Stoopid Stuff

Well, at least here in America we have a free press...

What has happened to the American press? Print, Television, Radio, Internet. This institution, that has served us so well for two hundred years, has completely collapsed. Either they pander only to their Corporate paymasters, those companies that spend millions annually on commercial airtime, and produce nothing but "soft" news, entertainment/celebrity stories, Scott and Lacy and Natallie Holoway, or they sell out all the way and choose a side, like Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard and the Washington Times. In either case, there is no incentive for the kind of work that used to be known as journalism. So the media tries to entertain and distract us while avoiding controversy, refusing to question the administration in any meaningful way, for fear of retaliation. It is a sad situation, one that allows the leadership to say the most outrageous things, tell the most blatent of lies, and stonewall any issue they please, completely unchallenged. Want to see the sorry state of American Journalism today? Just watch a White House Press Briefing. Scott McClellan is allowed to answer any question with a list of prepared talking points that don't even come close to addressing the topic of the question, and nobody says a thing. A glaring example is when he was asked if Bush had confidence in Rove, and he said he would not comment on an ongoing investigation. Huh? I'm sorry, the question in no way asked for a comment about the investigation. And that was the end of it.

I am a news junkie. Always have been. I remember, back in the '80s, when I discovered CNN. It was a revelation. On the air 24 hours a day, they had time to explore any issue in detail. Interviews with subject matter experts were long, detailed and thoughtful. There was no limit to how much time they could spend on a topic. Science, politics and international events were suddenly discussed in detail. It was great. The fall of the Marcos government and the Bombing of Libya were covered in wonderful, excruciating detail. The fall of the berlin wall, and the events leading up to it, were reported clearly and accurately. Even as late as the first Gulf War and the Yugoslavia horrors were presented in rich detail and with independence and credibility. Now, the TV news landscape is in a sorry state. The 24/7 cable news networks either present pandering "infotainment" stories or they gloss over the story without even scratching the surface. It KILLS me when they bring on a panel of 3 or more experts, ask two questions, allow the experts to answer with a single sentence, and announce "that's all the time we have". What? How do you run out of time on a 24 hour newscast? The real truth is they are terrified of controversy and they are afraid people aren't interested in anything but celebrities and the murder of the month. Even worse is Fox News, which exists only to broadcast the right wing's daily talking points to the converted. No wonder they are successful--what could be a safer advertising platform than one that is completely predictable, not to mention one whose audience demographics are known to the smallest detail?

I have a suggestion for the news gathering organizations. Lets find a way to force politicians, pundits, hacks and spokesmen to answer the question that the interviewer asks, rather than answering any question with the day's designated talking points. Wouldn't it feel nice, as a journalist, to hold some spokescritter's feet to the fire and MAKE them answer the question? The answer is as simple as it is evident. These people need the news shows more than the news shows need these people. If they were told that they would not have access to the airwaves anymore unless they answered the questions that were asked, they would have to quit dodging, stonewalling and answering all questions with the day's talking points. If the rule was that you give straight answers (not necesarilly honest answers, that's asking too much, but requiring them to give a real answer to the question that was asked) or you would be banned from that network for 90 days, very quickly they would stop treating journalists like tools to be manipulated. And journalists would develop a new sense of confidence, a sense that they aren't just a shill to sell toothpaste but a real reporter again, and perhaps the media could start rehabilitating itself. Oh sure, networks like FOX would never play along, but as other networks began to cover real stories and get real answers, partisan political hacks like FOX News would very quickly be marginalized as people came back to TV news.

None of that is very likely to happen, though. All I can say is thank goodness for blogs. There are quality people out there who aren't afraid to tell the story, and they are the ones with the credibility and therefore the traffic. The web has been the savior for people seeking the truth, not some corporate/politcal spin on the truth. Between international press, blogs and independent people on the ground in places like Baghdad and Darfur, we have the opportunity to learn the truth if we are willing to search it out.

posted by mikey @ 4:30 PM