"What can I tell you, I was 17 at the time, growing up in NYC...........but I already knew I was a Republican. Being in a mock presidential debate in 1976 and portraying Gerald Ford showed me how insidious the dims were. But I still hadn't learned to see it in the media.
A couple of years in radio news disabused me of that mindset."
I'm part of the Reagan Generation. I think we're all idealistic and easily disappointed when people don't live up to our high expectaions. When I started college I believed that most journalists did their best to be fair and accurate. I changed my major (to Business) when I found out the college classes were teaching us "future journalists" to be anything but fair and accurate. At the time I thought it was just that one professor. Now I know differently.
I wonder if Dan Rather has any idea how many people he inspired and then disappointed? I wonder if he cares?
I wonder if Dan Rather has any idea how many people he inspired and then disappointed? I wonder if he cares? The answer to both is a resounding NO.
In a way I am also part of the Reagan Generation, in that the very first vote I cast for President was for him. I never had any "journalism" professors and eventually dropped out and went to technical school school for broadcasting.
Like you, my ideal for reporters (and myself) was fair and accurate. I learned differently the hard way. A very politically powerful organization tried to get me fired from my job because of my "biased" coverage of an issue. Fortunately the General Manager of the radio station believed in unbiased news and proved that I wasn't biased in my coverage, and went on the air with an editorial stating so.
I got even with them, though........when I left news and became a lobbyist, one of my first clients was the group they opposed. The death threats I got, and the losses I took in the legislature notwithstanding.........every small win against them was the greatest thrill I ever had.