Was journalism icon Walter Cronkite really worthy of our trust?

If the nostalgia for Cronkitian news values were genuine, you’d expect PBS’s soporific News Hour would be drawing huge and growing numbers of viewers. … Alas, the NewsHour’s Cronkite-lite approach has failed to attract much of an audience.
Slate columnist Jack Shafer • Discussing why the legacy of someone like Walter Cronkite – the trustworthy face of journalism for a generation – was bad for news consumers. Shafer suggests that today’s era of multiple opinions all over the place is a much better market – and that trust, especially of a information source like Cronkite is a bad yardstick to follow. He ends his piece by saying: “Be skeptical, news consumers, especially of the journalists you trust most. It will make you smarter and keep them honest.” • source

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A friend in Canada … On “Meet the Press,” top-ranking Sen. Mitch McConnell discounts the idea of health care for all Americans using an argument involving both Ford Motor Co. and a friend of a friend who died because Canada wouldn’t allow him to get a medical procedure. Hm.

A friend in Canada … On “Meet the Press,” top-ranking Sen. Mitch McConnell discounts the idea of health care for all Americans using an argument involving both Ford Motor Co. and a friend of a friend who died because Canada wouldn’t allow him to get a medical procedure. Hm.
“It was about news” CBS’ Bob Schieffer, who’s had a full weekend of comments about Walter Cronkite to make, makes yet another one on CNN about what made Cronkite stand out – he cared about the news above all else. “He loved no scoop better than HIS scoop,” Schieffer said.

A friend in Canada … On “Meet the Press,” top-ranking Sen. Mitch McConnell discounts the idea of health care for all Americans using an argument involving both Ford Motor Co. and a friend of a friend who died because Canada wouldn’t allow him to get a medical procedure. Hm.
“It was about news” CBS’ Bob Schieffer, who’s had a full weekend of comments about Walter Cronkite to make, makes yet another one on CNN about what made Cronkite stand out – he cared about the news above all else. “He loved no scoop better than HIS scoop,” Schieffer said.
From bad to worse Fox News had a friendly chat this morning with Obama budget wizard Peter Orszag, who says that the economy is worse than anyone thought – backed by unemployment figures. “You can’t go from job losses of 700,000 a month … to job growth like that,” he said.

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Dear current Supreme Court: You guys suck. The court, which &#^!ing made fleeting obscenities on TV illegal last week, will do the same for accidental nudity. Today, the court passed down a decision forcing a lower court to reconsider its opinion on the infamous Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” fiasco during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. How can you punish TV networks for things out of their control? Seriously. source

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72 years of “Guiding Light” was apparently more than enough bubbly drama for CBS source

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Meet TV.com, our new preferred way of watching the tube. Who needs a TV anymore? Now you can watch all the good stuff on a 3G network (though wi-fi is preferred. TV.com is no Hulu, but the CBS-focused competitor does have shows from CBS, the CW and Showtime. The gauntlet has been thrown, Hulu. Get on it, duders. source

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23 Jul 2009 10:12