AOL News invited Dan Rather to respond to the controversy following his remarks about the state of television news.
Let me put one thing to rest right away: CBS Corp. Chief Executive Les Moonves' charge that my "dumbing it down, tarting it up" comments about the CBS Evening News were "sexist," presumably because of my use of the "T word" in describing a newscast anchored by a woman. Nice try at misdirection from the issue at hand -- the parlous state of news, particularly television news -- but no cigar; I've used that phrase dozens of times in the past (such as documented here, here, and here) to describe the disturbing trend in news toward shallow, celebrity-obsessed coverage, in contexts where it clearly had nothing to do with gender.
Now that we've settled that, how about we have a real conversation in this country about the real issue: Our nation and our world face enormous challenges, many being of the life-or-death variety. Nuclear proliferation. Climate change. The health-care crisis. The growing gap between rich and poor. The ways that the war on terrorism has changed how we understand and interpret our Constitution and our bedrock values as a free and democratic society. There are debates about these and other pressing issues before us but, for the most part, they have been limited to our political elites, and these folks tend to already have a dog in the fight.
In fewer than nine months, the Republican and Democratic presidential nominations will likely be locked up. In less than a year-and-a-half, we will be going to the polls to choose a new president. Yet the rank-and-file American voter is not being drawn into the central debates of our time. And the information he or she gets about the presidential campaign is largely limited to the political horse race.
Why? One of the big reasons is the absurdly disproportionate coverage that news organizations give to celebrity "news" and other tales of scandal and prurience. They hope for a short-term ratings and demographics fix, while the long-term, important problems -- the ones that actually have a bearing on our lives -- get pushed out of broadcasts and the ever-shrinking "news hole" in print publications.
We can talk about that, we can debate whether this is good for our country and what we should do about it -- or we can turn this into another celebrity story involving two anchors and a network CEO.
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 29)
16. Dan is spot-on. The deterioration of the news is running parallel to the despairing overall dumbing down of our culture. Sadly, I find myself part of this. Dinner discussion last Saturday with my professional friends centered around the moral right/wrong of Paris Hilton' incarceration. I watched Couric for awhile, I respect the woman and believe she is talented, however, the puppetmasters at CBS have no fundamental values they stand for so she is simply whipped around trying to please the viewers based on the experiment du-jour. The problem is, the viewers sense the desperation and are never satisfied. The only step down from where we are is "Reality News"...where we get to see the whole drama unfold real time with the management and the anchors. Meanwhile we wonder why we are losing our stature on the World stage.
Michael at 6:31PM on Jun 13th 2007
17. I agree. Hard to beleive that with the issues facing us today that the most important news seems to be Paris Hilton or some other spoiled celebrity brat thats checking into rehab.
mja at 6:29PM on Jun 13th 2007
18. Couric, is doing ok she may not be the best but at least she report accurate news unlike Rather. hi comment make me want to watch her newscast
Edward Jordan at 6:35PM on Jun 13th 2007
19. Dan is spot-on. The deterioration of the news is running parallel to
the despairing overall dumbing down of our culture. Sadly, I find
myself part of this. Dinner discussion last Saturday with my
professional friends centered around the moral right/wrong of Paris
Hilton' incarceration. I watched Couric for awhile, I respect the
woman and believe she is talented, however, the puppetmasters at CBS
have no fundamental values they stand for so she is simply whipped
around trying to please the viewers based on the experiment du-jour.
The problem is, the viewers sense the desperation and are never
satisfied. The only step down from where we are is "Reality
News"...where we get to see the whole drama unfold real time with the
management and the anchors. Meanwhile we wonder why we are losing our
stature on the World stage.
mike at 6:31PM on Jun 13th 2007
20. Couric is not a journalist or newswoman. She has no depth or understanding of the issues and no one can take her seriously. I stoppped watching CBS when they hired her. She can't even stop that smirk of hers when she is trying to talk about something of importance. I cannot tolerate to watch her - 20 years ago it worked because she was young and cute - she is neither anymore and is terribly misplaced. She is a lightweight and CBS desperately needs a person of substance in the role.
