I just sent this to NBC - "Chuck Todd has been grossly misinformed"

[urgk]

"The media is not a contestant on reality TV, beholden to the mood swings of other roommates. It is a watchdog -- an integral part of a robust, functional Democracy. It is the media's job to report events, not to try to guide them. If reporting on major international stories like Blackwater's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan or the degree to which American interrogators have broken the rules of the Geneva convention causes Congress to divert resources, so be it. There is absolutely nothing more patriotic, more fundamentally American than basing national policy on truth, transparency and the pursuit of justice.

Mr. Todd, in short, it is not your place to decide how news events change the course of events, it is your job to report them.

And NBC, if you want to beat FOX in the ratings, don't try to out-FOX them, change the game. While they (along with CNN) are racing for the lowest common denominator, reach back into the glory days of the news for real newsmen. Find the next Cronkite, not the next clown. Cover the important stories. Beat Huffingtonpost to the punch. If you bring absolute honesty to evening news, you have a product that no one else can (or is willing to) bring to the public. Try spending more money on real journalism than on focus groups. Allocate your resources to dig deep into real news rather than whitening the teeth of beauty contestants with more hairspray than moral fiber. Look at the numbers for Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann and websites like MediaMatters.org combined. NBC's evening news could have those numbers."

If anyone else would like to add your voice, try e-mailing them at [email protected]

{Note - On edit, I'd change the wording of the line about HuffPost, Maddow and Olbermann gaining viewers (thanks SteppingRazor for pointing out something I'm a bit embarrassed not to have caught initially). But, even with the wrong info., that's what I sent, so I'd better leave it like that. D*** it.}

[SteppingRazor]

1. One small problem with your analysis: NBC News gets about 9 million viewers on average.

Olbermann and Maddow get about one tenth of that.

[urgk]

2. That's not a small problem...I need to edit.

Thanks.

[SteppingRazor]

3. For what it's worth, I think it's more the medium than the message.

Network news broadcasts have endured falling ratings for years now, but far more people still watch networks than watch cable. Even Bill O'Reilly, who, like it or not, is cable TV's ratings behemoth, doesn't come close to the numbers that any of the three network news broadcasts get.

[urgk]

4. I can't believe that CNN hasn't figured out yet to sell integrity...

Of the non-network news broadcasts, MSNBC has to lean left (which I understand), but there's room for somebody to step up and say "Politics be damned, here's the news." CNN used to have that niche, but now that they'd stand out so obviously as counter point, they should take it.

And you're right, TV is still the easiest medium to watch. It's time-consuming to pick through DU or youtube for clips or whole shows, which requires a time commitment. I think as the web makes it easier to grab a beer, sit in your la-z-boy and watch the news, it will gain ground on the networks.

[pundaint]

5. Maybe David Gregory told him so

The Book results aside, would be TV news outlets would do well to heed the admonition before they all have FOX-like numbers. I am so sick of their false equivalencies, the "plenty of blame to go around" nonsense, and protecting their access by wasting our time, that I haven't been able to last through a network news show since they became tabloids in the 90's. When they finally regain the pride and honor in their profession to broadcast something like "Sarah Palin again parroted the misleadingly false talking point that the Democratic health care legislation provides for death boards," they will be again worthy of our attention.

[demigoddess]

6. it all started when Reagan and company changed the rules and made the

news departments responsible for earning their own money. Formerly they had been supported by the profits from the entertainment sections of the networks. The first thing that happened was that a lot of reporters were fired. The news departments were downsized. Some news was outsourced and now they have to make ratings to get the money for all those high-salaried anchor faces. And now they have competition from cable channels. That is why they are all so stupid.