The whole point of free speech is not to make ideas exempt from criticism but to expose them to it.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

These People are NOT Journalists!

None of the people pictured above is a journalist. None. None are either fair or balanced. All of them are entertainers and nothing more. All of them have an axe to grind. All of them are PAID to be outrageous.

When you see them on television, do not take anything any of them says as the truth. The truth is an elusive beast. And journalists today are even more elusive.

I've recently had occasion to listen to people on both sides (liberal and conservative) quote the people above as if what they said was the truth. It isn't.

17 comments:

Bill Fleming said...

I think Katie is a journalist, Mike. Why don't you?

Bob Newland said...

Katie Couric is an uninformed biased twit. That's why I think she's undeserving of the term "journalist."

Bill Fleming said...

Hey, don't hold back, Bob. Tell us what you really think. (smile)

Bill Fleming said...

Is Tom Brokaw a journalist, guys? if so, he and Katie have approximately the same resume.

Michael Sanborn said...

Unlike, say Leslie Stahl or Judy Woodruff, Katie Couric is a female broadcast "talking head" who cannot contain her bias.

Both Stahl and Woodruff, have vast network reporting experience. Couric made spaghetti with Matt Lauer in the mornings.

On election night, she, like Chris Matthews, could hardly contain herself, while Stahl and Woodruff and most other responsible journalists at least made the effort to appear objective.

She is a rank amateur who has been elevated to the level of a Cronkite on the basis of her "cuteness" on TODAY. Now, she's more than "cute" but much less than a journalist. And, she's smart enough to allow "cute" to be her stock in trade, because that's really all she's got. She's Jessica Savitch with dimples.

Brokaw, until he retired, was a pretty good journalist with a lot of field experience, which Couric does not share. They have similar college educations. Their field experience is quite different.

Anonymous said...

Still pissed because a woman landed that job are we?

Bill Fleming said...

Maybe Stahl and Woodruff are Republicans, Mike.

Taunia Adams said...

I like this post and think Katie Couric's five minutes of true fame were compromised of beating the hell out of Sarah Palin. Not much of a feat, really, and wouldn't it be grand to think what Brokaw would have done?

On the other hand, why are these people the "journalists" now?

The networks are showing what sells, who sells it and when it's sold. They're being driven by the consumers.

These airheads are there because of us.

I feel violated.

caheidelberger said...

I wish I had made that picture! I just need to find someone to pay me for being outrageous. 8-D

Bill Fleming said...

Yeah it is a nice pix, huh, Cory? I forgot to tell Mike that part. Good job, mon.

Steve Sibson said...

Michael,

That is the strongest compliment you could have given that group. Journalists have reached the same low lawyers have reached. But in regard to the truth, don't a fair and balanced journalist have to include a lie for every truth they report?

Bill Fleming said...

Pretty funny Sibby. I think you just recapped the Fox News philosophy in a nutshell. Maybe all of them, actually. Good one.

Steve Sibson said...

Bill,

Yes, Fox news has had Axelrod and Gibbs on several times.

Taunia said...

Journalists are in the same gutter as accountants and traders.

Michael Sanborn said...

Okay, one by one.

I couldn't be less pissed that a woman landed a job vacated by the amazing what-is-the-frequency Dan Rather.

There are plenty of women who could do the job as well or better. Her ratings speak for themselves. She's dead last in network news, continuing a steady decline in ratings since Cronkite retired.

I doubt Stahl or Woodruff are Republicans. You weren't serious, were you Bill? The fact that you can't tell if either is liberal or conservative, is encouraging. They're supposed to be objective.

I agree Taunia that Couric really exposed Palin. What wasn't exposed was the producer (male or female) who actually did the research and fed Couric the questions. She's clueless. She has someone in her ear all the time directing the interview. Couric, like most talking heads, does what the voice in her ear tells her to do.

Steve, journalists (real ones) are supposed to objectively report the news. It's an honorable profession, when practiced by honorable people. None of the people in that picture, if they present themselves as anything but what they are (charlatans and liars), are honorable.

Taunia, a true journalist is supposed to objectively keep you, the citizen/voter informed of what your government is doing. Unfortunately that beast is pretty rare these days and the people you describe aren't journalists.

Bill Fleming said...

Mike, I am rarely ever very serious. I'm just smart enough to know that I'm too stupid to pull that off very well, you know?

Michael Sanborn said...

Anonymous,

To the contrary, besides having a colonoscopy live on TV, revealing that Palin wasn't what she appeared to be, may be Couric's lone journey into actual journalism. That was not a result of her hard-hitting journalistic interview style. It was the result of a saavy producer who told her how to do it.

I have no truck with anyone who reveals the truth about a politician who presents themselves as something other that what they are. Don't count me among the Palin supporters. I'm not.