Keith Olbermann Of MSNBC And Bill O'Reilly And Others Of Fox News Are NOT Journalists Like Peter Jennings Or Ted Koppel.
Olbermann and his Fox foils aren't about the news
By Ken Robertson, Herald Executive Editor
I found it disconcerting the past couple weeks as I watched the unfolding circus of Keith Olbermann’s latest transgressions against some long-held journalistic values.
I realize many may believe the very phrase “journalistic values” is an oxymoron.
And right-wing purveyors of opinion-first blather no doubt have enjoyed the spectacle of the left-wingman of MSNBC being strafed by the mainstream media and suspended for two days for donating money to liberal candidates.
But what’s important here is not that Olbermann is — to borrow a phrase from longtime TV journalist Ted Koppel — “the most opinionated among MSNBC’s left-leaning, Fox-baiting, money-generating hosts.”
It’s that too many people think Olbermann’s prose — or that of Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity or Bill O’Reilly of the Fox three-ring circus — has anything to do with real news.
At best, these poseurs are carrion feeders who feast off tidbits from the carcass of the news, then belch out batches of baloney most remarkable for their adherents’ willingness to swallow its perceived “truthiness.”
MSNBC pretty much admitted that when it quickly reinstated Olbermann. He and his Fox equivalents deal only with whatever facts suit them, not with truth.
What this sorry mess does is taint the folks who still are trying to report real news. And it undermines a worthy tradition built largely in the latter half of the 20th century in newsrooms where reporters and editors strived to be even-handed in their reporting and writing.
As part of that, many — probably most — news organizations adopted policies that forbid political activity of any kind beyond voting by their newsroom employees.
The Herald’s ethics policy, for example, says: “News department personnel should refrain from political activity or advocacy of any kind, including making campaign contributions.”
As the Herald’s editor, I’ve had to tell employees they cannot post yard signs for political candidates.
Frankly, the political side of our ethics policy is but a minor part of the standards we set for newsroom employees. But it’s an important element in maintaining a sense of trust in our reporting of politics and the activities of government.
When gasbags on the right or the left assume the pose that they are presenting real news, it does us all a disservice.
If Fox or MSNBC had any real sense of integrity, they would do well to dispense with any pretense that Olbermann, O’Reilly, Hannity, etc., have anything to do with the news.
They are, plain and simple, entertainers whose names generate revenue and legions of followers. Their work generates little real news and information, and often is designed more to pander to their audience’s fears and prejudices.
Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/11/17/1256772/olbermann-and-his-fox-foils-arent.html#ixzz15qPovmFT
By Ken Robertson, Herald Executive Editor
I found it disconcerting the past couple weeks as I watched the unfolding circus of Keith Olbermann’s latest transgressions against some long-held journalistic values.
I realize many may believe the very phrase “journalistic values” is an oxymoron.
And right-wing purveyors of opinion-first blather no doubt have enjoyed the spectacle of the left-wingman of MSNBC being strafed by the mainstream media and suspended for two days for donating money to liberal candidates.
But what’s important here is not that Olbermann is — to borrow a phrase from longtime TV journalist Ted Koppel — “the most opinionated among MSNBC’s left-leaning, Fox-baiting, money-generating hosts.”
It’s that too many people think Olbermann’s prose — or that of Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity or Bill O’Reilly of the Fox three-ring circus — has anything to do with real news.
At best, these poseurs are carrion feeders who feast off tidbits from the carcass of the news, then belch out batches of baloney most remarkable for their adherents’ willingness to swallow its perceived “truthiness.”
MSNBC pretty much admitted that when it quickly reinstated Olbermann. He and his Fox equivalents deal only with whatever facts suit them, not with truth.
What this sorry mess does is taint the folks who still are trying to report real news. And it undermines a worthy tradition built largely in the latter half of the 20th century in newsrooms where reporters and editors strived to be even-handed in their reporting and writing.
As part of that, many — probably most — news organizations adopted policies that forbid political activity of any kind beyond voting by their newsroom employees.
The Herald’s ethics policy, for example, says: “News department personnel should refrain from political activity or advocacy of any kind, including making campaign contributions.”
As the Herald’s editor, I’ve had to tell employees they cannot post yard signs for political candidates.
Frankly, the political side of our ethics policy is but a minor part of the standards we set for newsroom employees. But it’s an important element in maintaining a sense of trust in our reporting of politics and the activities of government.
When gasbags on the right or the left assume the pose that they are presenting real news, it does us all a disservice.
If Fox or MSNBC had any real sense of integrity, they would do well to dispense with any pretense that Olbermann, O’Reilly, Hannity, etc., have anything to do with the news.
They are, plain and simple, entertainers whose names generate revenue and legions of followers. Their work generates little real news and information, and often is designed more to pander to their audience’s fears and prejudices.
Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/11/17/1256772/olbermann-and-his-fox-foils-arent.html#ixzz15qPovmFT
Labels: Keeping them honest, News reporting
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 3:23 PM
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