Oh the richness of life and the actors who choose to play it on a public stage. Recently, in a span of less than 48 hours, we’ve seen public, high profile illustrations of how whacko the world of journalism has become and the evolution it has undergone over the last 40 years. Consider:
NBC anchor Brian Williams’ embellishments about himself; where HE was and what HE was doing violated one of the most fundamental rules taught to any cub reporter: Don’t make yourself the story. Did Williams think (even if it were true) that he is the ONLY reporter working from a war zone who has been in aircraft damaged by the enemy? Maybe this lack of common sense can be blamed on him having almost as much interest in making himself a brand as fulfilling the entrusted job of anchoring a national nightly news program. Evidence of this has long been abundant. He has frequented Letterman while crossing network lines, hosted a stint on Springsteen’s E Street Radio and simply made himself so widely a part of the celebrity world as to suggest he forgot journalism rule number one a long, long time ago.
Contrast that with the brilliant work of Jon Stewart. He of Comedy Central fame made paradigm-shifting contributions to how we receive and think of the “news.” Through the much-underrated device of satire he consistently offered more thought provoking content about the day’s events than Brian Williams could have mustered in any 20 broadcasts. He spawned an amazing stable of comedic and entertainment talent and in announcing after 15 years his planned departure from The Daily Show made us realize that in recent years it is his “fake” news that earned, among much of the public, “real” trust. In fact he is so respected you wonder if his departure announcement (one day after William’s comeuppance) is itself another grand satirical barb? Then after wondering this you realize just pondering the comedic potential of it all underscores just how influential Stewart has become.
Now contrast all of the above with former CBS reporter Bob Simon. Killed two days after the Williams mess in a New York traffic accident, Simon was so old school to the world of electronic journalism that his roots reach back all the way to Vietnam. If Williams is among the poster children of the contorted remnants of network news influence in the 21st century and Stewart the trail blazer who endlessly punctured the silly side of it, then Simon was the rock-ribbed, conventional correspondent whose work unfailingly reminded us of the importance of having a Fifth Estate in the first place.
Simon’s work across varied platforms at CBS has long been regarded of consistently high quality. But it was within theater of war that his light shone brightest. So bright in fact that through no fault of his own, he WAS part of the story for 40 days in 1991 when captured by Iraqi soldiers during the Gulf War. When safely released, Simon returned to his flawless storytelling style and during the era when the likes of Williams (he’s not the only one who has consistently crossed lines between the worlds of celebrity and journalist) flourished, and Stewart was born, Simon remained one of the original and most important definitions of being a journalist.
If Williams does indeed return after a planned lengthy suspension here’s hoping that he slows his “jumping the shark” behavior as contribution to ghastly network news evolution. As Stewart seeks his next endeavor here’s hoping that he rightly grasps the widespread trust he’s earned from quite simply being more authentic and more brilliant than those before him. Finally, as Bob Simon is laid to rest here’s hoping that some young journalist takes note and realizes that meaningful, important work can still be had in a profession where being neither a poseur or clown is a prerequisite.
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John Durante is marketing services director for WordWrite Communications.
