August 20, 2001
CNN Drops Journalism Pretense; Congress in Annual August Recess
by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor
How bad is the television news situation?
Cable News Network (CNN), formerly owned by Ted Turner and now by AOL Time Warner, is doing anything except improve its journalistic credentials in an effort to correct sagging ratings.
The cable network, which really came of age during the Gulf War, is trying almost every trick in the book, and some that haven’t been in the book before.
Absent a war or other big story where CNN’s resources can be effectively invested for good coverage of a story, CNN is using gimmicks.
If you have watched their news, you have probably noticed anchors standing in front of a desk instead of behind it. Apparently, this device has two purposes: 1.) to make you think that their newsies are so busy they haven’t the time to sit down, and 2.) to prove that television talking heads also have legs like most other people.
They have even done whole programs hosted by Judy Woodruff, where she and all the reporters are seen standing up in front of the Capitol and other government buildings. Perhaps it is surprising that Woodruff is still around, because the network has either hidden or fired a bunch of all-time professionals, many of whom had pretty good credentials as reporters.
But, asiden from making the young-looking Bill Hemmer an anchor and filling some programs with mere fluff news, CNN has been shortening some segments that were formerly one hour long to a half-hour, so that more soft magazine-type shows and even yocky segments can be squeezed in that hour.
Actress Anchor
Finally, in an effort to reach a younger market audience, which isn’t generally that news oriented to begin with, CNN has dropped all pretense that news anchors are reporters rather than dramatic readers, being guided by constant communication with off-camera producers. The New York Times reported recently that Andrea Thompson, an actress best known for appearances on “NYPD Blue,” is now a CNN “Headline News” anchor. Earlier reports had been that Thompson left the dramatic show to become a television news person in New Mexico. However, apparently the New Mexico gig was nothing more than an 11-month “boot camp” for some kind of journalism experience.
The New Mexico “experience” for the actress would be equivalent to what most actors and actresses do to get familiar with a new role. Thus, Thompson will now be playing a journalist instead of a New York City detective. She’ll probably be rewarded, and even awarded, not by her news performance, but by how well her ratings do in the targeted viewer youth demographics.
Of course, television isn’t the only medium masquerading as journalism. The print media and columnists are generally faking it, too.
Biased Buzzwords
One way to tell this is with the way a story is slanted and by the buzzwords reporters, editorial writers and columnists use.
An example of this can be found in a column in The Washington Post by Robert D. Holsworth, a professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University. The column was about the current efforts of statewide Democratic Party candidates in Virginia to reach out to gunowners in an effort to wrest control of the state from the Republican Party.
Holsworth’s use of anti-gun buzzwords in his column is not so surprising, when you consider that The Post is one of the most anti-gun newspapers in the United States. What other newspaper would give a spokesman for the Violence Policy Center a column in which to trash the NRA over the National Firearms Law Seminar held during the association’s annual meetings and convention in Kansas City in May? Holsworth’s choice of words calls into question his credentials as a college professor as well as a newspaper columnist.
It is not Holsworth’s use of such phrases as “flirting with the NRA” and “playing footsie with the NRA” that reveal his lack of objectivity. More revealing is his avoidance of the term “gun control,” in favor of “gun safety” the official new Democrat term for gun-grabbing which was coined by the Clinton White House.
Journalists almost everywhere, who are committed to the Democratic Party platform, like to use the term to portray themselves as “moderates” and sell “moderation” and political “centrism” as virtues, when they are accusing Republicans of being “far right extremists.” (You’ll notice that you seldom see liberal Democrats like Sens. Charles Schumer of New York, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California referred to as “far left extremists.” For the media, there is no such thing as extremism on the left.)
But while the media crowd like to sell “moderation” as a virtue when talking about almost every public policy issue, they hate it when that moderation applies to the Democrats and the gun issue. In their mind, the only moderation in firearms policy can come when supporters of the right to keep and bear arms—whether Democrat or Republican—embrace the anti-gun extremism of Schumer, Kennedy and company.
You’ll easily find many examples of this kind of media bias in reports and commentaries having to do with and of the following:
Time for Input
You’ll be reading and hear a lot about the gun show bills between now and September, when Congress goes back to work. The key measures include S-767, introduced by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), and S-890, sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT). S-890 is viewed by some in the media as a “moderate” compromise. The truth is, there isn’t much difference between the two bills. They are both bad.
Right now, Congress is on its August holiday. The Senate and House will be back in session the day after Labor Day. In the meanwhile, many lawmakers will be back in their home states and districts, and most of them will be holding town meetings and other events where they can obtain constituent input on various issues, including gun legislation.
This provides concerned citizens with an ideal opportunity to express their views, either by scheduling a meeting with the lawmaker at a district office, or by attending one of the town meetings. You may even want to encourage your friends, relatives and co-workers to attend the meetings with you.
While Congress may officially be in summer recess, the lawmakers and their staffs will be working. Some will be on fact-finding trips. Some will be attending committee meetings or be engaged in discussions with their colleagues, but all should be more accessible to the people than when they are in Washington.