Eric Alterman: Strange things are happening these past few days in the world of television news.

[babylonsister]

http://mediamatters.org/altercation/200808200004#2

Strange things are happening these past few days in the world of television news. There's this:

Just in time for the closing rush of the presidential election, MSNBC is shaking up its prime-time programming lineup, removing the long-time host -- and one-time general manager of the network -- Dan Abrams from his 9 p.m. program and replacing him with Rachel Maddow, who has emerged as a favored political commentator for the all-news cable channel.

Also this:

The correspondent Martin Savidge is leaving NBC News for public television, where he is to become the anchor of a new weeknight broadcast that will focus on international news. WLIW in New York, which is developing the program, is expected to announce his appointment on Wednesday.

"Worldfocus," with a start-up budget that station employees said is about $8 million, will attempt to fill what Mr. Savidge called a void in television news.

"When CNN was born as a concept, we all said: 'The 24-hour era of news has arrived; think of the topics we can cover,' " he said in a telephone interview late Monday. But, he said, 24 hours now "boils down to about six headlines repeated over and over and over," adding, "It seems that opportunity was squandered."

In recent days, he said, the conflict between Georgia and Russia was heavily covered by television news media in the United States, but not the economic downturn in Europe, Iraq's nearly unspent budget surplus from oil sales or the assassination of one of Syria's top generals. "There were other events happening in the world that most Americans heard nothing about," Mr. Savidge said.

It's worth saying that for all the silliness that does exist on television, there's also great stuff out there that heightens the civic discourse (Moyers, Frontline, NOW, The Daily Show, virtually all of HBO's original programming, and so on). And while I would never say a trend towards better programming is emerging, certain conventions are being challenged. As Ezra Klein writes, about Maddow's show and its announcement online by Keith Olbermann: "You know, when I was young, this world had rules. And standards. And liberals did not get TV shows. And liberals who had TV shows did not write on DailyKos. And liberals who had TV shows and wrote on Daily Kos did not get TV shows for their even more liberal guest hosts." The audience for this stuff is out clearly out there, and let's hope the bosses finally act accordingly. In the meantime, God bless TiVo ...

[Wapsie B]

1. Yes the audience is definitely out there.

We've been overlooked for far too long as the MSM races to feed at the conservative's trough.

[myrna minx]

3. We've been alienated from TV news for years, seeking little outposts

of unbiased news like NOW with Bill Moyers and Democracy Now. It's refreshing to have the likes of Olbermann and Maddow in the mainstream, calling out the BS of standard the FOX Nooz fare that is overhyped on all of the networks as standard practice. We've always been here, but we've been ignored.

[cameozalaznick]

15. It's because the right wing has spent BILLIONS to set up

a vast well-connected echo chamber. Something gets "leaked" to Drudge, then "picked up" by TPM, Politico, The Note and now, I guess, The Page (or whatever it's called). Then Faux news is clear to run with it. This in turn "encourages" Charlie Gibson, Katie Couric and the AP (which is then picked up by your local newspaper). Once they've got ahold of it, Brian Williams, MSNBC, Time and Newsweek have no choice but to climb on. Meanwhile, CNN has been airing it on a repeated loop on TWO channels.

And believe me, it's taken a lot of time and money to set all this up. And they've done it all for one very important reason:

Because they had to.

Their ideas and ideologies are so bankrupt that unceasing propaganda is the only way they ever can convince otherwise intelligent people that war is peace, pollution is clean, and more people will be bankrupted, displaced, disenfranchised and even die, while they are so busy promoting their so-called "culture of life."

I'm afraid we're swimming against a very strong tide. But when I look back at history, I realize that the pendulum always swings back. Please start swinging.

[tavalon]

22. Are you calling TPM a part of the right wing?

Are we thinking of the same TPN?

[cameozalaznick]

30. I wouldn't necessarily call them RW

They're now pretty mainstream and that's the point. The mainstreaming of these right-wing ideas and talking points.

