The Firing Squad

By Nina Jones

Forget the Birthers, there is a new craze sweeping the journalistic arena. An arena, according to NBC News correspondent Chuck Todd, has been tainted by such filth as…”radio DJ[s].” Todd’s beef with the likes of Glenn Beck and his accusation of Obama’s racism against, “white people or the white culture,” expands beyond the wag of a bitterly disapproving finger; he is fuming about the lack of repercussions from Fox News that he believes should have resulted in Beck losing his job. What bothers him the most, however, is the fact that Beck and others in the media whom Todd does not consider to be “real journalists,” are going to drive the genuine voices in the media to become a fleet of Howard Beales all screaming about how they are mad as hell.

Another big name under fire is CNN’s Lou Dobbs. From the looks of it, people don’t like what he’s saying (and will not stop saying) about the Birthers movement and about their belief that Obama has not produced a valid birth certificate. Scott Pierce of Deseret News rambles about how it is irresponsible for CNN to continue to employ someone who seemingly sides with a controversial fringe movement (Dobbs has never disputed Obama’s citizenship) and frequently reports on the “non-issue.”  Really, though, Pierce was grasping so tight at his own disapproval in hopes that people would see his awkward vitriol as a reason to be concerned about this Lou Dobbs character.

Now, one does not have to agree with the assertions made by Beck and Dobbs to wonder why anyone cares enough to want them fired. Birthers aren’t the only constituent of Dobbs’ audience. Beck, Dobbs, and every other political pundit out there aren’t forcing us to watch their programs, listen to their radio shows, and believe what they are saying, so why don’t Todd and Pierce just change the channel? The whole point of a free press and variety in the media (at least in its ideal state) is the freedom of choice. If viewers didn’t want these guys on the air, they would stop watching and ignore them as they fade out of the public eye.

It seems that this outcry to cleanse the media of ideological charlatans is targeting a certain type of media personality and excluding a few others. Keith Olbermann, a living punch line and rejected muppet, bellows at what I can only imagine is his reflection in the camera with the twisted abandon reserved for nameless, faceless bloggers. His acerbic, unfounded, and pathetically cartoonish declarations made on a nightly basis require underhanded personal attacks and twisted logic to hit his point home. It is obvious that he no longer cares about attracting a bigger audience or inviting dissenting opinions on his program when he refers to Republicans as, “the prostitutes of our system.” What makes him more of a journalist than Glenn Beck? The framed Cornell degree he cuddles with at bedtime? Is it because Beck and others, as Todd states, “never really spent their lives being journalists”? Well, that must be it. We all know that non-journalists contribute very little to society. Non-journalists like Tim Russert, Chris Matthews, George Stephanopoulos, and Diane Sawyer just to name a few. If Todd and others worried about the state of journalism today have genuine concern, Keith Olbermann and his “special” comment would be among their top priorities.

And despite what anyone claims, it’s not sensationalism that keeps these captive audiences coming back to Beck, Dobbs, and whoever else real journalists don’t care for.  That’s what Todd and the like really fear the most. People who listen, really listen, and craft their own opinions from what they see and hear may come to their own conclusion about national affairs that don’t align with Todd and NBC. It is easier to delegitimize the competition than to play fair. To silence one’s opposition, one must provide a worthwhile alternative. Instead the real journalists are stomping their feet like children to get our attention.

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