Shoddy! Tawdry!

“Shoddy! Tawdry! …” is how Frank Rich began his column in yesterday’s New York Times about the absolutely disgraceful behavior of ABC anchorman Charles Gibson and his co-moderator, George Stephanopoulos, during the Obama-Clinton debate last week. It was every bit that and worse, as dozens of columnists and observers have written.

But I believe one important point has not been addressed — neither Gibson nor Stephanopoulos is a serious journalist. Gibson is a news reader … has been for years; Stephanopoulos was a political consultant for Bill Clinton then turned TV commentator. These guys are more aligned with today’s TV News slant toward entertainment and fluff than real journalism. While neither is to ever be taken seriously, their combined performance last week was pathetic by any standard.

By the way … among all the hostile coverage of the less than dynamic duo, I enjoyed this story from the Los Angeles Times in which the producer of ABC “World News,” Jon Banner, calls his program a “performance.” Send in the clowns …