As I do regularly, I am watching John Stewart and he got me to thinking about our national media yet again. I am old enough that I remember the network newscasts of Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, and Walter Cronkite who let us know what was going on in the world using experienced reporters in the field bringing facts into our living rooms every night. Serious information given in an honest way.
When CNN came along, they upped the game by focusing only on news 24 hours a day, and bringing an international view to world issues. Then came Headline News, which I particularly enjoyed because I could get all of my news, sports and weather in a half-hour any time day or not.
Those days are gone forever. Time Warner has presided over the steady decline and marginalization of CNN. They turned Headline News to HLN, which panders to the lowest most puerile stories of death of the innocent. Now CNN tries to use Twitter to get commentary, and stoop to the silliest of stories. Yeah, at times they do great reporting, and most of it is international news. Witness how they covered the protests in Tunisia, and Egypt in the spring.
MSNBC, and Fox to not provide news coverage, they just throw out commentator after pundit after talking head to repeat the networks talking points. In my opinion, they do more harm to intelligent debate then they do to provide clear information.
The average American is intelligent enough that they can be given all the facts and they would reach informed decisions on the issues. Sadly what they get is falsehoods, innuendo and distortions, making it tough to get clear information.
Fortunately the advent of the Internet, people willing to make the effort and sift through the skewed information from the left and right are able to find information to make those informed decisions. But lord have mercy it is hard.
If you are reading my blog and you think that I have a bias, well you will be right. I will never tell you that I have all the facts. I am not always right in my opinions. What you will find is that I will read any comment you post and I may choose to respond to it. I am not looking for an ongoing debate, since I long ago learned that only facts can change minds, and even that seldom succeeds. If you don't agree with me and choose to comment, I hope to learn something and will not take it personally.
Now
Lumping Fox News in with MSNBC is perhaps a mismatch. MSNBC has very low ratings while Fox News has some of the highest. Fox News does have News. They also have Editorial Opinion shows which always welcome opposing viewpoints.
ReplyDeleteFox News also has Red Eye which is highly entertaining and quite hip. It's on late, so I record it with my DVR. Fox News is the only News network that doesn't spew the same Party line that the Networks do. Which is one reason it has such high ratings as a whole. Sean Hannity can be annoying. Glen Beck was too preachy and a little nuts. Bill O'Reilly OTOH, is quite intelligent, highly educated and pretty moderate. He doesn't even believe in the death penalty. Yeah, he will get fired up and yell when a guest tries to spew nonsense aka "spin." He tells it like it is. I love John Stewart's show. It's brilliant, funny, and he pokes fun at both sides. So he is pretty balanced for a "progressive." Fox News is a Godsend.
As for Walther Cronkite, he told it like it was for the most part, never letting his own highly liberal views skew his reporting. He was a true professional. Does anyone watch the Network News anymore? I sure don't. But I watch Fox News. And Comedy Central when I need a good laugh.
P.S. I enjoy your blog and find your opinions well considered and articulate. I may not often agree, but I find them interesting and thought provoking.
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