The Eye Can’t See
There’s something particularly ironic in reporting a story about a news organization. At least when you are dealing with leaks in advance of an official announcement. In this case, the story is about layoffs at CBS News. Reports are that as many as 100 jobs will be cut from the morning and evening news operations and "60 Minutes." What’s left of their foreign bureaus will be chopped, as will maybe a dozen positions in Washington.
Said an executive who either has his fingers crossed or his head in darkness, "This is part of the overall plan to make CBS News successful and vibrant and award-winning for a long, long time. It won't have any effect on the ability of CBS News to continue with what we think is the best coverage in the news business."
So what this yahoo is suggesting is that the news operation was fat enough to be trimmed by 7%. And considering that their ratings are in the toilet, one can only speculate that those doing the firing are the ones who have been mucking up but will nonetheless keep their jobs.
If CBS News were smart, which doesn’t seem plausible from their track record since Uncle Walter left, they would clean house among the executive ranks, and especially in the promotion department. They would also unload Perky Couric. Then they could instead keep some of the real journalists; they might have a few left.
And if they were really smart, they would close all of their foreign bureaus and instead use the local networks in London, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, et cetera and tap into their coverage and expertise.
But journalism isn’t so important anymore at CBS, the once gold standard for broadcast news. Like ABC, NBC, and PBS, CBS is a shadow of its former self. Once important to keeping America informed, today they are all and only about ratings, offering sizzle to a nation that hungers for steak.
©2010 SetonnoteS
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