LAT’s Jonah Goldberg Applauds “New Journalism” For Moving Past Cronkite Era
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Walter Cronkite is widely regarded as an icon — and, to many aspiring journalists, a role model. He and his coverage of the Vietnam War are often referred to as a highpoint in journalism even today. Jonah Goldberg of the Los Angeles Times has a vastly different opinion. In today’s column, he writes that Cronkite is “truly one of the most overrated national icons of the 20th century” who misreported aspects of the Vietnam War.
His column begins as a response to Van Jones‘ Sunday New York Times column that argued:
“The high standards and wise judgments of people like Walter Cronkite once acted as our national immune system, zapping scandal-mongers and quashing wild rumors. As a step toward further democratizing America, we shrunk those old gatekeepers — and ended up weakening democracy’s defenses.”
Goldberg writes, “the conservatives serve as the stick-it-to-the-man brigades, while liberals like gatekeepers. Nowhere is this more true than in the temples of journalism, where the high priests are barricading the doors with pews and candelabras to fend off the barbarians.” He then goes on to a longer critique of Cronkite:
The house Cronkite built did many fine things. It also locked out competing points of view, buried inconvenient bodies, spun the news and racked up a formidable list of Shirley Sherrods all its own. The New York Times whitewashed Stalin’s genocide. Cronkite misreported the significance of the Tet offensive to say the Vietnam War was unwinnable. Dan Rather, Cronkite’s replacement, began his career falsely reporting that Dallas schoolchildren cheered JFK’s murder and ended it falsely reporting on forged National Guard memos. The Rodney King video was misleadingly edited; Janet Cooke made up her stories for the Washington Post.
[emphasis ours]
Goldberg says the media is tangled up in two revolutions — the increasingly pervasive Internet (à la WikiLeaks), and consumer backlash against the old “ideological media monopoly.” He acknowledges the media climate today is busy and sometimes scary. But conclusively, Goldberg insists that what we have now is progress since Cronkite’s time. His point-of-view is an interesting one that many are sure to disagree with: it’s not often you see a figure like Cronkite so criticized.
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19 comments
“Nowhere is this more true than in the temples of journalism, where the high priests are barricading the doors with pews and candelabras to fend off the barbarians.”
I think that may be a bit self aggrandizing…both for Goldberg and Cronkite. Wonderful imagery though.
The times have changed and the method of reporting has changed.
Reporting versus opinion still is the same. Just the facts.
Somehow I can see Markos and Andrew fighting to get to the barricaded door 1st.
and then…what?
Report the news.
I disliked Cronkite way back when main stream media was the only media and when even most conservatives like him. His daily closing statement “and that’s the way it is” always irritated the hell out of me. Sometimes I would talk back at the tv, “no thats not the way it is, thats just the way you say it is”. (It seemed to help at least a little).
My dislike of reporters was made worse in Vietnam. With very few exceptions they were arrogant and superior acting, but completely ignorant of the tactical, strategic, and operational situations. They got it wrong all the time. They also had an obvious anti-war agenda. Anything that did not fit their narrative was ignored, and anything that did was exaggerated. I would take every opportunity to insult them. Whenever possible I would let them know that one soldier was worth at least 10 journalists, so please stay out of our way. Better yet, go home.
And Jonah “igot this gig because of my mommy” Goldberg is relevant because???
As a kid growing up in the ’60s and moving from Canada to the US…the Vietnam war was a very strange time.
When I was moving to America people 10 years older than me were moving to Canada.
I’ve never really gotten a true understanding of “What I saw” as a kid in Canada.
Cronkite seemed to be the irrefutable journalist. As you get older, you see things different. I moved down to the US in 1972…again a very weird time as a kid trying to understand Vietnam.
I tell myself to look at both sides…based on that+ Nixon and disco and punk.
Odd time and I think we will see the same again from Iraq/Afghanistan.
Cronkite is referred to as “the most trusted man in America “. This was the result of a poll by Good Housekeeping magazine in the sixties . This legend was repeated until it became ” fact ” . ” When the legend becomes fact , print the legend . ” The TV news choices were very limited for a long time , but no more . Jonah Goldberg has nailed it , as usual .
Actually, I disagree completely. His posit is that once again there is no room for dissent and back to his quoted statement.
“The conservatives serve as the stick-it-to-the-man brigades, while liberals like gatekeepers. Nowhere is this more true than in the temples of journalism, where the high priests are barricading the doors with pews and candelabras to fend off the barbarians.”
I disagree with that statement..
There are common denominators. He qualifies his statements.
Walter was the father of advocacy journalism; he was always over rated. Bout time someone spoke the truth about him.
He did have that “paternal” attitude…during the Vietnam era, I actually think I followed NBC which would have been “Huntley and Brinkley”.
Somehow I got branded with NBC…now that I think about it, I liked John Chancellor as well…there was an opinionated journalist.
Another old white guy I didn’t like.
Long gone era…just report the facts!
The only thing Goldberg has going for him is the best nickname in the world: Pantload.
So now these clowns who probably never saw Cronkite report during WWII (not that any of ‘em ever served their country anyway….) can’t say a nice thing about him. What an insult. Cronkite was better than any reporter we have today. What we have now is advocate journalism, not real reporting, like Ed Murrow and his crew.
What is “the mainstream media” to conservatives? To me, it’s any source that isn’t either one of the big corporations or their subsidiaries – aside from Fox News. Things such as blogs and what not. But correct me if I’m wrong, but conservatives consider non-mainstream to be anything with a conservative agenda and/or narrative they follow.
Jonah Goldberg?? A shyster’s delight!
I admired Mr. Cronkite’s delivery of the news–he was an artistic genius–and it’s the “art” factor that is important here.
Today, just as we have the so-called “modern” artists criticizing the works of the great masters do so because they are in no way their equal (and their “art” definitely shows it!), we have the next generation of journalists who are criticizing the great masters of journalism.
Whereas the last of the true journalists–e.g. Cronkite, Huntley, Brinkley, Severeid–would never have criticized Murrow, Heatter, Winchell, etc., these “nuveau” wannabes don’t show so much respect–and it takes class to show respect.
I like to think of it this way: Had there never been these great newscasters, the clowns that are coming along today would not have a model to work from, and since Mr. Goldberg is from the area near Hollywood, I would like to leave him with this:
Hollywood is a place where they place you under contract instead of under observation.
Walter Winchell
All that said, as much admiration as I have for the monument in journalism that was Walter Cronkite, I disagreed with his politics.
kudos lazzzlo. Mr. Cronkite was quite liberal but one would never have known it by watching his broadcasts.
But conclusively, Goldberg insists that what we have now is progress since Cronkite’s time.
Progressives maybe but not progress.
Dan Rather, Cronkite’s replacement, began his career falsely reporting that Dallas schoolchildren cheered JFK’s murder and ended it falsely reporting on forged National Guard memos.
He’s correct here, too.
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