Tom Brokaw: Evening News Today Is "A Struggle"

Forbes's Lacey Rose interviewed Tom Brokaw on the heels of his upcoming documentary King, which premieres on the History Channel this coming Sunday. But in the context of discussing a long-form documentary, Rose got to ask Brokaw his thoughts on the media today:

How do you get your news?

In a variety of ways. I'm sitting here at my computer now. When I log on in the morning, I go to MSNBC.com because that gives me kind of a fix on what we're up to. We're tied into The Washington Post too.

Then I generally go to one or two political sites like Politico, for example. And I get the [ New York] Times, the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal. I'm still a child of my generation--I like the tactile experience of sitting back with a newspaper in my hands. But I'll see something in the paper and I'll go Google it--a personality or an issue that I want to know more about. So I try to marry the small screen to the newspaper.

Do you watch the evening news?

I do when I can. I'm traveling a bit more. But I also have the advantage because I'm tied into the NBC system. I can come in and read the scripts, and they even let me weigh in from time to time if I spot something.

What purpose should the evening news serve today?

Well, it's a struggle. It was a struggle when I left 3.5 years ago. I think the Nightly News has found the right balance. People still want to know what happened that day. What we do is not so much wire service accounting but two or three of the biggest stories of the day. Maybe do them for a little longer and maybe with a little longer analysis.

And then give them what I call added value: medical news; you can't do enough about the economy these days; the environment is on a lot of people's minds. So it's that mixing and matching that is the trick to holding people and giving them reason to want to come watch it.

Read the entire interview at Forbes.com.

Comments

[auramac]

Brokaw is being too kind. He should ignore people like Joe Scarborough, who's called him "old-fashioned," as in.. "old." We need more of Tom and less of Joe.

[racom]

The real question is, 'how can they call it news', it's more like the DC Pravda. If you want to hear the 'happy talk' then the brokaws will be happy to keep you happy and ignorant. Just look at the NBC desk man now, williams. Look closely and you'll see dollar signs in his eyes. These people continue to say 'black is white' against all evidence. You'll never hear an honest evaluation of the Iraq situation from any of the MSM main desk sitter. You will hear the quotes from the embedded reporters who are quoting the military who are quoting the administration.

[gopindrag]

Really. Well. Said!

[WilliePilgrim]

When news and public affairs, instead of being a tacit acknowledgement of the media's use of the public's airwaves and its implied license to print money, as they say, there seemed to be a germ of legitimacy in the process, but when the process become focused on creating profits for the network's owners and investors is when the news became just another freakshow on the midway. While I'm not a huge fan of tax dollars supporting public TV for a number of reasons, I recognize the reality of the situation and see that as the closest we have to a news source on TV where the information is only minimally, maybe not minimally enough in my opinion, controlled by corporate interests.
So, in the mean time, the internet comes along and now we can examine issues from many perspective and if the struggle means the networks no longer can overpay and overproduce "infotainment" as it seems the news has become...w­ell, Tom, write a few more books..but don't think that we have much sympathy for the sad state in which so called broadcast journalists find themselves. Maybe your next book should actually address this travesty called "the news".

[Irons]

Hey Tom, good on ya for reading a teleprompter. LMAO

[MordechaiShiblikov]

Brokaw begins his day with a boatload of both printed and electronic lies (MSNBC, WSJ NY Post) and I presume he ends it that way as well. MCMLXXXIV.

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

It's really bullshit posturing on the part of Brokaw and his ilk to act all sad about the state of the MSM.

People like him are the reason the news is complete garbage. They've spent most of their lives kissing GOP ass, trashing Democrats, avoiding real issues, and reporting on tabloid news as if it were the most important story of our lives.

[blueshift]

evening news is a 'joke.'

any news in the MSM is a joke. what's it mean when news satire is better than the actual news programs they parody? - Jon Stewart, Colbert Report, Jay Leno.

[blueshift]

evening news is a 'joke.'

any news in the MSM is a joke.

[nevergiveup]

"a struggle"? Is that a new word for abomination?

[ruscle]

Maybe if the NEWS focused on just reporting the story factually.­.. instead of trying to slant or suppress certain facts... they would find their job easier.

