Listening to lifelong journalists and about the field of journalism has been interesting to me. My writing has been songwriting (where of course, the melody, music and vocals are 90% of the challenge), squeezing lyrics in to fit into the genre of the music (or not; think great melodies and instrumentals). But maybe that has helped me to write prolifically on Substack. I'm not out to convert anyone, but just express my impressions. Of course writing about politics is an entirely different animal than writing lyrics and poetry (which often becomes lyrics). You need statistics and to stay current on the news. Everyone I know is liberal (live in MN), so I've learned to offer general platitudes to people w/o getting into a fight I, like Bernie Goldberg, am a moderate conservative (small government, low taxes) and that point of view is acceptable to everyone. But things like abortion cause arguments, so I just let that be, and it's really no one's business but my own. Like with a song, I go for "the feel".
That was good, didn't know that much about you but I do now. I agree, we may not see everything eye to eye but we have to keep talking to each other. I'm not in the media (nor do I want to be) but I want to understand all sides-that is true freedom.
Thank you for posting this interview Mr. Goldberg. I believe that considering each individual perspective on any given issue to reach a consensus is crucial for a society to function. Unfortunately, many of our politicians (both Republicans and Democrats) and much of the media simply do not give a damn about anyone else's perspective other then their own.
Bernie--Thanks for sharing this fascinating interview. Informative and entertaining. Solid questions and revealing answers. And, above all, a balanced conversation. I did come away with the conclusion that eliminating bias in the newsroom is as big of a challenge as achieving world peace. Unfortunately.
RE: Your idea of ideologically diversifying newsrooms, which you said was originally a joke but you're now at least half-serious about. It doesn't make much sense to to ask prospective hires if they're liberal or conservative or whether they're R's, D's or I's, then to hire them so that there's ideological diversity and then to tell them to keep their politics to themselves.
It's make much more sense to tell journalists when they're hired that you don't want to know their politics, you don't want anyone else in the newsroom to know their politics and you want them to strive to be universally fair but critical no matter who or what story they're covering.
On Bill O'Reilly's FNC show, Ted Koppel told O'Reilly that no one - not even his wife - knows how he votes. O'Reilly did not have a comeback to this. Mr. Koppel had no problem having guests from different view points and he had no problem substantively and fairly holding their feet to the fire. I remember seeing a clip where he (fairly) got Rush Limbaugh to declare that he (Limbaugh) is fundamentally an entertainer. He was incisive with liberals as well. I have no idea what Koppel's politics are. I'd like to think he's sensible enough to be a moderate liberal, but that's my bias. :)
I don't think we even know what Tim Russert's politics were when he hosted Meet the Press. We know he once worked for liberal politicians. But so what? We also know that the flame throwing right-winger David Horowitz was once a communist.
I really enjoyed your interview with Angela but I fear most of the ideas to improve journalism, and in essence diverse points of view, will never happen.
I am old enough to remember the 'Fairness Doctrine' in media and witnessed radio stations shut down by the FCC for violating that doctrine.
(Is there such a thing as an 'anti-fairness doctrine?)
Your analysis of Cable News is certainly correct as news is 'now for sale.' and has blurred the lines between message and the messenger.
Outstanding interview & hard truths, including rare identification of the media bias root cause IMO - that confirmation bias is what most consumers want.
Question though - to the 10 of us who actually want fair news & the truth, what do you recommend? All I can think is to effectively build my own personal newsroom by following such diverse opinions on Twitter (almost like a News Index 500).
Listening to lifelong journalists and about the field of journalism has been interesting to me. My writing has been songwriting (where of course, the melody, music and vocals are 90% of the challenge), squeezing lyrics in to fit into the genre of the music (or not; think great melodies and instrumentals). But maybe that has helped me to write prolifically on Substack. I'm not out to convert anyone, but just express my impressions. Of course writing about politics is an entirely different animal than writing lyrics and poetry (which often becomes lyrics). You need statistics and to stay current on the news. Everyone I know is liberal (live in MN), so I've learned to offer general platitudes to people w/o getting into a fight I, like Bernie Goldberg, am a moderate conservative (small government, low taxes) and that point of view is acceptable to everyone. But things like abortion cause arguments, so I just let that be, and it's really no one's business but my own. Like with a song, I go for "the feel".
Berney, thank you for sharing that with us thanks. Love you.
That was good, didn't know that much about you but I do now. I agree, we may not see everything eye to eye but we have to keep talking to each other. I'm not in the media (nor do I want to be) but I want to understand all sides-that is true freedom.
Great interview, Bernie! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for posting this interview Mr. Goldberg. I believe that considering each individual perspective on any given issue to reach a consensus is crucial for a society to function. Unfortunately, many of our politicians (both Republicans and Democrats) and much of the media simply do not give a damn about anyone else's perspective other then their own.
Bernie--Thanks for sharing this fascinating interview. Informative and entertaining. Solid questions and revealing answers. And, above all, a balanced conversation. I did come away with the conclusion that eliminating bias in the newsroom is as big of a challenge as achieving world peace. Unfortunately.
RE: Your idea of ideologically diversifying newsrooms, which you said was originally a joke but you're now at least half-serious about. It doesn't make much sense to to ask prospective hires if they're liberal or conservative or whether they're R's, D's or I's, then to hire them so that there's ideological diversity and then to tell them to keep their politics to themselves.
It's make much more sense to tell journalists when they're hired that you don't want to know their politics, you don't want anyone else in the newsroom to know their politics and you want them to strive to be universally fair but critical no matter who or what story they're covering.
On Bill O'Reilly's FNC show, Ted Koppel told O'Reilly that no one - not even his wife - knows how he votes. O'Reilly did not have a comeback to this. Mr. Koppel had no problem having guests from different view points and he had no problem substantively and fairly holding their feet to the fire. I remember seeing a clip where he (fairly) got Rush Limbaugh to declare that he (Limbaugh) is fundamentally an entertainer. He was incisive with liberals as well. I have no idea what Koppel's politics are. I'd like to think he's sensible enough to be a moderate liberal, but that's my bias. :)
I don't think we even know what Tim Russert's politics were when he hosted Meet the Press. We know he once worked for liberal politicians. But so what? We also know that the flame throwing right-winger David Horowitz was once a communist.
I really enjoyed your interview with Angela but I fear most of the ideas to improve journalism, and in essence diverse points of view, will never happen.
I am old enough to remember the 'Fairness Doctrine' in media and witnessed radio stations shut down by the FCC for violating that doctrine.
(Is there such a thing as an 'anti-fairness doctrine?)
Your analysis of Cable News is certainly correct as news is 'now for sale.' and has blurred the lines between message and the messenger.
Outstanding interview & hard truths, including rare identification of the media bias root cause IMO - that confirmation bias is what most consumers want.
Question though - to the 10 of us who actually want fair news & the truth, what do you recommend? All I can think is to effectively build my own personal newsroom by following such diverse opinions on Twitter (almost like a News Index 500).