On the other hand, how far does a news network have to go to avoid pissing off powerful political forces, whether influencers like the Koch Brothers or politicians who sit on critical Congressional subcommittees? But how does an electorate become informed if the content it’s fed is influenced either by advertising dollars, the fear of falling ratings, or by a parent company beholden to the good graces of powerful forces in (or outside) of the government, and how can we as news consumers know if and to what extent our news is being filtered or influenced by these pressures on news organizations. They shouldn’t be at all. That’s what a free press is all about.
Our nation is at a crossroads. There are big issues facing us about the way to take our country forward into this new century. We are desperately in need of a national conversation on everything from jobs to health care to climate change to education, and a whole slew of social and science issues. And cable news is in a unique position to both inform and feed the debate.
But we can’t seem to break through the shouting; we’ve lost the ability to “agree to disagree” and discuss civilly without attacking, swift boating or name-calling. Part of this is due to this increasing tendency to transform news in into contact sport.
But there is another issue, perhaps more critical, fueled by the incessant shouting matches when cable news shows substitute partisan sycophants for hardball interview. Call in two talking heads and let them have at it—all stands equal, no matter if there truly is a right and a wrong without the anchor stepping in to question the arguments of either side.
There is this seeming necessity to give the illusion of balance to every single issue, as if facts don’t matter, and right and wrong were merely opposite sides in a debate. In an important exchange during this week’s The Newsroom between news director Charlie Skinner (the great Sam Waterston) and CEO Leona, Skinner asserts, “We don’t pretend the facts are in dispute to give the illusion of fairness. Balance is irrelevant to me. It has nothing to do with truth, logic or reality.”
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Article comments
1 - Andi
So enjoyed your comments on the Newsroom. I was especially happy to see the show address the issue of media-created stories and the idea that any comment about a situation is valid even when it's ridiculous. One other moment that made me giggle was when Charlie and Will were drawing the parallel between the formation of the SDS and the roots of the Tea Party. I thought to myself, "wait they're talking about Jane Fonda's ex-husband, Tom Hayden, and Jane is on the show portraying a female version of another ex-husband, Ted Turner. Wow, what a maze!". BTW, check out Jane Fonda's blog. Such an interesting woman and I loved her posts about visiting Chicago in June.
2 - barbara barnett
Hey, why do you think I said Jane's casting was ironic. :)
I'll have to check out Jane's blog. Chicago's my hometown.
3 - kaylee
You summed up the show perfectly! It's cool that I can gossip about The Newsroom on both a superficial level, like if Maggie will choose Jim, and on a grander scale, like pointing out our flawed system of information distribution. I don't know how HBO keeps coming out with this amazing stuff! What are they putting in the water over there? LOL! I was just looking through my DVR, and it's chalk full of HBO shows, like Girls, The Wire, and Boardwalk Empire (all series you guys should also check out). I'm lucky I have a DVR box with heaps of recording space so I can stay up to date on all of them, because they have me hooked! I'm really curious to see where The Newsroom takes us from here, and the impact it may have on how we view the news today!
4 - barbara barnett
Thanks kaylee. I'm a little behind this week with Comic-Con just now finished. I will, of course, post my Newsroom commentary in the next day (hopefully today). Didn't get home from San Diego 'till late and haven't watched this week's show yet!
5 - John
You people in hollywood are all bunch of faggots yous all take in the ass