[riverdeep]

24. Yep. They've been at this since the sixties.

The point at which their world view was most in jeopardy, was when they decided to put full steam ahead effort into propanganda. They set up think tanks, which provided the intellectual cover for framing a debate and, of course, periodicals and newpapers and television.

The 'totally independent' Bill O'Reilly rails on endlessly about George Soros (one of the few ultra-rich liberals), completely neglecting the forty plus year history of ultra-rich conservatives influencing the media, like John M. Olin.

[Mme. Defarge]

2. Intriguing and hopeful -- n/t

[madrchsod]

4. advertising dollars dictates what is seen and hear

i think people want answers not hate. well i can be optimistic can`t i?

[SharonAnn]

5. It would be wonderful to have access to some real international news.

I have felt more and more isolated these last few years and now find myself hardly ever watching network nes. And CNN is worthless these days.

Lehrer's daily hour on PBS, NOW and Bill Moyers on PBS Friday nights, sometimes Keith Olberman, and now International news? Yippee@!

[babylonsister]

6. I think it's mandatory we get some news w/o the spin. That sounds unique. nt

[CitizenPatriot]

7. well these guys want the "eyeballs"

and their tactic isn't working (hysteria and pandering). yes, they have interests which make them talking heads for WH etc, but if another party were to take over the senate and the WH, well then, they'd have to lobby THEM to get their favors. I am not surprised they are hedging their bets and at the same time, gearing up to fight to get the youngest generation, whose eyeballs have gone to the internet. They discovered those people responded to Stewart, KO, etc. It took a while, and some are still lagging sadly behind (like all monoliths they don't move fast -- too many cooks in the kitchen).

This is just GREAT news -- because if we ever get our free press back, we have a fighting chance for democracy. And Rachel will be in before the election!

Yea!

(I'm not touting the youth market; I work in media and that's all they ever talk about, ad nauseam until you want to scream that other people have discretionary income and might enjoy watching something intelligent!!! but their "polls" tell them and their advertisers that the 18-35 year old male is their target demo). Oh the fun I had when Sex in the City (the movie) had such success at the box office. Women, over 35, bringing in Box Office? Yes, you ignorant patriarchal fool. Yes.



:bounce:

[FredStembottom]

9. What an inspired insight, CP!

Yes. Of course. Networks are making kissy-faces at the probable Libruls (or at least Dems) set to take-over of D.C.

Maybe NPR can go back soon, too!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

20. Yes, we older people still have money to spend, and we hate most of

what's on TV today.

If I ever became a multimillionaire, I'd buy a local TV station and show only intelligent programming AND ADVERTISE IT HEAVILY in local media. Entertainment pundits claim that "there's no audience" and that's what killed stations like Newsworld International and Ovation and the better programming on BBC America, and yet, I never saw these stations advertised anywhere but during their own programming. (Imagine, if you can, if WalMart or Target's advertising consisted entirely of placards inside their own store.)

I's ahow the best of older television during the day and intriguing documentaries and drama, comedy, and variety series from around the world in their original form, as well as movies from the film festival circuit that never found a U.S. distributor. If British TV can show a very American program like The Sopranos in prime time, why do we get only remakes? If American movie audiences can enjoy films that are subtitled, such as Dances with Wolves and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, why not show the best of foreign language television?

I bet such a station would attract a small but loyal audience in an area like Minneapolis-St. Paul, sort of the way the classical music radio station in Portland, Oregon does. After they did a marketing survey that showed that their audience was both younger and more affluent than anyone had guessed, they had no trouble finding underwriters.

[CitizenPatriot]

25. I agree -- our selection sucks

You sound like you have similar taste so I wanted to share a resource you might not know about; Greencine -- it's a mail dvd rental place like Netflix, but they specialize in indies, documentaries, foreign films, etc.

I think there's a dim awakening in the powers that be, but I don't have much faith in it; honestly, their patriarchal attitudes are so in-bred I doubt they can imagine a world outside of themselves. Hope I'm wrong:-) Take small pleasure in their shock when they realize they totally missed the mark. Sadly. they will now run out and re-make Sex and the City with a different name and none of its charm, over and over and over again. With 12 year olds. Whatever...

