Re: WFAA Ch 8 Dallas does the Brady Campaign's bidding
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:49 pm
I guess I'm older than you think, I count Kronkite and his cronies as prime movers in the change.phoneguy wrote:More responsible and responsive?, Maybe, but those also were the days of Walter Cronkite declaring on national TV the Vietnam War was lost after Tet (a total military defeat for for VietCong and the North Vietnamese Army), and NBC News "helping" Chevy trucks explode with a little assistance from a few strategically drilled holes and model rocket engines.jimlongley wrote:Maybe they don't know that?phoneguy wrote:Sorry, but as a former (with almost 30 years in the biz, both radio and TV) broadcaster, and someone who entered the biz during the fairness doctrine days, WFAA would be exempt from the fairness doctrine, which pretty much gave "bona fide news stories" free reign. Which is why the networks would love to see it come back, they can slant their news any way they want, while opinion and commentary would require the station owner to offer equal time to opposing opinions. Owners would find it not worth the hassel and expense, and we would go back to gardening, home improvment and auto repair shows as the staple of AM radio. Snooze city, and a big money loser for station owners.The Annoyed Man wrote:An excellent letter, Jim. . . .particularly the part about threatening to use their own "fairness doctrine" against them.
And as a former employee of another station in the Belo family, I'm not surprised.
Actually I remember those days quite well, and I also recall that the media was more responsible and responsive back then.