March 8, 2007

Newsies or Bloggers Gone Wild


What makes the news? I ask because I don't know anymore. When Anna Nicole Smith's death becomes more important than real news I know journalism has evolved into something I can't even recognize. I used to know these things.

I used to watch Walter Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley, Frank Magee. I used to believe what I was told. If they said the world was temporarily flat, why then it was temporarily flat. Now Scooter Libby says he doesn't remember what he told or was told and I cringe. Now there are internet polls about whether Libby should be pardoned. But who can pardon the media for creating an event like Scooter Libby which distracts us from the reason he couldn't remember?

Covering Scooter Libby's trial or Anna Nicole Smith's death distracts us from the war in Iraq, the increasing imperialism of the country, the loss of civil liberties, even the political betrayal by our politicians and government. And is that ultimately where journalism is headed -- into the entertainment industry? If you watch or listen to C-Span that's what they say about themselves. They are "entertainment." Brrrr. Since when is hard news like covering Congress entertainment? I must have missed that memo. I feel bad for Edward R. Murrow. He must be getting seasick from spinning in his grave.

See the quotations page for more from Murrow about reporters and reporting.....
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Edward_R._Murrow/

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