[BuelahWitch]

8. Who the hell is Ezra Klein and when was he "young"?

When I was young in the '70s we had REAL news reported by people like Walter Cronkite. Not infotainment, not "fair and balanced" Conservative propaganda, it was NEWS. So I figure if Ezra Klein remembers a time when "liberals did not get TV shows," Ezra Klein must be very, very young or a fucking liar.

[babylonsister]

10. Compared to you and me, Klein is young. I remember Huntley,

Brinkley, Cronkite.

[cliffordu]

17. Yep, Me too.

[Lugnut]

18. I remember Huntley, Brinkley and Cronkite as well.

I'm looking forward to the day when "news" is more than the spin-of-the-day.

[timtom]

33. I remember Gabriel Heatter and Edward R. Murrow.

On the radio, of course. And Robert Trout.

[BuelahWitch]

21. Wiki gives his birthdate as May 9, 1984, so yeah, very young

And a Dem who worked on Howard Dean's primary campaign in 2003. Apologies to Mr. Klein and any of his fans for my kneejerk reaction to the quote above.

[bdamomma]

26. sister, that is when journalism news was journalism news

we will never see those days again, news here in America has been sanitized so long, no wonder there are so many Americans who don't know sh$t, I am excluding DU'ers of course who do research to find appropriate and accurate news.

[Bandit]

29. Well it has been established that truth is a Liberal Bias

I guess when you get real news without opinion thrown in it could be said it is Liberal TV.

[bertman]

11. This sounds like a promising development. Maybe now I'll switch my donations to PBS

instead of NPR, who are becoming more corporate by the day.

Although, I must say that NPR's saving grace is the wealth of local talent who come up with some very interesting and informative programming.

Still, the general trend in the news departments seems to be toward "centrist" meaning, corporate.

[Yavin4]

12. Until KO Came Back To MSNBC, I Blocked Out The Cable News Networks

That's how I discovered Adult Swim and The Daily Show.

[Arugula Latte]

34. We had MSNBC on our regular cable, then the bastards removed it

We lived without Keith for a few months until my husband caved. Now we pay more $$$ monthly and have a brazilian channels, all so we can get Keith. Must say, though, it's been good for my health, because included in the deal is an Exercise TV channel with many on-demand workout programs. :)

[bleever]

13. Pretty interesting

for those of us who were still watching Uncle Walter into our college years.

K&R.

[mojowork_n]

14. Go figure... TV is more "open" but print media is totally walled-off.

I live in Milwaukee. The old "Milwaukee Journal" used to be one of the nation's GREAT newspapers, but following a merger 15 or so years ago with the "Milwaukee Sentinel," those days are long gone.

Now, virtually every dissemination of an international news story comes straight through the dumb-down wire-service grinder. The Monday after the opening weekend of Georgia's attack on South Ossetia, the paper had an overview/survey of the region that talked about how large a role the 'cultivation of wine' and 'wine-drinking' played in "Georgian culture." Like some moron had to cut-and-paste from the Wiki page on the country, to fluff out the last few paragraphs of a "Weekly Reader" report.

The paper's managing editor actually drew the line this past weekend, responding to a question about the lack of in-depth news coverage of important national and world news stories:

From the editor's Ask The Journal column:

Question: "I am shocked that the front page has featured breathless updates on Brett Favre, plus stuff that belongs on the Metro page, while burying coverage of major stories like arguments against the government’s circumstantial case against Bruce Ivins (experts say he couldn’t have weaponized liquid anthrax alone). Or how about the forged letter that linked Saddam to Atta? Or how about the completely bogus trial of bin Laden’s driver? You’re petrified of being painted as a liberal paper. If the facts are too “liberal,” do you shy away?

I thought the editor's reply was extremely revealing, so I broke it down, in our local, state forum:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=186x26297

...There's one other phenomenon that's worth noting.

