Money, Money, Money
While on annual vacation with my wife … we always visit the same remote valley in extreme southeast Switzerland near Italy … I have been thinking about Frank Rich’s essay in The New York Times this past Sunday on the passing of Walter Cronkite and his lamenting the demise of journalistic standards. I believe Frank, who I greatly respect, missed the main point about the crumbling news business.
I was a network reporter at CBS News at the same time Cronkite was king of the mountain. He was the most respected person in America at the time, the most credible and trusted newsman. Part of it was his own demeanor on the air but a good part of it, I believe, was because of what CBS News stood for at the time. It was dedicated to the highest journalistic standards and integrity. CBS News focused on accurate news coverage, not ratings. Those were the days before CBS News and other television news organizations were prostituted into money machines.
Starting in the early 1980s, the suits who owned and ran television networks and stations realized that TV news as modern day gold mines – the greater the audiences and the higher the ratings, the more gold they could amass. Journalistic standards, trust and integrity cannot survive in an atmosphere that has been sucked dry by greed.
So for more than 25 years, TV news has been driven by ratings, by money. Neal Shapiro, who heads NBC News, told me a couple of years ago that TV news is about three things – ratings, ratings, ratings. In other words, money, money, money. TV news became all about celebrity news readers (most not journalists) and superficial glitter and fluff.
But, in the end, we have seen that credibility eventually wins over greed and glamour. TV news is less respected, less profitable and less watched today largely because it is not believable.
Today, Jon Stewart of The Daily Show on the Comedy Central cable network is seen at the most trusted TV newsman in the United States. A recent poll by TIME shows that when compared against NBC’s Brian Williams, Katie Couric at CBS and ABC’s Charlie Gibson, Stewart prevailed with 44 percent of the vote.
My wife and I – both baby boomers – watch Stewart because his program is actual news coverage that communicates the irony and underlying paradox of today’s world. We like Stewart because he goes after the truth of an issue even if it is presented with an edge and cynicism.
In all honesty, it is accurate to say that Jon Stewart is the new Walter Cronkite.
Related posts:
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- Turning Point in New Journalism
- Jon Stewart Calls It As It Is
- TV’s One-Man-Band for News
- MSNBC Redefines TV News
Category: Featured, News Media
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- Posts about Jon Stewart as of July 31, 2009 » The Daily Parr | July 31, 2009
If “The News” is now just another form of entertainment, driven by ratings, then Stewart is king. Most of the college students I teach view him as a better alternative to Couric, Gibson & Williams.
“The News” as we boomers knew it is gone. Maybe there’s something to this non-profit or foundation-funded news model that’s been getting some attention lately?
Hi, David. Thanks for another great post. I referenced you and your blog on a posting I just did about Blogger Blackmail and how bloggers need to live up to the standards of trained journalists like you. Bravo!
What small, remote valley in Southeastern Switzerland are you visiting? I’ve been there on a few occasions.
Hi David,
I love this post. I know Charlie Rose does not fit into this category but I love his interview style. I enjoy the fact that he has very prominent world leaders as well as entertainers on the show. And I love that in most cases he gets to the bottom of the issues without yelling, berating, or offending his subjects.
Dean