Like Ted Koppel, I miss "objective" journalism in television news. The fact that it was never truly objective is well understood. Competing stories and time restraints dictated what was presented. Koppel's lament that Fox and MSNBC today present opinions, dressed as news, is spot on. The media today lacks the goal of objectivity, and the integrity to admit it. Perhaps worse in this regard than television, is the digital mediums. The Huffingtonpost and MSNBC are joined at the hip. Last night, Keith Olbermann questioned what good was the "objective" media if they failed to take Bush to task for invading Iraq. He just doesn't get it.
Perhaps MM you are old enough to remember that the beginning of the end of the Vietnam War, according to many historians, was when Walter Cronkite ceased trying to be objective and stated the war was a mistake.
ReplyDeletewalter cronkite understood that it was his job to report the news, not try to influence public opinion. he may have occasionally offered his opinion in a different format, but didn't purport it as news.
ReplyDeleteGary, using Keith Olbermann and Walter Cronkite together in any sentence other than "Olbermann couldn't carry Cronkite's jockstrap" just doesn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteOlbermann was a dreadful doofus when he was at the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.
ReplyDeleteThe more things change, the more they stay the same sometimes.
Yahoo for "trained, professional journalists" that are, according to a certain local college professor, indispensable!
Or - are trained, professional journalists just a bunch of glorified Yahoos? (with an agenda)
I watched for a half hour Keith (last 15 min) and Rachel (first 15 min) last night. They offer select facts to buck up their arguments and avoid other facts that may weaken their arguments.
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Fox's Hannity on the other hand will present the other side, sometimes glossing over facts that may weaken his arguments.
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Probably the best source for news is CSpan.
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It is up to the American public to put the puzzle together so they can see the picture.
MM...for an otherwise seeminly astute political observer I can't believe you never saw the obvious liberalness of Conkrite. He was a student and admirer of Ed Morrow whose blind belief in the Progressivism of first half of the 20th century led him to villify Sen. Joe McCarthy for his 'red baiting'. Of course, history, particularly the release of the Venona Project files proved Tail Gunner Joe was absolutely right about Commies in our government.
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