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Not ‘getting it’, network news style

February 23, 2008

TV news producer Chez, author of popular blog Deus Ex Malcontent, fired for blogging:

As far as CNN (and to be fair, the mainstream TV press in general) believes, it still sits comfortably at the top of the food chain, unthreatened by any possibility of a major paradigm shift being brought to bear by a horde of little people with laptops and opinions. Although the big networks recognize the need to appeal to bloggers, they don’t fear them—and that means they don’t respect them. Corporate-think dictates that the mainstream television press as a monstrous multi-headed hydra is the ultimate news authority and therefore is in possession of the one and only hotline to the ghosts of Murrow and Sevareid…

Chez lets his industry have it right between the eyes – TV news has descended beyond irrelevance to deceptive side-show, a frantic competitive contest for the title of Lowest Common Denominator. 

I have seen all the TV and cable news outlets, and the depth of triviality and sensationalism therein amazes me.  I have encountered only one remaining good general-news program on TV today, and it is The News Hour, with Jim Lehrer.  (What?  No panel discussions of Anna Nicole Smith?) And it is the only TV news program not beholden to corporate shareholders. Coincidence?

Categories: News, observations
  1. February 23, 2008 at 23:14 | #1

    Coincidence?

    Nope!

    I gave up all news on TV in my early conspiratorial days. Apparently conspiracy theories can be good for something. :LOL:

    Now I listen to not enough PBS, plenty of Stewart, Colbert, and NPR.

  2. February 24, 2008 at 09:29 | #2

    It’s a race to the bottom. The newspapers are going to have to hustle to keep up.

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