The Dearth and Death of Journalism

Yes. I am so aged that I learned my craft as a professional photographer on a 4×5 Speed Graphic.

Back in the 1950s I was fortunate enough to study under two accomplished professionals. One was the color consultant to Ansco. Ansco was the then Burger King to Kodak’s McDonald.

The other was a former White House photographer. I benefited from their expertise; one in the technical aspects, the other in the practical, the nitty-gritty.

You likely have taken a picture of a loved one, to later discover they had a flower or a telephone pole growing out of their head. You discovered that you were not a camera. You were not a photographer.

When you look at your loved one, you relate to the face, the person. That is the target of your focus. You were subjective. The camera was objective. To become a photographer, it was necessary to also see the scene as the camera saw it.

Objectivity plays its role. It is important – in its place. Not in every situation.

I did many kinds of photography: aerial, medical, record album covers, postcards and more. However, most of my work was in my favorite: photo-journalism.

Fortunately, I was, on occasion, on my own. I was required to gather some of the information that a correspondent normally would be responsible for. I segued into journalism. I later even took courses in journalism. As my mother frequently noted, I often did things bass ackwards.

Though photo-journalism and reporting are closely associated, a journalist must be subjective. Did he just say that? Absolutely. I know. It goes against what everyone assumes is the required approach to a story, but that’s the way it is – or should be.

The real problem with journalism today is that it bought into the serious error of trying to be objective.

It might be necessary for me to clarify a point here. Though the photographer must be aware of the subjectivity of the camera and factor that in, the photo-journalist must remember that the more important part of that hyphenation is the journalist. He must also factor in the subjective.

Ed and the Boys – My Role Models

My journalistic influences growing up were, quite naturally, Edward R. Murrow and Murrow’s Boys: Mary Marvin Breckinridge, Cecil Brown, Winston Burdett, Charles Collingwood, Bill Downs, Tom Grandin, Larry LaSueur, Eric Sevareid, William L. Shirer, Howard K. Smith and the sole survivor, Richard C. Hottelet.

These icons were not objective about Hitler, or Pearl Harbor, or the Battle of Britain or D-Day. Later, they were not objective about the shameful treatment of migrant workers, the assassination of JFK or the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner.

I think I previously have quoted Paul Krugman on the subject of fair and balanced. His take is that balanced is not necessarily fair. He mused that if the president claimed the Earth is flat, the balanced headline would read, Shape of the World in Doubt. Balanced? Yes. Fair? Nonsensical.

There are issues or situations that are open to debate but most of the the newsworthy stories have an obviously right position and an equally obviously wrong position. Rational and stupid don’t balance.

Real Journalism is Dead

Okay, it may be on life support. The “news” is dominated by “celebrities.” In the UK they don’t pretend to be journalists. Those presenting the news are called ‘news readers.’ The criteria in the US, both for local and national shows, is an agent with connections and a good hair stylist.

The “reporters” go to the same schools as the people they cover. They frequent the same restaurants, clubs and parties. Their self-image is of being fellow celebrities, of being friends. You don’t stay friends if you fail to massage those egos.

Reporters would have told us of the lies offered to justify a couple of wars in which we seem to have been involved. Having a couple of real reporters on hand might have benefited us.

Oh, there was another unreported story that developed this past decade. I remember now. It was something about the casinos of Wall Street gambling with our mortgages, retirement funds and other savings vehicles. As the subject of gambling is at hand, I would bet that we would be far better off financially, had we still had any journalists left. Without real journalists we are blind and vulnerable to every criminal in office or any other position of power

Liberal Media?

If only. I suffer from a distinct disadvantage. I cannot be as sanguine as the average man on the street. My problem is that I realize there is life outside this county’s borders. How you gonna keep them down on the farm, after they’ve seen Paree?

Fox is owned by News Corporation. That’s Rupert Murdock’s little liberal outfit. Recent news from the UK shows how Rupert sometimes threatens sometimes rewards British politicians. Here he gives some politicians their own shows: Huckabee, Palin, et al. Others he provides platforms with pay for their fatuous commentary.

Until recently sold to Comcast, NBC, and its sister outlets, MSNBC and CNBC, were owned by General Electric. GE is famous for having on staff over 900 of the top tax experts in the world. That may explain how they have avoided wasting any money on taxes for so many years.

CNN is owned by Time Warner. I think it is still the largest media operation in the world.

CBS is owned by Sumner Redstone, through his National Amusements Corporation.

ABC is owned by the 2^nd largest media conglomeration, Disney. While Mickey continues as the face of Disney, those running the works are disciples of Scrooge McDuck.

Are any of those corporations burdened with a liberal ideology? Do they not all have a long history of alliance and allegiance to conservative politicians and policies?

Let me describe those referring to the media as liberal. First are those who actually believe it because they have heard it so much or from someone they mistakenly consider credible. They are not exactly inquiring minds. Next are those who cynically employ it to manipulate the hoi polloi. Then we have those have no idea what liberal and conservative really mean. We call them parrots.

Not counting the rare outlier, devoid of any power or influence, the entire political spectrum of these United States sits firmly, well inside the right of the world’s political spectrum. If you don’t open the door, you likely won’t know what’s in the next room.

I found too many disparate numbers to put too much faith in any particular set but my guess is that the sources that said 26% of Americans have traveled outside of the country feels about right. Many of those have visited only Canada (North United States) and/or Mexico. I would again guess that few of those trips resulted in a deep understanding and appreciation of the wider world.

Beyond those limited to North America, we find what Lederer and Burdick referred to as The Ugly American. Traveling around the world, it’s hard to ignore so many Americans with an apparently innate arrogance. After all, most Americas subscribe to the inanity of Manifest Destiny.

Sadly, it isn’t just Joe Six-pack that exudes this offensive attitude and its concomitant behavior. I am no longer amazed to find the same in far too many government employees stationed overseas.

Watching the institutions that you care about rot is quite unpleasant. It would be bad enough if journalism was the only one.

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