Why Mourn for CBS Radio News? #380
By Hank Silverberg
Was it really a financial decision or was it a political one? That is what many people are asking about the impending death of CBS Radio News.
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| (This image was posted on Facebook by Former CBS employee, Larry Magid) |
I never worked for CBS News proper, but over the 16 years I worked at CBS affiliate WTOP in Washington, I earned thousands of dollars stringing for the network. In case you don't know, a stringer is a local reporter who will file a story of national interest for the network and will be compensated a set fee for each report.
There were many one-time stories over the years, but the coverage that sticks out was my reporting on the D.C. Sniper's trials back in 2004 when I filed multiple times every day with each of the two trials for more than a week.
It was a big deal for me. To be associated with CBS, the network of Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite and other pioneers in broadcast journalism, was a dream come true, even though the story was a tragedy.
So, the decision this past week hit deep into me as it did for anyone who ever got a paycheck from CBS News.
We have been told the CBS Radio News, with 700 affiliated radio stations across the country was not making money, and cancelling it is part of he restructuring at the network. Or so we have been told.
Several reports indicate the radio news division was breaking even and not losing money. The reasoning from the higher-ups sounded a bit like the reason the entertainment division cancelled Stephen Colbert.
The decision stabs at the heart of every broadcast journalist who tried to live up to the tough objective standards CBS had imposed on its reporters and editors for a century. CBS Radio News began in 1927 and is the longest running broadcast news network.
But of late, the CBS Evening News on the TV side has been watered down, and many have begun to question the politics behind all the changes.
Weiss and Cibrowski were hired by Paramount owner David Ellison, who is a friend and supporter of President Trump. That has raised THE question: is there a political motive for gutting what used to be the tiffany network with high journalism standards and no political slant?
Added to that question is the list of reporters fired from the TV news operation. A significant number of them have Hispanic surnames.
Even more disheartening are some reports that layoffs at 60 Minutes, a frequent Trump target, may be next.
Journalism is more than just a profession. It is a cornerstone of our democracy. In my mind and many others across the country, these layoffs and the elimination of CBS Radio News was not just a financial decision, and could be a preview for things to come.
(Note: to readers in the DC area. WTOP is a CBS affiliate but is NOT owned by CBS and will continue with it's current format though they will have to find another network for the top of the hour)
ICE Agents At Airports?
Here is something to think about. ICE agents, who have been poorly trained and sharply criticized for their ongoing "round-up" of illegal immigrants, are
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| (courtesy JFK Airport) |
being dispatched to airport security checkpoints to assist beleaguered TSA agents.
That threat comes from President Trump as Congress continues in a stalemate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
TSA agents have been working without a paycheck as that stalemate continues. Many have resigned, and others have called in sick because they need paying jobs to survive. They did not get their second paycheck on Friday.
The security check-in lines at airports have been excruciatingly long because of the sick-out and resignations, and there's been discussion about even shutting down some smaller airports because of the shortage of personnel. The Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the ICE agents are properly trained to work with the TSA on security checkpoints.
A Tribute To The Bison
There is now a tribute to the National Mammal outside the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington. Bronze statutes of three bison have been added to the front of the building to commemorate the important role the buffalo played in the nation's 250-year history.
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| (Smithsonian Bison) |
There was a substantial effort in the mid-twentieth century to save the animal, and today there are about 280,000 roaming federal lands and national parks in the west. The bison was made the National Mammal in 2016.
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
This week's dumb quote comes from Secretary of
Defense, Pete Hegseth. During one of his rhetoric- filled briefings at the Pentagon on the war with Iran, he again invoked the "Holy War" propaganda into his comments.
"May almighty God continue to bless our troops in this fight, to the American people, please pray for them every day on bended knee with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ."
There are many problems with this kind of comment. First, invoking "holy war" in the name of Christ is likely to inflame the regime in Tehran even more, and offend our Muslim allies in the region (shades of the middle-age Crusades).
Secondly, using such Christian rhetoric makes non-Christians here in the United States uncomfortable.
And thirdly, suggesting that such prayer should be held in schools is a bastardization of the U.S. Constitution and 250 years of secular rule.
(Your suggestions and comments are welcome)
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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796
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