A lot of people have been pretty bummed out about John Stewart's announcement that he'll be giving up his post on The Daily Show. In a world where real journalism has been hard to find, it's strange, but a lot of people have found solace (and entertainment) in Stewart's show because he's made calling out politicians and cable "news" a sport. He's often labeled as left leaning, but he's been pretty brutal on Democrats. I tend to theorize that the fringe right is just a lot nuttier than the fringe left (or at the very least, there are more nutty voices to the right).
People were bummed about Stephen Colbert leaving his show to replace Letterman, but I have to say, Larry Wilmore is really outstanding. I never really got Colbert's schtick, but Larry hit his stride very quickly. I haven't missed a show yet.
Then there's the whole Brian Williams controversy, where he exaggerated his proximity to some action during the Iraq war. As important as journalistic integrity is to me, given the degree and all, I'm actually willing to cut him a little slack. The practice of "embedding" reporters in military units during that war by its very nature influences the narrative, as the reporter is no longer an observer, but a participant in the story. It's the whole basis for "gonzo journalism," a la Hunter S. Thompson. One could argue that whether or not Williams was in the helicopter that took fire is irrelevant, because the narrative of what happened is still about the same.
But, more to the point, cable news networks make shit up and "report" talking head opinions like fact every day, and no one gets fired or suspended for that.
In the 80's we could more or less trust that what we saw on the "big three" TV networks was legitimate news, and relatively free from bias. I think that's still somewhat true, as those news divisions do enjoy a certain amount of autonomy. The Internet, I always thought, would be the great thing that surfaced truth, but mostly it just reinforces people who aren't interested in truth if it's at odds with their beliefs. Still, it's possible to get a lot of perspective if you're willing to look around for it. The US broadcast networks, combined with the big newspapers and other sources like the BBC and al Jazeera America, tend to give you a well-rounded reality.
It's fantastic that we have sites like Politifact and Factcheck these days, because at least someone is holding politicians and pundits to some level of anti-bullshit (even if no one is apparently listening). I tend to think that the existence of truth is less of an issue than people not being interested in learning what it is.
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