In search of a better media

Frank Rich has a good column today about the failure of our establishment media. Constrasting their coverage between the nerdprom, a/k/a/ White House Correspondent's Dinner and the breaking news story of the Times Square bomber that coincided with it, he rightly points out they have degenerated to the point where they're more interested in talking about themselves than they are in covering the news. Indeed, it often seems to me they've come to believe they are the news and the newsmakers.

Of course it's not about delivering facts anymore, it's all about the 30 second soundbytes that are easy to cover and provide endless opportunities for them to speculate about who will win the cycle. Goddess forbid they delve into the facts, since we all know facts have a liberal bias and they live in fear of that label. As Rich points out, this is how our politics has devolved into a destructive spin cycle based on lies. It's true when he says, "...politicians become more convinced than ever that they can get away with almost any tall tale," since they pay no price for lying.

But that aside, the whole spectacle of the nerdprom was embarrassing and disheartening. I mean red carpet arrivals for press awards? Really? And they're were so busy in their excited tweeting about their encounters with B-list celebrities, a breaking news story wasn't even registering on their radar. Rich sums it nicely.

As we venerate the heroic street vendors who gave America its reality check last weekend, we should remember that they were the first to report what was happening in Times Square and that those covering and attending the White House Correspondents Dinner were the last.

Yet they still blame those dirty hippie bloggers for killing their livelihood. Clueless.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]