Since I posted the first part of this overly-long and ponderous piece about Jon Stewart's breakfast with the inner circle of print journalism, a number of the people in attendance have written their own accounts of the "informal" get-together.What more do we need to say about the collapse of the fourth estate, as it has rolled over, put on a little Rouge, and gone street walking...
...
"I can't believe that, as reporters, you would walk into a 'spin room'," he said, amazed at the journalists' willingness to swallow the bullshit that the campaign and candidates spoon feed them. "How can you keep talking to people who are lying to you?" he asked. "This loveless marriage [between reporters and politicians] has to be unconsummated."
As I said in yesterday's post, this criticism came pretty much at their request, after they wide-eyedly asked Stewart -- who, by the way, is a comedian, in case you weren't aware -- what could be done to restore print journalism to its former place as the apex of political discourse.
"The antidote," Stewart responded, "is to push back. The antidote is to create filters" to remove the muck from the information fish tank, so we can clearly see what's truth and what's political spin. Take the ball away from the cable news networks and do what they're being paid to do. "You're not on anyone's team. You're on our team, clearing our tanks."
[ cf Breakfast with Jon Stewart, Part Two ]
What if there were important things to do in dealing with the root cause issues that brings FM 3-24 to the forefront????
{ wonder if we should have read part one? }