Even as they've been retiring, or laying-off, experienced journalists, our local paper has found another great money-saving outlet, turning over acres of column-inches to "Community Columnists" on the Op-Ed page. These are "grass roots" locals, almost all of them conservative, who are encouraged to spout off on their pet peeves, just like they do on "News/Talk" AM Radio. Stay-at-home Mom's from the 'burbs, truck drivers, salespeople, engineers, lawyers, retired folks, and some mean old men who look like they should have "Hey, you kids, get off my lawn" tatooed on their foreheads. Some of them have graduated to recurring "feature" status, with continuing guest appearances long after their original tenures were over. Are we in Wisconsin unique in that, or have other newspapers been doing the same thing? I'd really be interested in finding out.

I stopped my subscription a long time ago, but still buy individual copies of the paper for sports coverage (after 25 or so years of struggling, we finally have a top-line baseball team, with a great mix of kids and vets), and one or two columnists, but it's really gotten frustrating...

I posted another critique in the local forum, but hardly anyone had anything more to add:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=186x26256

It's been a struggle, but I think I'm finally going to have to throw in the towel and admit that Правда has fewer censorship guidelines.

[Vinnie From Indy]

16. LOL! Silly Rabbits!

I am highly amused that anyone would EVER believe that the group of folks that has spent decades to acquire almost complete control over the mainstream media in America would in any, way shape or form allow these platforms to be used to attack their dishonesty or disrupt their criminal intentions.

[AuntPatsy]

19. agree, there must be more than meets the eye here, perhaps leverage being fairly uneven enough

that they hope will not garner enough attention in that it would matter much? almost like throwing the dog a bone every now and then to keep them from barking too much..

[anonymous171]

23. I dunno. If it made them a shitload of money they might...

[warren pease]

36. I doubt they're much interested in whether their media acquisitions are profitable...

They're far more valuable to their corporate owners as propaganda tools than as profit centers. Who cares if NBC gains or loses $500K in a quarter when their role as cheerleaders for the status quo who endlessly echo and reinforce the message that the American economic system is superior to any other system on earth -- especially those EU socialist democracies who believe in pinko commie shit like improving the lives of their citizens.

For example, suckering Americans into believing the US for-profit medical system provides the best health care in the world means that this murderous scam can continue a little longer. Another few years of scamming insane amounts of money by doing as little as possible for subscribers, granting obscene compensation packages to its execs and staying right with Wall St. by creating more equity for shareholders -- the bottom-feeders who profit from abusive policies that no sane and civilized country would tolerate from any industry, much less one that claims to be in the "health care" business.

In 2006, the US medical system as a whole had gross income of around $2.2 TRILLION. The swine then skimmed between 25 and 40 percent of that as their just due for killing off as many of their rate-payers as possible. So between $550 billion and $880 billion was squandered on something other than paying their customers' medical bills, which is supposed to be what these fucking parasites do for a living.

When there's that kind of money out there just waiting to be stolen from the public, who cares if the propaganda system that got our huge population of dumb fucks to support a line of business that may well kill them if their actuaries determine that the damages they'd have to pay if they lost a wrongful death suit would be less than paying for life-saving procedures.

So fuck 'em and fuck 'em again. It's the American way. Brought to you by GE... We bring good things to life.

Of course you do, rat fucking bastards and world-champion war profiteers that you are.


wp

[old mark]

27. CNN has turned to shit.

It used to be interesting and informative, but it has become a group of good-looking idiots reading crap news over and over, and "opinions" and
"commentary" from enlightened Great Americans like Pat Buchanan.(sarcasm here)
The "American Morning" show is easily the worst morning show going, a parade of yacking jerks.

I am very happy to hear that there will be something interesting and truthful to watch - there certainly is not at this time.

mark

[mopinko]

28. keep thinking about the sale of cnn. did ted turned really just want

the money? or was he "pushed" to sell. it was so good back then, it has become so evil, and i know that ted really loved it. i just wonder.

[Supersedeas]

31. repeating headlines over and over and over (Turtle on wheels--Turtle on wheels--Turtle on wheels)

[Joe Fields]

32. caveat emptor...

[file83]

35. The whole 15 minute CNN news loop is designed to do one thing...

...make you think you are all caught up with the important headlines of the day.

CNN hates the internet.