The beautiful faces of televised news have taken a beating lately, and no amount of thick makeup can cover up the bruises.
First, there was CNN’s Rick Sanchez, who made incomprehensibly stupid comments about Jon Stewart and his Jewish ethnicity that promptly got him fired last month. Bye-bye, Rick’s List. Hello, unemployment.
Last week, MSNBC’s bloviating blowhard Keith Olbermann was suspended after it was revealed that he had made campaign contributions to three Democrats (including two congressional candidates from Arizona) running for office just before the midterm election.
Olbermann retook the reigns of “Countdown” on Tuesday, making his suspension as short-lived as it was asinine. He came back with a vengeance on his show, indefatigably remarking on the whole ordeal in a sort of self-congratulatory smarmy way that only a news-show anchor could convincingly muster.
Both of these events set off the rest of the rabid dogs populating the airwaves, as MSNBC, Fox News and CNN fought to cast themselves as righteous and the other networks as ethically compromised. Show hosts fired shots, others sniped back, and, along the way, even print outlets — particularly the New York Times and Washington Post — got caught up in all the Sisyphean rigmarole. Hey, they even sucked me into writing about it.
Add in the release of the new movie “Morning Glory” reminding the world just how selfish, self-centered and vain broadcast journalists can be, and it’s enough to make one turn off the tube altogether. Glad I don’t own one to begin with.
It’s a trite statement that’s been said too many times before, but the faces that used to deliver us the news were ones we could trust and, yes, even admire. Cable news has all but destroyed that notion. Watching the stations sensationalize and commentate on the news 24 hours a day — literally — is like watching the kids from “Lord of the Flies” try to govern themselves. Remember how well that worked out? Just ask Piggy. Sure, the bullies came out on top, but it’s not like they were overly satisfied with the direction things were going, either.
Cable news is a jungle gym of adolescent anarchy. The newsmen jumping around inside enjoy nothing more than throwing rocks at each other.
The incessant infighting between anchors and their colleagues on other cable-news networks continues unabated, buoyed by the supposed interest the public has in seeing overblown news personalities take swipes at each other.
Cable-news networks seem to have a monopoly on stupidity these days, yet, strangely, they like nothing more than criticizing each other for the same mistakes they make.
At least we sports fans have ESPN staying above the fray. The trusty network marches on, providing great, sophisticated coverage of the sports world without dabbling into the ugly world of media ethics and, you know, doing things like hosting an hour-long show that makes everyone associated with the network look like an idiot.
Ah, to be on TV. To be famous.
Dustin is trying to find what makeup works best under bright studio lights. Help him out at dustin.volz@asu.edu
