The Most Trusted Names in News (Really!)

American journalism is not represented by the media establishment, which has essentially been co-opted into an extension of government-sponsored propaganda, or else has demeaned itself into a Vanna White-style superficiality, spinning content in order to sell another product.

But in a media era where propagandists and shills are ascendant, there remain a number of journalists who sustain the principles on which our free press was founded: to protect the governed from their elected officials and from the unelected corporate elite, always determined to skirt the law and undermine the social contract.

What the mainstream press has shamelessly proven -- more so over the last five years, is its complete contempt for its readers and viewers -- by presenting nifty parcels for purchase, as though facts can be diced and repackaged and still maintain their original meaning.

Or as the legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow put it: "If we were to do the Second Coming of Christ in color for a full hour, there would be a considerable number of stations which would decline to carry it on the grounds that a Western or a quiz show would be more profitable."

While attacking the pundits is something all too common, and usually well-deserved, it is worth taking out the time to praise those who are the most "fair and balanced" and those who are really "the most trusted names in news."

There are people, not institutions or organizations, who I trust and turn to when I need to know the truth or need clarification. Sometimes I simply am comforted by their presence or byline. Just knowing they are out there, that I am not alone, is enough.

In no particular order, here is my own list of reporters worthy of praise:

Facts are not fair or balanced:

• Keith Olbermann -- the anchor for MSNBC's Countdown: If we had today a moral equivalent of Edward R. Murrow, Olbermann would be it. Olbermann respects his audience and speaks to them as peers about complex issues and events. He is eloquent, passionate and probing. He is also someone who takes the time to connect the dots and provide historical context in order to help make sense of the information he is tasked with delivering. There is sarcasm and silliness too, which nicely lightens the load after what are sometimes very emotionally draining reports. Above all else, he is my hero because he stands in front of the schoolyard bully and defends those who cannot defend themselves. A good example of all these traits can be found in his look at the Nexus of Politics and Terror
• Lou Dobbs -- the anchor for CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight: While we may philosophically disagree on various issues, such as immigration, and are politically of different backgrounds, his screaming demands for corporate accountability, for government oversight, for the "damned facts" of it all, is breathtaking. He is the quintessential skeptic, who comes riding in just in time to say, "What the hell is going on here?"

Courage is a prerequisite to be the "most trusted"

• Sy Hersh -- investigative journalist for the New Yorker: Sy is the role model on which all investigative journalism should be based. He is meticulous, ethical, defiant, and fearless. He also lets me annoy him periodically. His work does not simply "run" or simply "get published," it arrives like a slap of reality across the befuddled face of complacency. Take a look at a few of my recent favorites, which went kaboom all over the sanitized news rooms of American media: The Stovepipe of Iraq prewar intel, breaking the Abu Ghraib story, and the story of military brass saying "no" to Iran in the Last Stand.
• Helen Thomas -- senior White House correspondent for Hearst Newspapers: This smallish woman has single-handedly taken on whole administrations, made grown men nearly cry, and arrogant leaders nearly wet themselves. She is demanding but not arrogant, patient but not willing to sit quietly through doublespeak, respectful but not yielding, and she has managed to outlast most journalists and politicians in her 50 years of service to this nation. She is my hero from beginning to end. In fact, the first time I called her to ask about a story I was writing, I spent the first 10 minutes shivering, crying and generally making an ass out of myself. I spent the next three days telling anyone who would listen that I had spoken to Ms. Thomas.
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next page »
View as a single page