Surrender, Integrity
I don't watch much CNN anymore, or TV news in general for that matter. I figure since there's no longer a steady paycheck to provide the requisite level of incentive, there's really no need to subject myself to most of the horseshit the networks try to pass off as legitimate news these days.
The average human digestive tract can handle only so many breathless reports on the latest out-of-control teens or bombastic warnings about the threat posed by plastic water bottles before it goes all Lovecraft and starts trying to force itself out of any orifice it can find. I'd like to believe that joining the ranks of those who play 24/7 watchdog to the news industry -- the ones attempting to Quixotically stand against the tide of daily abuses -- will make some kind of difference, but I'm just not sure that's the case.
As much as I want to feel otherwise, I don't think organizations like Media Matters really, well, matter. They're fighting the good fight and bringing the power of new media to bear against a previously unchecked leviathan, sure -- but there are times when I can't help but believe they're stoically trying to empty Lake Michigan with a spoon. I realize that this kind of thinking stands in sharp contrast to some of the antagonistically insurgent, all-or-nothing statements I've made in the past. But when a discordian convergence of the magnitude that we've witnessed in the past several days occurs, it makes me just want to throw in the towel, take my Paxil and let the chemically-induced somnambulance wash over me like a warm bath.
It started last week, at the annual National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas. The event's keynote speaker was none other than actor, activist and occasionally pompous ass Tim Robbins; he took the opportunity to verbally scold America's broadcasting community while simultaneously calling upon it to remember its responsibility to the public, reinvest itself in quality product and turn away from celeb-fellating, political ass-kissing, ratings-driven nonsense. Needless to say, Robbins received a warm reception and a staunch chorus of amusingly indignant "hear hears" from the crowd, which then dispersed to head back to the bar, then to the casino, then to the panel discussion entitled "Tits and TV: How To Make a Freezing Cold Air Conditioner Work for You," then to the Cheetah lounge.
Given the amount of lip service paid to Robbins's noble but perfunctory attempt at forcing change from within the industry, you'd figure on at least a minor grace period of self-reflection and soul-searching from America's broadcasters before completely disregarding any drunken vows taken in Vegas to clean up their act. You'd of course be wrong. Sure, executives say they want to see integrity and honor restored to television and radio -- particularly when it comes to news. But here's the thing: Each person sincerely believes it's the other guy who's to blame.
Finding a news or programming manager who'll say that he or she is even partially responsible for inundating the airwaves with crap is like trying to nail down Warren Jeffs on Father's Day. These people are like addicts: They'll never admit they've got a problem. Which is why, just one week after Robbins' verbal beat-down and the obligatory head-hanging and hand-wringing it produced, two of America's most powerful television networks are still doing what they do best -- and that's whatever the hell they have to do to get ratings, regardless of how shameful an abandonment of their responsibility to respectable broadcasting.
Two nights ago, NBC's strangely successful game show Deal or No Deal was visited -- via a satellite image displayed on a huge, somewhat Orwellian monitor -- by George W. Bush. The president was on hand to lend his support to a contestant on the show -- a captain in the U.S. Army who pulled three tours of duty in Iraq and whom dingbat host Howie Mandel referred to as "the ultimate American." (As Mandel is Canadian, who knows whether he was being slightly facetious.) The surreal image of a giant George W. Bush head doing its self-deprecating "aw shucks" routine while wishing the best to a man who's spent the past few years dodging bullets and picking sand out of his ass in the name of a war Bush himself started was almost too much to take. All that was missing was a final Vaudevillian mug to the camera and a hearty "Sock it to me!"
Despite Bush's on-air joke that he's "happy to be anywhere with good ratings," however, the numbers for the most recent Deal or No Deal actually mirrored Bush's own anemic approval rating these days: The show matched its lowest Monday night numbers ever.
Incidentally, the president's support didn't do much good for the contestant either: The Iraq war vet went from banking around $140,000 to just a little over $25,000 before finally recouping some of his losses -- which makes this just the latest instance of a U.S. soldier being fucked by George Bush.
