It is this reporter's opinion that having spent 68, soon to be 69, years as a newsman and having come from the Herbert Bayard Swope school of journalism, I have a right to voice my opinion about what is now passing as radio and TV journalism. If Mr. Swope, the recipient of the first Pulitzer Prize for journalism, were here today to witness what poses as journalism, he'd be appalled!
Personally, I take keen exception to the cackling hens, mostly blonde, all with the same studied hairdo, on cable TV. Their blank stares reading from teleprompters day after day after day, to some of the public, brings "trusted journalism."
But for the layperson, it's difficult to distinguish the anchors reading the news from the journalists out there in the field doing the actual dirty work. The viewing public can't tell the difference; they have no idea which of the reporters on air are actual journalists or just anchors reporting what they're told to report.
But how did journalism come to this? And what of the stories they report and how they report them?
The reality syndrome or what I'd call "tragi-tainment," more or less, began with the coverage of the O.J. Simpson ordeal in 1995, where day in and day out we were witness to all the gruesome details of the trial via the courtroom cameras (and antics), which ended up feeling like a long-range serial or soap opera. We became addicted and wanted to know every detail ... and then, horrified by our awareness of our shortcomings, stopped ourselves in our tracks, realizing that this was not make-believe ... it was REAL!
It was the story not of the bright, flashy running back, winner of the coveted Heisman Trophy, beloved "guy" running through airports in those Hertz commercials - but, rather, of the murder of two young, innocent victims, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
Nonetheless, the viewing public couldn't get enough.
Then came the overbaked coverage of a long string of tragic, mind-boggling news stories that captivated America for weeks, months, even years - Elian Gonzalez, JonBenet Ramsey, Chandra Levy and Congressman Condit, a host of missing children, the Amber alert cases, Elizabeth Smart, the Beltway snipers... and now the murder of Laci Peterson and her unborn son.
Then came the war on terror, the war in Afghanistan and the Iraqi war and, thus, a whole new bunch of human interest stories on which the media could focus. There was the Daniel Pearl tragedy where even his pregnant wife's demeanor was criticized. There was the story of the six POWs' rescue; and the media even salivated over the PFC Lynch abduction and her resultant amnesia - and they were there every step of the way from her capture, to her rescue, to her homecoming, interviewing every person remotely involved.
Despite the shortcomings of much of the media during the war, we can't deny the excellent coverage by embedded war correspondents during Operation Iraqi Freedom ... although we had a few lapses, as in the case of Geraldo and others who overstepped their bounds more than once.
On the homefront some stories were embarrassing, yet tragic ... the journalists covered the Wall Street scandals, political chicanery and such horrendous sellouts of our America by money-hungry, treasonous figures in the CIA and the FBI.
But mostly, these "Johnny and Susie-come-latelies" of reporting capitalize on America's short attention span, instant satisfaction and hunger for titillation and trivia.
Ironically, our preoccupation with the reality of war overwhelmed some of us to the point where we needed a break. Thus, the advent of reality TV - the Osbournes, Anna Nicole and a host of other mind-bending creations of cheaply produced "tragi-tainment" - twisted our minds further into a state of total belief-disbelief to the point where we couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't.
I believe I've seen it all when two cable television networks are competing for the services of O.J. Simpson - offering him $40,000 a day to cover the Robert Blake murder trial. Now that's really "reality TV"! I call it "trial by television," "tabloid journalism," "tabloid turmoil." How un-real!!
All of these tragic tales have been covered ad nauseam on cable television; and mainstream network news broadcasts devote much of their evening news coverage to these top stories, always hungry for ratings, ever competitive and sponsor starved.
Pundits speculate and over-articulate.
Anchors speculate and opinionate.
Analysts speculate and over/under-rate.
Hosts speculate and argue.
Hosts' guests speculate and contribute to public opinion.
... and speculation becomes accepted as accurate journalism – and REALITY.
Lest we not forget: Innocent until proven guilty - I thought that was the American way!
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The legendary George Putnam is 88 years young and a veteran of 68 years as a reporter, broadcaster and commentator ... and is still going strong. George is part of the all-star line-up of Southern California's KPLS Radio – Hot Talk AM 830.
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