A friend brought this Public Editor piece to my attention. Earlier today I was reading the article I blogged at http://davidusher.blogspot.com/2004/08/new-york-times-week-in-review-what-us.html
In this rapid fire information environment the media mushes up nearly all news so that we can't easily sort the facts from the spin delivered by both the news makers and the news gatherers. That's a terrible disservice yet as information consumers we seem to countenance it.
I think Jack Rosenthal's point of following up big news stories over time for those stories that deserve such coverage is sorely needed. While selecting which to cover longitudinally may be subjective, that's poor reason not to do so.
As Rosenthal opines, there's little coherency, and much stimulation amid the competitive news marketplace. The "News as entertainment" theme pops to mind exemplified in talk radio and cable news/commentary shows. Overall, this is not good for a rational democracy (is that an oxymoron?), but it's probably less damaging than propaganda (which the Internet, among other forces, killed forever in all but the most backward societies).
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