The New Walter
Written by Lee Schneider, founder of DocuCinema
A good friend commented recently about the passing of newsman Walter Cronkite, wondering if journalism was going the way of blacksmithing. Well, you can be sure of this – there will never be another Walter.
I was in a network meeting the other day, and the executive running it was explaining that during the Jurassic Era of television, there were only three networks. His group of young listeners was surprised. “Only three?” With only three networks on the air, Walter, Johnny and Barbara were oracles and earth-shakers. Walter told us that Kennedy and King were murdered. Johnny walked in the footsteps of Allen and Paar. Barbara broke barriers. Different world now. Mostly because of technology. We’ve lost a lot, but gained links to remind us what Paar and Allen did. We’ve seen the rise of the citizen journalist.
Citizen journalists, some with zero credentials, perform the most simple and powerful journalism: Show up, look around, tell what you see.
During the Paleozoic Era, when I was an intern with no credentials writing for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, I wrote with Bic pens and typed on Selectrics and the best part of the job was showing up and saying, “I’m from the newspaper. Tell me who opened fire first.” (Remember, this was Texas.) The only thing I could do was tell a story using black type on white paper – about as basic as basic could be.
News reporting today is like a guy who can’t have sex with a gal unless she’s wearing high heels and a wig. (No, this is not a confession.) Everybody knows news is tarted up now. Fair enough – to succeed, you have to be fascinating 24/7. Steep slope.
Yet some aren’t playing that game. Got a news story you think is worth investigating? You might find the money to do it by posting on Spot.us. The editors at The New York Times say they might publish one if it gets a go. There’s ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative reporting unit that has delivered some big stories.
Are the only journalists icons like Walter? Somebody with a journalism degree? There’s debate about whether bloggers are fake journalists, cutters and pasters really. And how’s Twitter’s news authority? According to Twitter these people are dead: Jeff Goldblum, Harrison Ford, George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, Natalie Portman and Ellen DeGeneres – struck down by tragic accidents. (This just in: they’re not dead.)
Citizen journalism isn’t perfect. There’s something unsettling about the best newsman being a comedian. Bottom line is you can’t place absolute faith in journalists anymore. That’s why there will be no more Walters like Cronkite. You didn’t need to fact check a guy like Walter, you trusted him. The man was on TV, in black and white at first, the very soul of credibility. Now that everybody’s got their own mic, you have to fact check everybody. You need to know their motivations and who’s paying them. You have to be your own Walter.
I love this Thursday — I’m not sure why but I will THINK about it
Walter
If we have to be our own Walter, then probably we need to be willing to talk as well as write. We need to be open to questions from doubters, as with 500 Words, to the “wisdom of the crowd” making comments. When I’m writing for the Commercial Space Gateway about the NewSpace market, I picture myself telling the story to the people or organizations I’m writing about. That often causes me to shift my tone, be a bit more civil, and remember that I know just a piece of the story. Walter, in addition to being a professional journalist, was above all himself. He became a trusted friend to the nation. It was a talent and a gift to us all, especially at monumental moments.
Yes, Richard, a very good point – his connection to us, to himself and to the material. It all works together, particularly when talking about monumental moments and big changes. Thanks for commenting.
Works for me! Thanks for commenting.
Hey Lee,
I grew up watching Walter Cronkite and my trust in him was rock solid. I’ve never gotten the same feeling from any anchor since–the egos pour through. No doubt Walter had an ego (as do we all) but I never witnessed it. He was a man for all seasons.
Regarding the Internet and the proliferation of “journalists” and “writers:” Unfortunately, there’s been a severe dumbing down, both in thinking and in writing skill. I never was a journalist as you were; I learned to write in publishing and then went on the the corporate world. But I did learn to write; I did write in professional environments. Now online, with the proliferation of blogs everyone is a writer and feels he or she has something meaningful to report or say. I certainly haven’t found this to be the case. And I have go admit it bothers me.
Best regards,
Bob
I like your comment about ego – very perceptive. For me … “publishing” or “media” or whatever we call what we do now is something of a Wild West environment. Everyone has their own printing press and credentials go out the window along with the AP Style Guide. The flip side of this makes me mindful of when I first came out to California and was looking for film writing work. It was a lot like being an athlete. It didn’t seem to matter what school one attended or what the resume looked like – if you could hit home runs or throw 90 mph metaphorically you got the job. I liked that. You were judged on what you brought to the game that day. And I am seeing some of that in media now. Superstars are emerging … some because they are loud, some because they are talented. There will always be silly bloggers like Perez Hilton, but I like to think merit will drive the market eventually.
I saw that report you subtly referred to about the comedian, John Stewart, being the most trusted name in news today (based on a non-scientific poll). It was something like 45% of Americans trusted Stewart over Brian Williams (27%) and Katie Couric (a depressing 7% for us ladies).
What does that say about the collective “us”? On one hand, I think it says we are privvy to the bull that politics is dishing (I mean seriously, Sarah Palin???). But on the other hand, and I can only speak for myself, it represents a general distrust in ALL media.
You’re absolutely right. A discerning mind has to put forth EFFORT today if they want the truth about a given topic. It’s just not possible in my generation (those that grew up watching Jennings instead of Cronkite) to trust a quick write up in Newsweek, a minute-thirty segment , or the in-deapth sensationalism that is CNN, FOX or MSNBC. Reporters are as packaged and celbretized as Britney Spears, and I certainly wouldn’t trust the Spears Factor either.
The saddest part, though, to me, is that it’s not just the media. It’s our healthcare, it’s our food supply, it’s our cosmetics and baby products. Acronyms like the FDA, USDA and USA have undeniably lost their clout. Perhaps that’s why we all have blogs touting some form of our own truth.
Of course, a generation of reality tv making nobodies into undeserving somebodies could have something to do with it, too. If you multiply 15 minutes by 304 million people in the states, that’s a lot of fame to be had and an awful lot of BS to weed through.
Good point about instant fame and its inverse proportion to credibility. Credibility seems to be pretty fluid these days, but if we all question the credibility + sources of our info, meds and food that is a good thing. Thanks for commenting, Shannon.