If love is the top of psychological triangle and the basis of all human motivations, then sex and money are at the top when it comes to the nightly news. In pre-9/11 days, the Chandra Levy story headlined the news for weeks and weeks. At it’s heart it was a sex story: Did "she" and "he" do it.
Many have noted that the Chandra Levy scandal was the touchstone, the low point, of news reporting for it’s generation. Many called "then" the age of irony, noting that before we had events worthy of real reporting, we HAD to dwell on such contrivances. Now, nearly half a year after September 11, we have come full circle. It’s not about sex this time though. It’s about money. It’s called Enron.
At their heart, the stories of Chandra Levy and Enron are identical. They are lamentable, counterfeit, news. They are insubstantial bookends to the most significant event in our generation’s history. They are powered by everything that real news is not. These stories are driven by the lies that Tom Brokaw tells us.
Lie #1. "We the News, Know What’s Important." While watching the terroristic acts through our national news services, we were discovering truth; truth about the deeds of evil people, truth about the events, and truth about ourselves. In somber, almost chilling ways we were told the simple facts. To look at "Chandron" (The Chandra Levy and Enron stories merged) the facts are apparent, it’s the details that aren’t. The details may never be known and that’s what sells the news. Peter Jennings is keeping this shell game going as long as possible trying to convince us the magic is in the magic, not the truth.
Thus, hours and hours are spent each day, trying to get at the details, like they will change to story. The facts concern people. It’s the details that are about sex and money and that’s what keeps us coming back for more.
These stories are old news a week after they make headlines. It’s what the news services do that’s sad. It’s no less macabre than if you took a person who recently died and dressed him up in different outfits over and over. "Hey look, it’s grandpa in a really nice tuxedo... How does he look now in a golf shirt and Chinos?" It wouldn’t really matter if you dressed him in John Travolta’s white Disco suit, grandpa is dead and all the decoration in the world is not going to change that. Yet, we continue to watch day and night.
Lie #2. "We the News, are Objective." Connie Chung is gonna tell you that her objectivity and unprejudiced knowledge of the story is what’s important. This principle could be likened to that of a heroin pusher who says he has no opinion on drug addiction. But when it comes to you buying a hit of smack, I have a feeling he’ll ask for the sale.
Frankly, we should want our news people to have an opinion. It’s called a belief in what’s right. I understand all the mumbo jumbo over the newsperson’s need for objectivity, but there comes a time when other ideals supersede this. It’s fine for Wolf Blizter to hold back his opinion on paper or plastic, but when the very fabric of our nation is being ripped to shreds, we don’t need a man to hold back his views, until "all" the facts are in. And I’m sure that dogma has nothing to do with that person’s desire for us to come back to them repeatedly to get "all" these facts. Ratings, revenue and repeat business is what’s it about. That’s why we "Chandron."
Lie #3. "We the News, Really Care About You." Anyone serving in a position so large that it affects only people as a mass, can never affect us as individuals. It’s true of rock stars, sports stars and it’s true of Tom Brokaw. This is just a fact. The people who sell us the news don’t care about us anymore than those who sell Kibbles & Bits care about your dog. If they did, they wouldn’t ride this gravy train of selling us sex and money disguised as the news.