While there's technically nothing wrong with giving the president a forum on a harmless game show, NBC has spent so much time over the past several years pandering to this administration -- going along with it in the name of condescendingly appealing to the GOP's cheerleading base -- that you'd think by now the network would want to draw a very distinct line between itself and the miasma of controversy that is the Bush White House. This would be particularly important given the criticism NBC News -- and to be fair, most other news organizations -- endured from those who claim the network gave Bush and company a pass during the lead up to the Iraq war. But, once again, network executives aren't interested in legitimacy in programming or news -- they're interested in being able to promote appointment television. In their eyes, that's what Bush's appearance on Deal or No Deal was (although the audience apparently thought differently).
Likewise, NBC saw nothing untoward about handing off an entire hour of Today to first lady Laura Bush and her twin daughters yesterday morning. It may seem innocuous at first glance, but really, think about it: The wife and kids of a low-rated and staggeringly divisive president, taking the reins of a network news show -- even one as toothless as Today. It's a jaw-dropping violation of the fragile but sacrosanct Rubicon dividing the government from those whose job it is to police and maintain an adversarial relationship with it. Murrow would've quit before allowing something like that to happen on his watch.
But if you think that's bad, it's a journalistic parking ticket compared to what CNN just did: It hired former White House Press Secretary and Fox News shill Tony Snow. I've had plenty to say recently about CNN's comically inept attempts at proving to the Fox Fans that it can be trusted with their viewership; the network has basically bent over backward and twisted itself into one ethical pretzel after another trying to gain momentum against FNC's ratings juggernaut -- abandoning every principle it swore to uphold at its inception and napalming the very last vestiges of its journalistic credibility in the precious name of ad revenue.
CNN is as guilty as anyone of not holding the government accountable for its offenses over the past several years; although not the blatant mouthpiece for the White House that Fox has been, CNN in some ways abandoned its post in an even more egregious manner. No one with a brain ever expected Fox to tell the truth, not with Republican interests at stake; CNN had a responsibility to be the necessary beacon in the night -- to balance out the bullshit -- and instead, it drank the Kool-aid, hopped on the bus and did exactly what it was told to do by people like, irony of ironies, Tony Snow. In some ways, it only makes sense that the circle is now complete and the chicken hawk has come home to roost -- but it damn sure doesn't make it right.
CNN, in its relentless pursuit of Fox's audience, has just closed the White House's deal to buy the media outlet that should've been standing against it all along. It really is enough to make even the staunchest defender of journalistic independence give up once and for all. Malcolm X once famously told a crowd, "You've been hoodwinked; you've been had; you've been took; you've been led astray; you've been bamboozled." Turns out, he was only half-right -- because when it comes to today's broadcast media, you're still being hoodwinked, took, led astray and bamboozled. And I'm not sure there's a damn thing that can be done about it anymore.
Follow Chez Pazienza on Twitter: www.twitter.com/chezpazienza
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I think Mr. Snow will make a great addition to CNN. One of these days they may actually be fair and balanced.
cnn is crap. i don't watch anymore, unless maher is on king. i watch msnbc. that's all i can stomach, and that's only because of keith, rachel, and eugene (dan abrams is occasionally alright).
Me too. Although I really wish they could find someone who was not a Republican Congressman to host their morning show...
I'm down to just watching MSNBC too but the minute Scarborough or Pat Buchanan show up I change the channel. I don't mind hearing from right-wingers if they at least give the illusion of intelligence and objectivity but Scarborough is as rude and dumb as they come and what can you say about Pat Buchanan -- strident, racist bigot comes to mind. Why they don't give Rachel Maddow her own show is beyond me.
You liberals aren't capable of listening to anyone who doesn't agree with you 100%, are you?
You people are have major issues. What's it like to be filled with hate all of the time?
What's wrong Mikey? Are you too squeamish for the pit?
The day of the "pussy liberal" tag is OVER. In fact I look forward to the day a self righteous right wing "god fearing" blowhard "thinks" they have the edge.
Get used to it...it's only going to get worse. See we have realized that American doesn't respond to reason, logic and dialogue. What wins is fear, playing to YOUR insecurities and smartly going through the back door to steal. All we have to do is throw a "shiny" beacon out to distract you 2 dimensional thinkers. Things like flag pins, sketchy middle names, guns and religion. You bite we bash.
