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September 26, 2006
Real Journalists Don't Wear Hair Gel
Keith Olbermann.
It's obvious Olbermann considers himself the modern-day Edward R. Murrow. His blog tagline ("Good blog and good luck") and his "Special Comment" are meant to invoke memories of the man who is credited with raising questions about Joseph McCarthy.
There's a major difference, though.
We watched clips of Murrow's shows in my history of mass communications class. Murrow disagreed with the actions of the government, but always maintained a level of respect for those who held elected office. Olbermann is a pretender, and a bad one.
Murrow earned his place in journalism with his World War II reporting and his reputation as an honest journalist. It was this respect for his audience and their regard for him, that gave him the gravitas he needed to confront the excesses of Joseph McCarthy. His respect for those he criticized, and his measured words and tone are what enabled him to speak so authoritatively.
Olbermann has not earned that respect, and his increasingly unhinged rhetoric is not likely to influence anyone outside his particular ideological circle. The crazier Olbermann gets, the less he'll compare to the man he obviously hero-worships. Watching Olbermann emote, one gets the distinct impression that his only knowledge of Murrow comes from George Clooney's film.
Most importantly, Murrow came across like a concerned citizen looking to make his country better. Olbermann sounds like a partisan hack looking for ratings.
But hey, 324,000 viewers a night can't be wrong!
Posted by slublog at September 26, 2006 12:00 AM
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