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2019-12-12 Home Front: Politix

Tom Brokaw: Journalists Used to Be Trusted, But Social Media Ruined That

I’m terribly sorry, my dear, but absolutely nobody cares about your concerns. If they did, you’d be doing this interview on NBC, not that other news channel.

[NEWSBUSTERS.ORG] Longtime NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw came on CBS’s The Late Show Monday to talk about his new Watergate book and compare the impeachment inquiry of Richard Nixon to the current impeachment of President Trump. While he was there, he also boasted how journalists in his day could be counted on to report accurately; but today, people got their news from social media which couldn’t be trusted.

While comparing his time covering Watergate to the current impeachment proceedings, Brokaw told host Stephen Colbert how journalists used to be considered trustworthy, because they had plenty of time to do their own sourcing and could control what was reported:

“[I]t wasn't 24-7 on television...I would be working the phones all day long to try to find out what, in fact, happened and, when it would go on, it would be very much organized and I could count on what I was saying,” he touted.

Colbert interjected to joke, “Wait, go back! What was news like when it was organized and you could count on what you were saying? Take me back to this mythical land!”

But now, Brokaw lamented, the rise of new media on social media platforms had caused Americans to pick and choose what media they wanted instead of what “could be authenticated.” He added that while journalists weren’t infallible, they “worked hard” at finding the facts and were held accountable for their reporting.

Brokaw also complained that the traditional media no longer had a monopoly on news reporting, saying we've "lost control" of social media:

Posted by Fred 2019-12-12 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11132 views ] Top

#1 Tom Brokaw sharing his "Fake News" sorrows with the "Clown Nose On / Clown Nose Off Man" Stephen Colbert himself. This would break the even the fabled Rantburg Irony Meter™!

Posted by magpie 2019-12-12 01:25|| 2019-12-12 01:25|| Front Page Top

#2 No jackass, journalists used to be trusted, until Vietnam, then people started realizing what worthless subhuman lizards reporters were. Yeah there's a few of the old kind around, but they are vilified by the rest.

Posted by Silentbrick 2019-12-12 01:29|| 2019-12-12 01:29|| Front Page Top

Brokaw appears to be.... reaching back some distance in his assessment.

Posted by Besoeker 2019-12-12 03:12|| 2019-12-12 03:12|| Front Page Top

#4 "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids..."

Posted by Elmerert Hupens2660 2019-12-12 03:55|| 2019-12-12 03:55|| Front Page Top

#5 Pitcher to a well too many times.

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2019-12-12 04:09|| 2019-12-12 04:09|| Front Page Top

#6 Tom Brokaw: Journalists Used to Be Trusted, But ~~Social Media~~ The Free Flow of Information Ruined That

FIFY Tom

Posted by Procopius2k 2019-12-12 06:43|| 2019-12-12 06:43|| Front Page Top

#7 Yeah, trusted until you were exposed.

Posted by Bobby 2019-12-12 07:33|| 2019-12-12 07:33|| Front Page Top

#8 "Your honor, my client didn't recklessly and maliciously defame the plaintiff and destroy his reputation for professional advantage and financial gain. 'Social media' did that."

Posted by Lex 2019-12-12 08:24|| 2019-12-12 08:24|| Front Page Top

#9 Journalists stopped being trusted when they stopped being journalists.

Posted by JohnQC 2019-12-12 10:44|| 2019-12-12 10:44|| Front Page Top

#10 We are actually coming full circle. Once upon a time the maxim was "Believe half of what you see (with your own eyes) and nothing of what you hear (read in print, radio, TV, gossip, etc.)"

Posted by M. Murcek 2019-12-12 14:09|| 2019-12-12 14:09|| Front Page Top

#11 "Your honor, my client didn't recklessly and maliciously defame the plaintiff and destroy his reputation for professional advantage and financial gain, he did it because the plaintiff is conservative."

Posted by rjschwarz 2019-12-12 14:34|| 2019-12-12 14:34|| Front Page Top

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