Are Good Reporters a Dying, or Extinct Breed?

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Is it just me, or does it seem like good reporters are a dying or extinct breed? I'm not talking about reporters seeming too "liberal" or too "conservative," or being "overly critical of President Bush" or "unwilling to ask President Bush tough questions." I'm talking about news reporters becoming too editorial, narcissistic (i.e., the news is now about them and not "the news"), and interested in the totally irrelevant (e.g., the Anna Nicole Smith saga).

With regard to my claim that reporters are too editorial, it seems like people like Lou Dobbs are becoming partisan talking heads who no longer "report" but rather "dictate" the news. A lot of reporters seem to have devolved into overly simplistic, partisans who are unwilling to listen to "the other side" or simply shout over them.

With regard to my claim that reporters are becoming narcissistic, I keep seeing reporters turn the news into segments about themselves. Bill O'Reilly has a show called "the O'Reilly Factor" and spends an inordinate amount of time reading emails about no other than himself. "AC 360" seems to be more concerned about AC's hairstyle and making AC look cool than reporting the news. Lou Dobbs writes articles about himself and calls certain Democrats "Lou Dobbs Democrats." See this article for an example. Guys like Lou Dobbs are trying to create a personal following based not on the quality of their reporting, but rather based on their personal politics. I find a lot of those editorial shows very simplistic (as obnoxious as that sounds), destructive or decent dialogue, and simply dumb.

Finally, with regard to my claim that reporters are interested in the totally irrelevant, it seems like every time I want to learn more about Iraq, Washington politics, etc., I turn on the news to find them covering an exposed breast, Anna Nicole Smith, or Britner's bald head. Is this what is important to society? I know a lot of people claim the news simply gives the people what they want and the subjects covered by the news is dictated by the public, I disagree. I think the news is forcing so much crap down our throats that we now expect crap on the news. Moreover, there are plenty of outlets for crap (e.g., People Magazine), we need outlets for real news.

That's my stupid rant of the day.