The Fall of Old Media, Continued
This morning the sports press is all abuzz over a new book that presents sensational accusations against a professional athlete. The writer is a longstanding member of the print media who, consistent with the rules of that society, relied almost entirely on anonymous and unsourced reporting. The fact that this same writer was previously part of a media lynch mob that made demonstrably false claims against another group of athletes is apparently irrelevant. One can never lose credibility within the media.
Looking back, historians will note that Watergate marked the beginning of the end for "traditional" journalism. While the press has mythologized Watergate -- specifically the role of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein -- as a victory for their industry, the reality is much different. The press didn't bring down Richard Nixon; a handful of state agents willing to stand up to the psychotic president did. What Woodward and Bernstein did was make the world safe for anonymous source reporting -- so much so that it's now considered essential in violating the personal privacy of a professional athlete.
As the media's old guard continues to scapegoat the Internet for its own lousy product, consider this: As the trend in technology moves further towards "open source," where every user can access the underlying source code of a product, the press becomes more addicted to anonymous and "closed" sourcing, where the reader is expected to accept every claim at face value with no ability to assess the credibility of the source.
Comments (8)
DJF
One thing the Press likes to pretend is that their anonymous sources are all little file clerks who have no voice in society and who are powerless. When in fact many of these anonymous sources are powerful and who can call a press conference at any time and have a hundred reporters show up. Deepthroat was the second in command at the FBI, many of Judy Millers sources that she went to jail to protect were in the office of the Vice President including the Vice President himself.
Published: May 4, 2009 9:46 AM
Byzantine
The press didn't bring down Richard Nixon; a handful of state agents willing to stand up to the psychotic president did.
Yes, those brave, tenured D.C. bureaucrats standing up to the "psychotic," elected Richard Milhous Nixon.
I lose track of the number of times I hear the comparatively mild Nixon described as "psychotic," "paranoid," etc. Nixon used to attend Redskins games in the general seating and amble off to the concert hall when he felt like it, with the Secret Service scrambling to round up agents.
Published: May 4, 2009 9:55 AM
S.M. Oliva
"Yes, those brave, tenured D.C. bureaucrats standing up to the 'psychotic,' elected Richard Milhous Nixon."
I never said they were "brave," merely that they stood up to Nixon. Specifically I'm thinking of Judge John Sirica, who held fast in demanding the White House turn over the White House tapes.
As for Nixon's mental state, I would say taping all of your intimate conversations for years on end then refusing to destroy the tapes to avoid implicating yourself in any wrongdoing is pretty nutty. (That and, say, bombing Cambodia.)
Now if you want to argue Nixon was mild relative to other recent presidents, I might agree with you.
Published: May 4, 2009 12:10 PM
Byzantine
As for Nixon's mental state, I would say taping all of your intimate conversations for years on end then refusing to destroy the tapes to avoid implicating yourself in any wrongdoing is pretty nutty. (That and, say, bombing Cambodia.)
OMG. What a psychotic man.
Published: May 4, 2009 1:32 PM
Bogart
The main state agent was a disgruntled FBI higher up who was disgruntled that Nixon did not give him the top job because Nixon questioned his loyalty, Psychotic or not, Nixon was a good judge of character.
More over that agent not wanting to tarnish his reputation held his secret for over 20 years only to have the family reveal it for cash.
Standing up with guts 0
Bureaucratic revenge 1
Published: May 4, 2009 1:55 PM
Richie
In my opinion, any person that seeks the office of the President is psychotic. Obviously, that person is an egotistical maniac and power hungry. So, yes, Nixon was psychotic, just like every president preceding him and following him.
Published: May 4, 2009 6:20 PM
damocles
If Nixon was psychotic, what was "Landslide" Lyndon, who ordered the CIA to bug the Goldwater campaign, and was involved in numerous other felonious schemes, including vote buying and salad oil.?
Published: May 4, 2009 7:35 PM
thomerr
LBJ's guilt was haunting him and the Kennedy's forced him out.
Nixon had two landslides under his belt and his ouster is an example of the fourth estate gone mad (like today?).
Both examples are indicative of the political class that we have created. The real American is a citizen soldier that leaves hearth and home temporarily to serve his country (mililtary and/or government). The real American Congressional member would never dream on "retiring" on the government dole!
Regardless of the reasons, ultimately there is too much money in Washington and thereby too much power for those power-corrupt folks to wield.
The answer is term limits, flat tax (10%) and about three-quarter fewer agencies, bureaus, and departments. Just for kicks, eliminate the federal retirement plan for Congress while we're at it.
Published: May 5, 2009 12:49 AM