Your Morning Chuckle
When I called for news organizations to keep tabs on media ethics (”get in the face” is the language I used), this isn’t exactly what I meant:
Bill O’Reilly, the Fox News star, is mounting an extraordinary televised assault on the chief executive of General Electric, calling him a “pinhead” and a “despicable human being” who bears responsibility for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq.
On the surface, O’Reilly’s charges revolve around GE’s history of doing business with Iran. But the attacks grow out of an increasingly bitter feud between O’Reilly and the company’s high-profile subsidiary, NBC, one that has triggered back-channel discussions involving News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch, Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, NBC chief executive Jeff Zucker and General Electric’s CEO, Jeffrey Immelt.
But it sure is entertaining.
I think news organizations should question GE about doing business in Iran–that is, any news organization employing journalism to do the job. Pundit rants that rely on name-calling hardly count as more than entertainment.
In case you don’t know what the feud is really about, here’s a small taste:
Minus the unnecessary, yet entertaining, pathos, this segment is closer to what I’m talking about.
[Ed. Note: Just a reminder-- When I use any form of the word "entertainment" referring to some act journalism, I'm never being complimentary.]
Tags: journalism
Along the sames lines, it’d be nice if news outlets figured out a way for readers to annotate stories and op-eds on the web (something short of Michael Kinsley’s spectacular “wikitorial” flameout).
I’d like the news organizations to question the ethics of the Haditha coverage.
Collateral Damage or Civilian Massacre in Haditha?
Murtha on Haditha: ‘I Know There Was a Cover-up … The Chain of Command Tried to Stifle the Story’
The Media Coverage of Haditha