I know the world has gotten smaller with the advent of the internet. Things happen and are known about in minutes. Whether it’s the tsunami in the far east or court documents being filed signaling trouble in a marriage, the world can know of it in minutes. That is if you know to look for it, and if you happen to be by a computer. While many have computers at home, not everyone is plugged in all the time, all day. Now you may be asking, so why should I care, and what does it have to do with entertainment?
Well just this, Ms. Katie Couric. Whether you like her or not she has made a massive impact in broadcast news. When CBS hired Ms. Couric the other networks went into a frenzy to rearrange their morning programming and news to adjust. Her pay package was huge, and everyone in the industry, in particular the women, is looking at higher numbers in the future. But is all that worth it?
Along with Ms. Couric has come a change in evening news. Hopefully it will not blossom into a trend, but I doubt it. The news of the day which takes the other networks 44 minutes to cover takes Ms. Couric and CBS 19. Instead of what is happening we get to hear opinions and interviews. That’s not news, that’s a Ms. Barbara Walter’s special. Or perhaps 60 Minutes. Whichever you wish to compare it to it’s not news. Discussing what the President of the United States has said to the world is news, the president of Wal-Mart is not.
The excuse is that with 24 hour news channels and 2 other networks covering news in a traditional manner there is no need to speak on these things. I disagree. News is not a different form of entertainment, like a comedy or series. But it is becoming so. In the 70’s and 80’s anchors of the 3 big network news programs were not beautiful people. Mr. Bill Butel comes to mind, as does Mr. Edward R. Morrow (of which the recent film Good Night and Good Luck was about); these men and others were known for their ability as journalists not entertainers. The news is about presenting the things affecting the lives of Americans and the world in a brief but exact manner, hopefully sparking debate and/or further investigation. As with the case of Mr. Morrow sometimes the impact is life-altering for the nation.
Of course few can be fairly compared to Mr. Morrow. Still there is a wide channel between Ms. Couric and traditional news. It feels to me like a furthering of the ‘dumbing down’ of the cable and broadcast television medium. Executives seem to believe that the average American either cannot comprehend the news, or that a brief summary takes too long to keep our attention. Much like the flood of reality programs that filled the networks, the presumption was that real thought was beyond the people. That insulted me, and this new format does the same.
Not that the 24 hour cable networks are much better. They scramble from one story to the next in an attempt to have the latest ‘thing’ covered, even if that means dropping coverage on an on-going story. Even worse is the sensationalism that goes on, do you recall the musical backdrop to scenes in early in the war in Iraq? [If not you may see a copy of it – unaltered – on The Jon Stewart Show] But I digress.
Executives should recall that news is not about hype or ratings. The purpose is the same as what was originally envisioned for television. Informing the masses and hopefully passing on knowledge in the process. That’s why broadcast television is free. While everything else has gone on to the lowest common denominator perhaps this one area we can maintain a slightly higher standard.
This is what I think, what do you think?
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