Serious Journalism...?
Today, I'm shocked to learn that NBC has hired Luke Russert, son of former Meet the Press Anchor and recently deceased, Tim Russert. 22 years old, with zero experience in Television and broadcast journalism, he's being tapped for covering election issues and topics as they relate to "the youth culture".
Serious journalists everywhere should be justifiably green with envy. Young Luke has been handed uncompromising access to both parties' candidates, the Democratic convention (where was he for the Twin Cities Convention?), and NBC executives say young Russert is going to be the new face representing "the youth vote" and politics.
I better not hear another anchor at NBC rail endlessly over Sarah Palin's lack of experience...
-TMS
Serious journalists everywhere should be justifiably green with envy. Young Luke has been handed uncompromising access to both parties' candidates, the Democratic convention (where was he for the Twin Cities Convention?), and NBC executives say young Russert is going to be the new face representing "the youth vote" and politics.
I better not hear another anchor at NBC rail endlessly over Sarah Palin's lack of experience...
-TMS
posted by Troy M. Stirman | 12:50 PM
3 Comments:
Obama enters race. Republicans decry lack of experience. McCain enters race. Democrats decry old Washington status quo. Obama chooses Biden. Republicans decry old Washington status quo. McCain chooses Palin. Democrats decry lack of experience.
Absolutely nobody can consistently and meaningfully apply the experience argument now when it comes to the presidential race, so we might as well beat up on some fresh-faced reporter who may or may not be good. And let's face it, this is not about him being inexperienced, it's about his Dad being a liberal. At least be honest.
It seems I've made a new friend...welcome.
Bleh. I knew I would be outed. Usually thanks to sitemeter. I like to talk about these things without my name so that the ideas are not linked and to and then tarnished by the personality, or vice versa, which is usually the case in politics. Issues and ideas always end up taking the backseat so that we can go after the person. (Not that that is what you would do to me, but it's what takes place on the national stage.)
But yes, I do believe the whole experience argument has been reduced to a political weapon of convenience for whoever is wielding it in the moment now. So it has basically lost its substance.
I'll have to be respectfully honest and say that I believe this post to be a bit disingenuous because I don't believe it would be written here if the same situation happened to apply to the son of a prominent conservative political journalist. I think we all need to own up to the fact that when we have deep, pre-defined allegiances, we manufacture ways to discredit those who happen to come from different perspectives or beliefs. Unfortunately this doesn't just happen in politics, but in other spheres like Christianity too. It's intellectually dishonest and we need to be very wary of it.
And it's not a conservative or liberal practice - everyone does it. That's why we all need to help each other stick to real ideas and real issues and dialogue honestly and maturely and not revert to personal attacks or discrediting or other lowest-common-denominator types of practices that ignore real substance. It would help us get to the meat of things a lot more quickly and find some truth in what we talk about.
Which might just lead people to vote for someone not because he/she is a Democrat or Republican, but because they have listened to, considered, and thought deeply for themselves about real facts, real issues, real beliefs, real visions, and real policies. Diversionary attacks and non-substantive arguments have no place in such a world.
Anyway, that's enough of this book for now!
Nothing personal! I respect the heck out of you Troy!
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