Once upon a time.....
For many, this will be ancient history. For others, it will seem more like a fairy tale. As with everything, it all depends on your age and your perspective.
What today passes for cable news, a term used for those services delivered via something other than standard "over the air" transmissions, (which is now the realm of communication dinosaurs), has ceased to be about delivering the news and much more about trading in video and audio clickbait. To that aim, it has become an information entity that should no longer be trusted, and certainly not be the final stop for getting what should be real news.
While he wasn't the main cause of it, we can certainly thank Donald Trump for playing his part in the degradation of what was once a proud profession.
If you seek to find a nexus point where it all kicked into high gear, then wander back to the infamous "slow speed Bronco chase" of Al Cowlings and OJ Simpson. The breathless manner with which everything short of a human bowel movement was ballyhooed and reported with the utmost in human urgency is the precipice that journalism was tossed over in exchange for infotainment, ratings, sensationalism and, of course, commercial profit.
The echos of that landmark broadcast moment reverberate today with the head-shakingly insipid, often useless, and more often than not comical manner with which CNN, FOX, MSNBC, CBS News 24/7, ABC News Live and their brethren, both actual and imagined, are covering Trump's first felony courtroom proceeding.
No one more properly eviscerated the various outlets and channels than did Jon Stewart on a recent episode of "The Daily Show". While I understand most people either don't have or won't take the time to watch something more than 20 seconds in duration, I can only urge you to kick back and take in this entire segment for a well-rounded example of where we're going.
It's worth every second.
A master class in media excess.
Where once these (sometimes) staid channels and outlets were dedicated to delivering real and honest NEWS, they are now little more than repositories of clickbait, knee-jerk, pablum fed nonsense designed to do little more than fill time.
Where once there was real reporting, there is now the continued reliance on the "yellow tape" recounting. Where once news outlets sought to dig for information, they now switch to someone in the field or on a green screen to babble about with the same useless material that serves as little more than regurgitation. Where once there was true expert analysis designed to make people better understand the traps and nuances of a story, there is now effusive and slanted opinion to go along with non-events made to seem important only because there is a live shot or video.
The interview with the courtroom sketch artist from "The Daily Show" clip will go down in current news history as the single worst "on set" idea since J. Fred Muggs was allowed to spit on guests at the desk. Though to be fair, Fred was certainly more personable and more entertaining.
It may not have started with that white Bronco chase, but that is exactly what you're being fed here so many years later. Filler. Easy video. Useless re-racks on the same useless pictures shown days before and with not a single shred of actual news bearing on the story itself.
Perhaps this could turn into something positive, if only it drove people back to the days of reading those stone tablet replicas we called "newspapers". There was limited space, and the need to captivate people with facts and insight, instead of on-camera bubbleheads and preening idiocy. Of course, I know that is merely a pipe dream, as people want their news in the form of a social media cartoon.
One can only hope the general public tires of these clown shows and seeks out shorter form news programs that don't have all day and need to be concise and to the point. It's the reason why I have taught, told and spoken for many years now about the finer points of watching or listening to actual newscasts the likes of which CBS, NBC, ABC and the BBC deliver nightly. We'll have to dive into that conversation another time.
Don't just take the time to learn more about "where" your news is coming from. Spend the time to learn "how" your news is being delivered, and understand the clickbait behind it.
How fascinating that shows such as "The Daily Show" and "Last Week Tonight" on HBO carry more actual news content than anything cable news delivers. They may seemingly do so for laughs, but there's a lot more laughter to be had watching as these cable news hosts ramble on with the main target of filling air time instead of filling minds with actual news. Ed Berliner takes the location and virtual stage to educate the masses on how to ingest and understand what the news media has become with his program, "Media Intelligence".
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