I've always been a news junkie. And by always I mean I read the newspaper back in elementary school. Not something to boast about since it probably said more about how odd I was than necessarily how smart I was.
But one thing I do recall as far back as I can remember is the constant media self-criticism over it's own excesses. Once upon a time the news people would complain about how the time devoted to issues has shrunk. They'd mention how the time given to a political issue has shrunk from say three minutes to one minute. They'd plead guilty to being too poll driven. Or personality driven. Or complain about 30 second sounds bites. (If only soundbites ever could go back to being that "long" again!)
Sure they'd repeat the same error over and over again. But something has changed. 2008 is the year shame died.
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