Where have the real journalists gone? Where are the Cronkite's, Brinkley's, Huntley's, Koppel's and Wallace's of today? Journalists who reported the news and not their opinion of the news. More and more journalists/reporters are pundits reporting their opinion of events and not the events themselves. They attempt with their very first words to sway the opinion of the viewer/listener/reader. They have determined or been taught their role is to manipulate and shape public opinion to conform with their higher moral value.
Perhaps not all of them. There are those individuals who seek notoriety, having succumbed to the digital age and the desire of almost all of the young to gain instant fame. The internet has so much sway on the opinions of the young and their schooling is so poor, they have developed no critical thinking abilities. In former generations, we were told, "don't believe everything you read in the newspaper." We did, however, receive an education based mostly on developing critical thinking. Today's generations are taught not to think for themselves but to follow the crowd. The crowd knows best. The crowd will lead the world to a better place. A place where everyone is the same, where there is no pollution, no climate change, an idyllic world where nothing is amiss.
In their determination to foist their personal view of the world, they have abandoned all principles of respectable journalism. Just recently I was listening to a press conference being given by President Trump on the death of ISIS leader Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi, when suddenly I realized all of the questions being put forward by the reporters present were being couched in terms meant to portray the President or his actions in a negative light. The reporters had already decided what story they were going to write and were looking for a way to confirm/trap the President into providing support for their storyline.
Broadcast news/television has not helped develop journalists or reporters. Since CNN began broadcasting news 24 hours a day the quality of news has gone downhill. In the first place there is not enough news of interest to the public to keep them engaged 24 hours a day. The result was reporters had to sensationalize the news. It is difficult to sensationalize positive news, so reporters began to seek out disaster, calamity, tragedy and negativity. These stories are much easier to sensationalize. The reporter can pull at the heart strings of the viewer. Tragedies often times are longer in duration and thereby can occupy the news on a more continuing basis.
Then came the pundits and commentators. The pundits and commentators can provide some insight into the ramifications of the news but most often this is a very subjective view. No one knows the twists and turns, the direction a particular story may take. Pundits express personal views. Some may have training, experience or expertise in a particular field thereby giving more weight to their opinion, but it is still an opinion and not the news. Pundits and commentators made it easier for the 24-hour newscasts to provide content for their viewers by allowing these pundits to shape the interpretation of the news, making it more dramatic., they were able to begin to manipulate public opinion and to further sensationalize the news. Keeping the story alive for a longer period of time.
I for one am not particularly interested in the opinions of newscasters, pundits or commentators. I prefer to formulate my own opinion. I do this by examining the facts as I can find them, analyze the facts and determine whether the facts form a pattern leading to a conclusion. When the pundits and commentators present conclusions with no supporting facts, this is impossible. I am expected to take their word. I am not comfortable accepting