The Boston Herald is out with the latest poll asking who in the media the public trusts. The retiring Charles Gibson is the winner when it comes to TV News Anchors. Great timing!
And just what does "trust" mean, anyway? I'd say it means you can expect fairness...equal weight given to the significant sides of each story...that the innocence of suspects will be presumed, and the statements of powerful institutions doubted.
Remember H.L. Mencken's* definition of a journalists job:
"To afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted." *
I trust reporters more if I don't see them hanging with the comfortable after hours; if they disclose conflicts of interest to their audiences as well as their editors; if they refuse to trade truth for access.
The big newspapers and networks have been hammered so hard in the past year or two by the economy, and by what I see as unfair attacks by the so-called "new media", that it's a wonder ethical concerns like those are even discussed anymore. I mean, after all of the big bad MSM vanish in a sea of red ink, where will bloggers and broadcasters get their news?
Question: how do you determine which media and reporters to trust?
[PLUS: CBS joins with a producer of international news...and the NY Times report suggests it may be a model for other news companies.]
[*...or was it Finley Peter Dunne? See comments.]
You're spot-on in your assessment, Tim!
ReplyDeleteAnd I would add not just "fairness," but accuracy, as well.
Perhaps some folks' version of "fair" should be called even-handed.
Part of the continuing problematic approach to news has been its advertising appeal - you know... eyes on the set.
I would contend that advertising revenues for such time slot could be more appropriately charged by increasing the cost and limiting availability. Such a move is typical of enterprise, is justifiable and would be within legal constraints.
By improving the quality of a television newscast, which would in my opinion also increase its length (I favor hour-long newscasts) and limiting commercial interruption, the potential revenue available for commercials could be increased as time available decreases, as well as increasing time devoted to sufficient coverage of clarifying details and other points presently overlooked by many talking heads and News Directors.
As it stands now, when almost any local television newscast is aired, there's entirely too much mindless on-set banter, intro-outro promos & teases and fancy-schmancy expensive, time-wasting graphics. Then, by the time the talking head gets around to the story or intros the on-site stand-up, then the stand-up does their intro... roll tape, repeat 4x the edited lousy shots... it's lazy to say the least.
Wide shots, walk arounds, movement from the reporter are all things missing from most of the teevee on-site reporting that I've seen. Then, to further insult their viewing audience, they find the dumbest dumbass they can possibly find, and record their mindless, toothless, banal opinions.
Though I sincerely doubt most folks would do it, were they to cut all the fluff and unnecessary junk and give the plain news without adornment or commercial interruption, they'd be surprised how insubstantial it is.
I used to joke with folks about teevee news in this manner: "Russian tanks rolling down I-65! Details at 10!"
Nothing much has changed.
"To comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable" has long been a guideline for clergy.
ReplyDeleteIf the quote is attributed to H. L. Menken, that would truly be ironic, because he was quite the militant atheist.
The quote to which your refer, Tim, is widely - yet improperly attributed to many.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is properly attributed to American author Finley Peter Dunne.
Writing in his characteristic humorous style of Irish brogue, he wrote the line in an essay entitled "Newspaper Publicity," which is published in "Observations by Mr. Dooley."
Newspaper Publicity
by Finley Peter Dunne
"Th newspaper does ivrything f'r us. It runs th' polis foorce an' th' banks, commands th' milishy, controls th' ligislachure, baptizes th' young, marries th' foolish, comforts th' afflicted, afflicts th' comfortable, buries th' dead an' roasts thim aftherward".