A triple-barrelled meme generator, starting with this piece yesterday by Lawrence Martin. It was picked up by Owen Gray over at Northern Reflections, and amplified by CK at Sister Sage.
In brief, they’re all lamenting the passing of old-time journalism, the kind that used to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, exposing the truth that powerful interests wanted to keep buried, and empowering citizens by keeping them informed. The classic examples, of course, are the New York Times and its handling of the Pentagon Papers, and the Washington Post’s pursuit of the Watergate scandal, which eventually drove Richard Nixon from office.
Mr. Martin, who really should get on the Tweeter, notes how stories of abuse and secrecy haven’t seemed to stick to the Harper government. That’s been a theme in this little corner, not to mention huge tracts of the blogosphere as well.
There’s plenty of scope for discussion of how the economics of journalism and news gathering have changed, and the challenge in finding a business model that makes the industry profitable in the age of the intertoobz, but CK hits on something fairly early in her post when she cites the shorter attention span of Gen-Xers and the attendant fascination with sensationalism and lurid tabloid-style stories. It’s the curse of the Shiny Object.
It’s not the only problem, of course. Investigations take time, resources, and commitment, and an acceptance of the possibility that they may not always pan out. Bottom-line-focused owners don’t like that. It’s easier and cheaper to produce vapid lifestyle fluff, or better yet, pick it up off the wires.
And of course, there’s the increasingly litigious propensity of high-profile public figures. Again, easier and cheaper to avoid the headache by skirting controversial or loaded stories in the first place. What we end up with, though, is a media establishment that’s less concerned with what used to be the worthwhile objectives in journalism – the things that used to inspire idealistic kids to pursue careers in the business – and more concerned with ass-covering and sucking up.
I don’t want to make the explanation strictly generational, and it wouldn’t be fair to cite Mr. Martin in a manner that suggests that’s what he’s doing, but I’d submit that a large part of the reason has to do with this:
It’s something I’ve touched on previously, but the three pieces cited above make it worth another look.
Recently I wrote about the corporate media and their fascination with Ruth Ellen Brosseau. At the time I was more focused on the cowardice, hypocrisy and sheer laziness behind the “story.” She’s blonde, she’s a single mom, she’s a rookie MP, she doesn’t speak French very well – what could be easier than training the spotlight on her and just waiting for her to trip up?
But given the take from Mr. Martin, Mr. Gray and CK, perhaps it’s time to look beyond the corporate-media label and look at the Ottawa Villagers themselves. It’s no great secret that such a detached and insular clique exists in Washington; what’s puzzling is why there isn’t a wider acknowledgment of the same thing in Ottawa.
It’s not good for democracy or the body politic when the national conversation is controlled by a self-appointed cadre of well-connected insiders – journalists, lobbyists, officials, civil servants, consultants, power brokers and the people Jeffrey Simpson lunches with – especially when they’re so tightly inside the bubble. It means that only certain ideas are discussed or even considered worthy of discussion, and it’s part of a larger pattern wherein journalists start to value access and their own insider status more than getting the truth.
And when they start identifying with the power brokers rather than the people they’re supposedly writing for, journalism stops being journalism and turns into stenography or flackery. Not only do they no longer question the official narrative, they make it their business to scorn and ridicule the people who do – because deep down, they’re embarrassed by their own weakness and toadying, and they turn their fury on anyone who shows them up.
So, to answer the question about Woodward and Bernstein: Look what happened to Bob Woodward. He became the consummate Washington insider, writing hagiographies about George W. Bush. Carl Bernstein might be better known nowadays for his philandering and celebrity dating. Either way, does anyone think they’d be enjoying their current status if they were still writing things that annoyed powerful people?
Sorry, but their time is gone.
Related posts:
- From MediaCulpa, George Monbiot vs. Margaret Wente
- The corporate media’s class-based agenda
- Ruth Ellen Brosseau and the corporate-media cowards
- A little rhetorical aikido for the slimebags at Sun Media
- Cue the whining about the left-wing media
- Are stories unflattering to Harper being pulled from corporate-media websites?
- Class warfare and the corporate media
