When I first developed an ear for being a news junkie, it wasn't from cherished liberal sources like NPR, PBS, and the New York Times. I recognized the quality of such news sources but also felt they had a tendency to drone on and on. Not to mention that most fans of these sources were frankly snobs, looking down from their NYTimes crossword puzzles at 'Harry Potter' news organizations like CBS, NBC, and ABC Network news.
Mind you this was a long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away from Fox News and MSNBC. This was when I got most of my news from Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel, and their various primetime news magazine hours... which is to say... back when network news didn't suck.
For the young and uninitiated, Ted Koppel's NIGHTLINE set a fantastic tone across that network's news organization. Not of all of it was great, but so much of it was. I still remember a 'town hall' Ted held in the Middle East, with Israelis on one side of the room, Palestinians on the other, him in the middle on a stage and a stool, and his basic request that they speak to each... respectfully.
To give the uninitiated a second example, the Chris Christie story would have broken on ABC back in those days. With one of those hidden camera investigative situations where they'd already have the goods on Christie. Or at least caught his underlings saying out loud what has been whispered in emails.
Then Disney came along and Bubbleyum'd ABC News. Out were the hidden camera attacks on corporate America and in came the stories about pandas falling in love. Jennings soon passed away and Koppel passed on ABC entirely... or they passed on him... I guess we'll never know what exactly happened.
And that, friends, is the point of this diary. WTF happened, Mr. Koppel? And far more to the point: why have you been so goddamn silent on this issue?
To write this piece I had to do some Google Dancing to discover if Koppel has indeed been silent on this issue of the corporate raping of network news. That led me to discover this relatively recent FOX Snooze appearance, where Ted is interviewd by a smug urine stained NYC fire hydrant --
I have a problem with this. Why would Koppel even dignify this failed brand of deodorant with an interview on journalism? This would be like Wolfgang Puck granting an interview on fine dining with Jack Box.
What's wrong with sitting down with Rachel Maddow, Ted? When she desires a helping of gravitas, she relies upon visits from Frank Rich. I love me my Frank, but I'm certain Rachel would newgeek gnash her teeth to feature you once or twice or thrice a month.
Oh, let me guess. MSNBC isn't 'objective' enough? They're too biased like FOX Refuse?
I'm not buying that line, buddy. Maddow's earwax has more news integrity than anyone on Faux Views, even your former network pal Brit Hume. Ted: your absence on MSNBC tells me you'd rather support FOX -- and it's as simple as that.
Did someone pay you off, Ted? Pay you not to discuss what happened to ABC News? Or do you delight in the fact that your former network (and others like it) have decided to leave corporations alone and merely speak of big snowstorms?
Your silence on this issue is deafening, Ted.