Worst of times; best of times

For Journalists and journalism, it is the worst of times, it is the best of times.

It is the worst of times as evidenced by the fear evident in the reporting of many journalists. They are afraid of losing their jobs. They are saddened that too many of their friends and fellow journalists have lost their jobs. Too many of their icons have had their voices silenced by layoffs and closings. They do not see any light at the end of the tunnel. At this point, they would be happy to see the light of an oncoming freight train as an improvement over a long journey through they terrible, dark and dank tunnel called the Internet in which they find themselves.

It is the best of times because reporters who have a story to cover, who can cover the story accurately and fairly, and who are not afraid to tell the complete story are finding readers who appreciate good reporting. These reporters only have to please their readers, not their editors who may have their own narrative for which the reporting was intended to prove to the public.

There is an old saying, "in confusion, there is opportunity."

The journalists who stay with the old system are, metaphorically speaking, fighting to stay on a ship that is foundering. Unfortunately, many of their efforts to remain are putting holes in their own hull - some below the waterline.

The people to whom I refer to as journalists are a type of reporter who is using the facts of a story, or the public perception of the facts, to tell a story about some great cause or injustice.
The people to whom I refer to as reporters are there to report the facts - the great cause will take care of itself.

During an interview years ago, the reporter/author/celebrity Pete Hamill was commenting on the reporters of the past when he commented that the worst thing for reporting is when reporters became a part of the middle class. His point was that in the past, reporters when hungry for news, the "scoop", and were dogged in their efforts to cover the story. They had lost that edge, that passion, with their entry into the middle class.

Now, there are many journalists who consider themselves to be better, smarter, and more capable than the politicians in D.C. Correction - the Republican politicians whom the journalists to be dumb, corrupt, and panderers to the middle class.

If you do not believe me, then watch the Washington Press Corps.

Before the current generation of journalists, it was the norm for a reporter to not be married to someone in government - most of those who were married were the sole wage earner. Now , it would be a rare thing indeed to find a journalist whose spouse is not in the workforce.

Unfortunately, D.C. is a company town where probably 98% of all married couples are two wage households. Two sources of income is not a sin, except when the spouse works for the government, a think tank, or a lobbyist. This means that journalists can report the facts and let the truth find its way to the public regardless of whose spouse gets burned, or is can select to protect its own immediate family members, its own members of the press, or its sources by withholding teh facts and massaging the truth.

Andrea Mitchell of NBC News has been married to Alan Greenspan. Greenspan is the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board which gives him a lot of influence over the monetary policy of the United States. Does anyone believe that Ms. Mitchell would have a story about major problems caused by errors made by the Fed? Does anyone believe that another NBC reporter would cover such a story without thinking about how this would affect Andrea? Does anyone believe that another long time D.C. journalist would cover such a story knowing that they will be seeing Andrea and Alan at some press party in the near future?

David Gregory of NBC News is married to Beth Wilkinson, former General Counsel to Fannie Mae. Since we are in the middle of a financial crisis caused by B*A*D housing loans that were hypothicated to Fannie and Freddie Mac, we should be getting stories about why loans were made to people who could not afford to make the payments. Were any politicians involved? Did Congress have any role in the policies, procedures and decisions made that allowed people without jobs to qualify for quarter million dollar loans? Will we ever hear David Gregory report such a story if it could be tied to his wife?

Fannie Mae and Feddie Mac are at the heart of multi-billion dollar accounting scandal several years ago. Higher management was paid tens of millions of dollars, if not more than a 1oo million dollars, made possible by manipulating the numbers to make the highest of management appear to have hit their financial targets. Larger than the ENRON scandal, only no one went to jail. Imagine that! And we expect the D.C. press corp to tell us who was causing this mess? No - that might make for an embarrassing moment at the next cocktail party.

The press wonders why we don;t but their newspapers anymore. To some extent, I believe that the general public is aware at some level, almost subconscious, that the journalists are more interested in pushing their own politican agenda, satisfying their own self-aggrandizement, and protecting themselves and the other members of the elite club to which they belong. Why should I pay for a pack of lies and half-truths?

There was a time in the country when most people would have been honored to have dinner with Walter Cronkite, Howard K. Smith, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, or Eric Sevareid.
There might be disagreement but it would be friendly and based upon mutual respect.
Now, if most people found themselves seated at the same table as a David Gregory, Chris Matthews, or Keith Olbermann, would find a quiet and polite way to excuse themselves from the table. After all. most rooms would have trouble accomadating the egos of such large size and most chairs would have trouble with talent that diminutive. These raving personalities consider themselves the new elite who are so far above the average American that they exist on almost another metaphysical plane from the population at large.

I believe that most of the members of the D.C. press corps are in competition to see who can be the first to have a child by Senator Barack Obama. And I'm not talking about the female members of the press corp.