[owiseone]

Did he forget the war? No mention of that in the "three big stories" of today.
The best news of the day is on BBC.
Our major networks have gone the way of American Idol and those Reality Based shows, only the news is hardly reality-based anymore. We're so dumbed down that we've let them sell us a never ending war and so gently sold us the story of Enron that nobody sounded an alarm.

[NotMyPrez]

The BBC is better because they actually focus on news, and not pregnant "men" on Oprah.

[indypete]

And the Beeb doesn't have to pander to sponsors who will pull out their money if anything counter to their political opinion is brought up. When I see ads for Boeing or Lockheed Martin on during the news, I know I'm getting a bent story.

[Kendo]

You're right. The BBC does have the most comprehensive news of the day. And it is world news, not simply self-absorbed American baby boomer nonsense. At least you get a full 30 minutes of news with the BBC and not 22 minutes of mainstream fluff with 8 minutes of pharmaceutical drug pushing.

ken

[Maifmart]

Sometimes they let him change a word or two in his script, he starts the day by reading the talking points on MSNBC. WTF a day in the life of a coporate media talking head.

[dhfsfc]

I'll never forget, nor forgive, Brokaw sucking up to Bush as if he was the Pope, before the 2000 election. And speaking to Gore, the sitting V.P., as if he had some nerve running for President. No wonder these people are irrelevant. They did it to themselves!

[NotMyPrez]

How speech-impedimented Brokaw ever stayed on the air is a mystery.
Oh maybe it was the Neocon c*ck in his mouth all the time.

[eugenegerard]

I remember when news was news. This sham being fed to America is a sin. Even the newspapers have caved. I absolutely despise what unbridled corporatism has done to freedom , creativity and the soul of this country. BREAK UP THE MONOPOLIES> ENFORCE THE SHERMAN ACT>REGULATE BIG BUSINESS. We need to go back and undo the damage that Ronald Reagan started and the last three presidents have carried on.
Believe it or not we can have a good future. We can change this "greed gone wild" mess. Throw the corporatists in the Repug and Democratic Partys out on their asses.

[robotfog]

Even worse than what they do is the reason they use for doing it - ratings. They say they need as many people to watch as possible in order to stay competitive. I think that's ignorant. I'll bet a company that is interested in reporting factual news and cutting out the nonsensical Britney gibberish would support itself quite well because people with adult minds are dying for it.

[HippieChick]

Your analysis is spot on. I remember when news was news, and the American people could trust its media. Honor and integrity was the badge worn by reporters who took pride in shining a light on the truth hidden in the dark agendas of politics and the corporate world. The corporate-owned media is now complicit in hiding the information necessary for the citizens of America to make informed opinions. The "effects" of this "cause" is the debacle of our nation's interference in the middle east, the credit crisis that has destroyed the lives of millions, unemployment that devastates entire communities, loss of the future stability of millions of retired or wanna-be retired workers, no healthcare for millions of our fellow citizens, the stability of our nation's weakened protection systems is now based upon quicksand, the challenges of our declining infrastructure increasingly threatens our cities, the utter devastation of one of the most prominent historical cities in our nation and the lasting impact upon its citizens, the deteriorating quality of educational opportunities for our children, our once strong system of governmental checks and balances completely eliminated, gas prices that cripple our nations mobility and stability, elections we can no longer trust because of voter suppression and electronic voting machines, and our precious Constitution is now considered "a piece of paper" to the "elected" leader of our nation. Without the freedom of the press so valued by our founding fathers, our nation has become a cesspool of corruption and graft.

[indypete]

Eugene, you damn commie,I'm shocked to the core that an American would say such things! Wash your mouth with soap and bow to the statue of St. Ronald! (Note to right-wing­-sarcasm-i­mpaired observers.­.. Yeah, I'm kidding).

[eugenegerard]

You scared me for a second. I thought not another one of those.

[rbspickles]

You mean to say that I can get paid millions of dollars just to read a couple of newspapers and repeat what I just read? Heck, where do I sign up?

And they wonder why we don't tune in to them anymore for information. It's more like regurgitation.