OPINION:
In his 1979 book “As It Happened,” CBS founder and CEO William Paley wrote that on the emerging service of news reporting, it was “agreed there would be no editorializing during news broadcasts, commentaries would be kept completely separate from the news itself, CBS news would be … objective.”
Paley died in 1990. More grievous than the death of this broadcasting innovator, however, has been the death of CBS’ aforementioned commitment to objectivity.
In recent decades — with selective editing, omission of important stories and ceaseless editorializing by on-air talking heads — the evening news has become a carefully crafted ideology trip designed to persuade viewers of the inherent wisdom of the “facts” reported.
Using smart production and well-manicured, articulate anchors and guests, mainstream networks do their best to appear trustworthy and good-hearted. Their “news” is usually surrounded by one or two feel-good stories, upbeat background visuals and fast-paced, in-the-field reportage that encourages viewers to think of themselves as actual participants in current events.
Virtually every news organization has chosen to follow this formula, leaving America divided and hardened into increasingly distant ideological positions. This diminishes the intellect of viewers everywhere.
H. LEE LAPOLE
Loveland, Ohio
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