Back in the 60’s and 70’s, when I was growing up, there was no cable news. There was barely any cable TV, for that matter. Led by journalists such as Walter Cronkite and David Brinkley, the TV news had the reputation as being truthful and ethical. Video Link Most of the TV news reporters got their start in newspapers or radio journalism. The 70’s saw the growth of TV’s influence, and there were more “talking heads” in TV news (as they made fun of with Ted Baxter on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”). Video Link Once the TV news stations started hiring image consultants and making their news anchors commenting and making jokes to each other, then news became more like entertainment. Source
There were no TV news scandals back in those days. They had
TV scandals, political scandals, music scandals and other entertainment
scandals, but the news was revered for its honesty and lack of corruption. Video Link
By and large, most journalists are very ethical and just
looking for the truth. However, the blurring of lines between news and
entertainment has created TV news personalities that will say or do anything
just for good ratings or more fans. Video Link Source
In the 80’s, newsmagazines like 48 Hours came about,
creating some of these TV news personalities and focusing on sensational crime
cases. Source
In the 90’s, the growth of cable news
stations brought many more, such as Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly,
Tucker Carlson, Glenn Beck, Joe Scarborough, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow,
Chris Matthews, Geraldo Rivera, Nancy Grace, and Hota Kotb. A lot of these
people got their start in sports, business or entertainment, not journalism. Video Link
Most cable news networks pretend that their news is still
fair, balanced, ethical and honest, but the shows are laden with lots of
political opinion or other types of opinion shows that are not hard news based
on fact. The most trusted (and most
factual) TV news can be found on the BBC (or BBC America in the U.S.) and PBS
(or NPR on radio), followed by the broadcast news stations ABC, CBS and NBC;
then CNN. The other cable news stations
are a lot more biased in one direction or another. Source
When you watch these cable news
channels, it’s often hard to tell which parts are fact and which are
opinion. Unlike a newspaper, which
clearly labels one section as “opinion,” the cable news mixes it all together,
leaving the viewer to wonder what to believe. Of course, if a lot of your program is opinion-based, rather than fact-based, it's going to have bias. Video and Story Link
Cable news networks such as FOX and MSNBC pander to their
respective right-wing and left-wing audiences. Many viewers live in a sort of
ideological bubble where they share the same viewpoints as the shows they
watch, the churches they go to, the people they’re friends with, their
neighbors, etc. They don’t interact with people outside of that bubble, even on
social media, because they block or unfriend anyone who disagrees with them. Video Link Source
It could be dangerous when the president of the United
States only watches one news station – the one that agrees with him. He should be watching (and reading) all
different viewpoints to get a better perspective. This is why he calls other
news sources “fake news.” Source
Quite a few columnists have pointed out that the president’s behavior is
similar to that of a dictator; listening only to his own side of things,
especially on TV news, and criticizing the rest, is one facet of dictators. Source
Another facet is turning the public against journalists. Video Link Source Investigating his enemies, demonizing minorities, and using nepotism are other traits that the president shares with dictators (just to name a few). Source