Shelly Barrett at 6:32PM on Jun 13th 2007
21. For the last few years I watch FOX News for the unbiased report of national and international news. ABC, CBS, and especially NBC news reporting has become both slanted to the left, and I no longer trust them to give an honest report of events. FOX is not without sin, they spend too much time on stories containing trash and sensantionalism. The days of Huntley-Brinkley and old Walter K are gone forever.
Frank Leonard at 6:33PM on Jun 13th 2007
22. I really liked Katie on the TODAY (morning) show; she was funny, witty, perky and a nice type of personality that went perfect with a cup of morning jo. I watched her for only a couple of minutes on the evening show. I neither liked nor disliked her in that evening, more serious venue. I simply like her best on the morning show; that just seems to be the place she is at her best and where she really shines.
oarobinson at 6:34PM on Jun 13th 2007
23. to ascertain the quality of broadcast news on the network channels, just do the math: from Murrow/Cronkite, to Jennings/Brokaw, to Couric/Williams/Gibson. Those originals were real gritty journalists. Even Jennings and Brokaw were great. The current set is made up of talk show hosts! Hellooooooooooo! Is anyone listening out there!? And what are our options to network news: CNN and FOX?! Blech!!! I go online or to the newspapers for my news(call me oldfashioned)than suffer the constant repetitive celebrity blather I have to watch on the tube.
c.danz at 6:40PM on Jun 13th 2007
24. I never liked Rather and still don't. Glad he is off TV
mnfast at 10:49AM on Jun 14th 2007
25. America is foundering in a sinkwhole. There is a dearth of press/Tv reporters who are able to talk with knmowledge about the problems of today. We are forced fed the banal and must wait for "Sweeps" to dictate what is important - while not to all of us - certainly to those who wish to fill their coffers. The American publis is not composed total fools, idiots and miscreants. They need to be given unblemished facts, by reports who are not in a cutsey mode or a happy-go-lucky Frat/Sorority discussion of the news and events. Were it not for some of the Cable news reporters, and newspapers which are not interested in promoting their own conservative or liberal views,but rather report the whole unvarnished truth,then we might be better informed and prepared citizens. I must ask the question "Where have the Icons gone? Those who once knew fact from fiction, common sense from hype.....are there any in training?
Albert Clark at 6:38PM on Jun 13th 2007
26. Agree with Dan on the majority of his comments. Sadly, tv news broadcasts don't see much of me anymore because of this 'dumbing down.' I feel sorely out of touch with the world, but when I try and tune in, I'm turned off. My leisure media time now goes mostly to business/trade reading, PBS, Nova, Discovery.
Christel at 6:55PM on Jun 13th 2007
27. I'll listen to Charlie Gibson any day. He tells it like it is.
P.J. Sattler at 6:41PM on Jun 13th 2007
28. First of all, I would have to say that I wasn't a fan of Dan Rather when he was the anchor of the CBS Evening news. However, I think his recent comments about K Couric and the state of CBS Evening News is SPOT ON! CBS is trying to put a pretty face on HARD news. That just doesn't work. Real Journalism is going to hell in a hand basket, when the likes of Paris Hilton going to jail, makes EVERY cable news program with live coverage. Is that news? How about the soldiers dying in Iraq and Afganistan? You decide which is news and which one is more deserving coverage. I just can't take K Couric seriously. She is a great interviewer but can't deliver hard news even if it had handles on it. Rick Kaplan is a great producer of news broadcasts but I am afraid he bit off more than he can chew with the CBS Evening News. Ms Couric would be much better served if she was a co-anchor on the CBS morning show. That is where her true talents are and right now they are being wasted. Need proof, just look and study the ratings. If I were an advertiser, I would would go to ABC or NBC where I would get a much bigger bang for my buck.
Scott from New York at 6:44PM on Jun 13th 2007
29. I remember when the news was presented by newsmen. People who'd spent 20 or 30 years either with newspapers or as correspondents in the field. I still remember Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Robert Trout, Eric Sevareid, etc. Now, half the news is about celebrties or tells us which movies made the most money over the weekend. There's always some damned feel good piece about a pie-eating contest, or a picnic. Rather's comments are right on the money. Moonves is used to producing 'entertainment', and wouldn't know a news story if he drove his Mercedes over it.
Rock Johnson at 6:44PM on Jun 13th 2007
30. Charlie Gibson is the best. He tells it like it is...
P.J. Sattler at 9:53PM on Jun 13th 2007