick Pritchard lives in Lawrence.