The irony is that the "hate" you speak of is exactly what you respond to. And have so predictably in the past 8 years. So yes we "get" the hate message because your kind enlightened us of it's language and have articulated it with success.
So while you label and judge...ke
Sorta like enormous frustration with conviction and a lot of rectal soreness and pain.
Chez,
You're missing the even bigger issue. The intermingling of the media and the people involved in politics. I know this issue has been spoken on elsewhere, but this is a huge prime example of the incestuous relation between media and government. Folks move back and forth between them like it's no big deal. How can the media be the government watchdog when it is becoming one with the government. Thank God for American problem solving ingenuity giving us this forum to bypass the one-time monopolies of information.
Tony Snow would not have had his press spokesman job if he was not a staunch hardcore Republican. That kind of bias might be minimized, but this guy will be no more fair than George Stephacant
Even if Snow and others really can be fair, the appearance of bias undermines CNN.
Find one great journalist who was a former politician (or henchman thereof).
Where is Will Rogers when we need him?
I can understand why Chez Pazienza has given up on CNN. I still watch CNN and Headline News from the safety of Canada. But if I didn't also read the internet, I would get the impression that the U.S. is made up almost entirely of people on the right. I thank the New York Times for pointing out the close ties between the Pentagon and the retired military types who were all over rhe U.S. news channels at the beginning of the Iraq War and after. On Headline News after Nancy "Hang Em High" Grace, right wing radio type Glenn Beck runs loose. Actually I know crime sells and I don't mind Grace that much despite the jokes about her from my lawyer friends. But if you are going to give Beck so much time, should you not also have someone from the other side.? I am thankful that Lou Dobbs, the former Republican who now fancies himself a populist of some sort, does not want to build a fence across the northern border as yet.
The echo chamber of the MSM is Orwellian. We should turn it off while we still have a choice.
I cannot stomach their inane coverage. Every time they are discussing something of substance they stop after 2 minutes with the comment "I wish we had more time".!!!!
Don't they have programming directors to decide what should be covered at length? Why don't they have more time? Are they so beholden to their advertisers or do they think all Americans have ADD?
That used to be what shows like ABC's Nightline filled the bill for. At least Nightline used to focus (mostly) on one issue each night, present something resembling facts, a bit of background, and then finish off the show with a panel discussion of some sort. Same could be said for what 60-Minutes used to be.
The only places to find these kinds of news shows any more are PBS, CSPAN, and BBC News. It is all soundbite driven drivel outside of a few specific shows.
Other than Comedy Central I haven't missed Cable TV on iota, and am now running on 5 years without Cable TV.
you say that your not sure there's a damn thing we can do..... I say we can turn the damn thing off. if ratings are what the networks listen to, then turn them off.
I used to watch The Daily Show for a laugh. Now I find it is the almost the only place to hear honest commentary.
Tell the Big Lie and keep repeating it over and over and people will believe you until the Big Lie begins to bring everything down--our image in the world, the invasion and occupation of Iraq for over 5 years, being in Afghanistan for over 7 years, robbing the present and future taxpayer dollars from the Treasury, borrowing, borrowing and dramatically increasing the National Debt--over $30,000 for every man, woman, and child in the USA, losing 3,000,000 manufacturing jobs and telling America that free trade is OK, the sub-prime mortgage fraud that still has not completely burst the Bubble, and on.If you do not know where you are at and do not know where you have been, do you know where you will be going???..
You had me at "there's really no need to subject myself to most of the horseshit the networks try to pass off as legitimate news these days."
Turn it off, let 'em go broke, no valuable national resource left in the dreck that calls itself Network News.
I too have given up on CNN. I'm going through withdrawl because I'm a political junkie. I couldn't stand MSNBC before but I've started watching KO. It's kinda like a fix as I go through my day. KO is slanted in my direction and shouldn't really pass as journalism but its all I can stomach for now. I used to listen to NPR. I might have to turn to the BBC.
I am living precisely the same experience. KO and 1/2 hour of BBC. Various newscasts and CSPAN were all I'd watch on television. Can't even manage KO sometimes.
