Yesterday was indeed TV news’ most humiliating day. In no way, shape or form could it have been compared with a day 10 years ago, since the TV culture and news cultures have evolved. Or is that the word? Yesterday television lived up to the late Fred Allen’s famous quote: “Television is a new medium. It’s called a medium because nothing is well-done.” On several fronts, it was like watching a car wreck — and here’s why.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.