News or Fluff: What's the Difference?

With all of the issues we are confronted with, why is there such little passion?

And that is troublesome.

Have the American people lost their zest for the truth?...
Have the American people been so effectively brain-washed?
Don't we care anymore?...

There seems to be an element of all three in what we find...

This conclusion was precipitated by watching one of the most credible sources around last night, Charlie Rose.

He is perhaps one of the few interviewers who tries to keep to an even keel, yet if you analyze most of his shows, he and his guests always seem to be deferential to the president, give him the benefit of the doubt every single time, never question his motives or provide a really in depth critique of his actions...although they pretend to do so. It's actually disturbing to see how many passes the man from Texas really gets...

In that sense, and Russert falls into this category,too, even though he puts up a pretty good smoke screen along with all of the Top Guns on the evening news.

So, what's going on?

Are they being exceptionally loyal to the president at the expense of the people?

Do they think that loyalty is more important than the truth?

Or are they being prevented from being more incisive, more penetrating in their analysis?

WHile they all seem capable of asking some tough questions,that's where the hard reporting ends. Right there at the question, itself. There is no rigorous give and take, no penetrating analysis, no being put on the spot.

They don't point out the lies, the distortions, the mistruths, the ambiguities that many of their interview subjects resort to in order to appear loyal Americans committed to freedom, the Constitution and the American way.

And this is damaging to not only the truth but what we believe is fundamental to democracy. And when the interview subject quotes memorized chapter and verse from his script, nobody seriously takes issue....which leads to the conclusion that there is no such thing as serious objective reporting going on. Instead that's been replaced by feel good talk, the stuff of entertainment. The hard probing element is dispensed with.

Why?

Why shouldn't the public get the benefit of the truth from those they entrust with such responsibility? The truth is that most of us are done a disservice by the way the news is presented in this country. And if we look back at NETWORK, perhaps it's time for all of us to stick our heads 0ut the window and admit that we are mad ...."and are not going to take it anymore!"

les Aaron