I wonder how many others are adrift on the same dwindling iceberg?
I am also a political junkie and it has been one hell of a struggle but I am glad to say that I seem to be winning. I watched a little bit of Chris Mathews, a little of Dan Abrams and a touch of Larry King. I watched the whole of KO's and none of Faux. I went to check their ratings and Keith is doing great. Fox seems to be going downhill. I think we should have a concerted effort to make KO the number one cable news show. We can flex our muscles that way. And then we pressure MSNBC to give Rachel her own show and get rid ot the insipid wanna-be, David Gregory. And under no circumstances should the Chris Mathews wanna-be, David Shuster get a slot before Rachel. I don't particularly like the fact that KO seems to only speak to those with whom he agrees because I think people like the lunatic Buchannan needs to be challenged to his face as he makes his fantastical comments.
I like how Olberman's show focuses on hypocrisy. I'm still waiting to see if all are fair game for his criticisms.
You've never watched the Daily Show, have you??
What's it like to watch the news for self-confirmation rather than for gathering information?
Oh, it's worse than you're saying, Chez. There's Tony Snow at CNN and Krisol on the NYT editorial page, kinda doing the same thing.
But AP will have Murdoch, W. Dean Singleton , and a representative of the Hearst family, along with a couple of others, on it's board. The Hearst rep is the most progressive.
I wonder if Tony Snow has medical insurance through CNN. Wouldn't THAT make for a hell of a special?
Tony Snow goes to CNNs HR Department. "Sorry, Mr. Snow. Your coverage doesn't kick in until the first day of the month after you're hired, which means--"
"But I have cancer."
"Oh, a preexisting condition. Ahem. I'm sorry, we won't be able to give you any coverage after all. But good luck with your cancer."
Excellent.
There's something wrong when the most balanced and informative news show on cable is The Daily Show.
Guys; the Main Stream Media IS crap.
But there's a new player in town. Us. Our blogs.
5 years ago, I never heard a blog mentioned. Now, they have the better bloggers on television all the time. They're referenced more and more. I saw the Huffington Post referenced a few times after that ridiculous last debate, and yesterday during the primary. (Other blogs mentioned as well).
More and more people are tuning away from tv news, as it has lost all credibility.
Newspapers are faltering. Ad revenue going down.
After that last debacle of a debate, nearly 20,000 people took a fat crap on ABC's website. Their ratings dropped the next week.
George pooped the pants and at least asked McCain 'some' tough questions.
That was us, homies.
We're still somewhat scattered and sloppy, but improving every day.
Blogs break headline stories now.
What else do we have? Think about this....
10 years ago, a politician said or did something stupid... it would vanish into the black hole of some room in some news room. Unless the media decided to play it again, and you had a blank tape in the VCR handy, you'd never see it again.
Now with sites like YouTube, Macaca and every other flip flop hypocritical statement made by politicians is easily accessible. Deny the lie? Let's go to the videotape.
We're in the middle of a big transition. Let's not give up the fight just yet.
Peace
Unfortunately, it is too much to expect bloggers to do major investigative reporting, although the blogs are a necessary corrective to corporate media error and bias. Major investigative reporting is expensive and time-consuming and has done lately only by newspapers, an industry we are busy killing off. Maybe investigative reporting can return to its original home in magazines, but I'm not counting on it. And TV is just a black hole of stupidity and/or corporate fascist propaganda.
Probably as the blogs grow richer from ad revenue, they will hire and finance some of the top investigative reporters. This is an inevitible eventuality, if they are to grow and remain on top.
Due to an unhealthy level of interest in the current election, I've been blogging and watching cable news. It appears that CNN et al. mine the blogs for material, but I'd love to know from someone on the inside just how extensive their reliance is. How tempting it must be for an Anderson Cooper to troll the blogs for interesting ideas rather than have to think for himself.
Has real investigative reporting has been replaced with googling? And speaking of The Goog -- is it the next media? If so, it's interesting that Google News does not distinguish between opinion pieces and so-called factual reporting. This could have implications as people transition away from the talking heads of Cable News (TM).
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