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I wasted that 37 cent stamp...The bastard never wrote me back :evilgrin:
July 20, 2004
Mr. Andrew Heyward
President
CBS News
524 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
Dear Mr. Heyward,
I understand that you are "unhappy", and "surprised" that The Daily Show won an award for news presentation...
There are a few things that you may not have realized about your "audience". The big-bucks you pay your focus groups, market researchers, poll takers, etc, are wasted, because you and your company have missed the most important thing... TRUTH...
It does not take a genius to figure out that what we get now-a-days is NOT news... It's "infotainment". We do not turn to the CBS Nightly news to be "entertained". We want to know what happened today... That's ALL we need... We do not want our news "spun" or "sanitized-for-our-protection".
To be fair, I must say that of all the current prompter readers, Dan Rather has started to tell a bit more truth. We realize that 'some' administrations are petty, vindictive and secretive, but that should be no reason for you and your news organization to capitulate and take your news report right from their faxes.
The fact that some 'journalists' are risking their lives in Iraq is very sad... To die for a lie is always a sad thing. They DO have one distinction though...They went for personal gain, fame, accolades, and maybe a book deal when they return. The soldiers, who went, have no such "treats" waiting for them.
The "in-bedding" (not a spelling error) of journalists was an especially egregious error on your part. The REAL story had you chosen to report it, was the fact that the military was so "eager" to accommodate the media... THAT was the story. It does not take a wild leap of imagination to know that "reporters", who were "suited up and encamped" with the same people who would protect their lives, would write glowing reports of their bravery and success.
CNN used to be the place to go for news... Why?? It was because they were "the fly on the wall", and we saw events unfolding, with little commentary. It is indeed sad, that instead of holding onto their principles ,even they have descended into the glitzy Fox-ified slimy journalism, like everyone else.
Those of us with satellite TV have left you and the rest in the dust, because we have found other, more credible sources for news. Example: This administration is the least respected worldwide, of ANY in hundreds of years. How do I know this? Not because I read US papers or listen/watch US networks. I go to the SOURCE... Foreign news. To read a paper here, or watch a broadcast, we would have to assume that because Afghan and Iraqi girls have pencils, all is right with the world...and that during protests here, even though an overhead shot showed that they filled the mall, "a few hundred" "anarchists and troublemakers" marched ....spin-spin-spin..
We were attacked on 9/11 , in some part, because you and your fellow news people have seen "trials of the century", shark attacks, missing blonde girls, feuding teenage divas, car chases, diet gurus, movie star shenanigans, and assorted other "fluff", as more important then NEWS , and have spoon-fed that trash to the citizens, instead of facts that we needed to know.
Globalization/consolidation of media had made it a very ugly situation. We, the public, GAVE you our public airwaves, in exchange for the obligation BY you, to inform us of the important happenings in our world. Instead of fulfilling your obligation, you and yours, TOOK those airwaves, and turned them into a cash-cow for yourselves and to HELL with us. There used to be investigative journalism, but that seems to have vanished. It's hard to investigate when the eventual target may be someone who controls the purse-strings of your own network. There is enough corruption and political evil to last a lifetime, if only some network were brave enough to dig into it. We won't hold our breath... Self-preservation and greed will win out, and we know it.
Your advertisers and corporate masters certainly have total control (even if only implied); over what you report, and more and more of us are realizing this... Notice your ratings/share dropping over the years?? Hmmm?
The Daily Show tells it like it is, and that is why it won and you didn't. They deserve to be recognized because they have than audacity to tell the truth and expose the nonsense the rest of you are serving up to us daily. Instead of getting your panties in a wad, because you were overlooked, perhaps a better tack would be to watch Jon Stewart... watch and learn.
A former viewer
my name
my address
my phone number..(he didn't call either :cry:
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