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instead of asking herself "What is the most important 24 minutes of information I can present tonight," [Ms. Couric] asks her viewers to suggest a clever slogan for her sign off.

Selfabsorbtion. It is crashingly obvious in Ms. Couric when pointed out here, but it is the besetting sin of Big Journalism - indeed, of all of "the media" generally. It is I suppose the natural consequence of the one-way nature of "the media," and is moderated in talk radio - and certainly in the Internet - by the relative prominence of vox populi feedback.
In journalism, selfabsorbtion is manifested in things like the McCain-Feingold bill which presumes to obliterate the free speech, press, and assembly rights of the common people while exalting Big Journalism as being "in the public interest." And moves to require that the president stage shows - "press conferences" - at which only representatives of Big Journalism are present and able to speak to the president. And "press shield" laws which presume to give representatives of Big Journalism immunity from laws governing the people generally. And presumption that representatives of Big Journalism can take the protection of the First Amendment for granted without any implication that they are, specifically, Americans - let alone patrioitic Americans.
All of which boils down to the presumption that representatives of Big Journalism hold titles of nobility, are better than the rest of us.

Why Broadcast Journalism is
Unnecessary and Illegitimate