The news today is upsetting and disappointing. President Obama, just months into his second term, is embroiled in scandal after scandal. Three of these scandals are so serious they might actually bring down his Presidency. My gut tells me President Obama is primarily guilty of gross incompetence, but these investigations must play out in there own time and their own way.
But we are talking about the most serious Presidential Crisis since Watergate. This is, in sum, considerably more serious than the President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky Affair and that one ended in an Impeachment Trial.
But my point this afternoon is that several of the traditional news media leaders are pretending like this isn't even happening. This afternoon neither National Public Radio (NPR) nor NBC/MSNBC even mention any of the scandals on their website homepages. Not even a link! And today is the day IRS official Lois Lerner took the 5th and refused to testify before Congress and Press Secretary Jay Carney faced a revolt from the White House Press Corps.
Ratings indicate viewers are abandoning MSNBC is droves. The network is a virtual ghost town. And all the major network news broadcasts are failing in the ratings, trying to regain their footing. Yet they continue to try to ignore the current Presidents troubles, I assume believing that if they don't report them, they don't exist.
Meanwhile the new media gets it right. The Drudge Report dominates on-line news and The Huffington Post works hard at genuine journalism and is willing to let the chips fall where they may. Other smaller news organizations and even bloggers, some leaning left, some right, all are on the case and gaining viewers and followers in droves.
Here's Huffington's Home Page minutes ago:
Huffington also covers the IRS scandal in depth on their front page, as well as the rest of today's news.
The problem at NBC and NPR this afternoon is that they insult their viewers and readers intelligence. People know there is a crisis and they want the latest facts. When they can't find them on NBC News or NPR, they go elsewhere.
Old fashioned journalism works. America was, quite literally, built on it. By deciding to ignore journalistic principle and simply become a "Progressive" or Democratic Party advocate, you quickly lose all credibility.
Viewers can handle the truth. And they want the truth. They demand a robust press not a babysitter.
The Wizard is praising The Huffington Post?
O.K., O.K., I know it's impossible, but it's true. I have been a harsh critic of Arianna Huffington and her cadre of Hollywood Glitteratt for years. At times her corral of bloggers smell a lot more like a pigsty, wallowing in a mud hole of hate. A quick review of today's blog posts show that nothing much has changed.
But let's give Arianna and her news staff a great deal of credit and prise for their 24 hour a day reporting of the Iranian Election and subsequent protests. While our cable news networks slept and generally ignored this extremely important story, The Huffington Post was all over it.
Using every resource available to them from bloggers, to Twitter, to international news networks, including al-Jezeera, Huffington has continuously put together one compelling story after another.
A great deal of praise and credit goes to the legions of people worldwide who contribute daily or hourly to Twitter. The Twitterati have provided much needed information and solidarity and support for the people of Iran. Twitter has been so fascinating it is literally difficult to turn off at night. It is our window tot the world. Literally.
Which brings me right back to The Huffington Post. I've "tweeted" several times in the last 72 hours that Nico Pitney deserves and should win a Pulitzer Prize. In fact, if he doesn't win, they simply need to throw the prize away, because it will be meaningless. He writing and editing of video, stories and tweets has been nothing short of masterful. Using the methodology often referred to as "live blogging" he has chronicled the unfolding story in the way television should, but hasn't.
I believe we have actually learned the weakness of television. It is a singular medium, video only. Pitney can seamlessly combine video, written word, audio and still images to a maximum effect.
We can only hope and pray for a good and safe outcome for the people of Iran. But I am certain this is the event that changed the nature of news forever.
