Today we lost one of the premiere journalists of the Information Age, Mike Wallace. For most of his career he was a mainstay on '60 Minutes' and comes from a time when journalists had standards and actually worked for the public good. He was a supremely prepared and curious reporter who always asked the questions that I wanted to know the answers to. There was no one that he was unable to talk too - even the most powerful were humbled by his no nonsense style. He could smell and uncover the bullshit from down the block. It's a shame that we will never see his like ever again.
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3 comments:
Mike Wallace spanned an era between the dawn of TV news and today's incessant, politically colored 24/7 yammering. Not quite a Walter Cronkite or Edward R. Munrow, he could be legitimately criticized for his political ideology, but he remained essentially honest.
But we can trace today's penchant for "gotcha" journalism directly through Wallace - imitation is not only flattery, but requires exaggeration.
Perhaps, the best accolade is that Wallace is infinitely preferable to today's crop of Limbaugh, Beck, Maddow and Olbermann.
How dare you put Maddow in that category! Are you mad?
We don't want to turn Calvin's blog into a political cage match, but still. Just yesterday I was reading Glenn Greenwald's interview with her about her new book concerning the American military/industrial complex. Unlike those other goons she's a Rhodes Scholar who writes actual books, you know, with footnotes and rigorous research. She's a shining light in journalism and a standards-bearer for the progressive cause.
I too don't wish to quibble. I actually like my journalists to be smart WITH a bit of an angenda. Maddow is the modern day heir to the great journalists of the past. I wish Olbermann could reign in his own demons because he too has a place to counter-act the evils that Limbaugh and his Conservative Juggernaut Media Monster have created.
I hope you both like Stephanie Miller because on the subject of THAT show there can be no arguing with me. I love her.
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