My LTTE printed on Friday when I was out of town...

[tk2kewl]

Newsday gave it an odd title and shortened the letter from its original draft, but here it is...

Deep Throat: beyond the call of duty

James P. Pinkerton must be living in an alternate universe from mine <"Big media's high-water mark," Opinion, June 2>. Although I'll agree that Watergate was not worse than the Civil War, I can think of few things worse than a president who deliberately and criminally interferes with the democratic process of elections.

I can also agree that the news media were probably more liberal in the '70s, but Pinkerton's assertion that the news media are now more "diverse" is patently absurd. Today the news media have been consolidated by corporate interests, and we are bombarded with infotainment, rather than hard news.

With evidence piling ever higher that the Bush administration fixed intelligence around its predetermined war policy <"Memo: Bush manipulated Iraq intel," News, May 9>, the news media feed us around- the-clock coverage of the Michael Jackson trial, a runaway-bride and fingers in chili.

Unfortunately, Watergate may indeed have been "big media's high-water mark," since the quality and value of reporting today pales in comparison.

[Misunderestimator]

1. Good letter!

:thumbsup:

[Spazito]

2. Great letter!

Congrats on it being published!

[tk2kewl]

3. they took out quite a bit of it, but they didn't really alter the point

This was original...

James Pinkerton must be living in an alternate universe from mine
<"Big media's high-water mark", Opinion, June 2>. While I'll agree
that Watergate was not worse than the Civil War, I can think of few
things worse than a president who deliberately and criminally
interferes with the democratic process of elections in this country.

I can also agree that the news media were probably more liberal in
the '70s, but Pinkerton's assertion that the news media is now
more "diverse" is patently absurd. Today the news media has been
consolidated by corporate interests and we are bombarded with info-
tainment rather than hard news. In the midst of a war that has lasted
longer than our involvement in WWII, in the face of nearly 1700
American casualties and tens of thousands of Iraqi deaths, and with
evidence piling ever higher that the Bush administration fixed
intelligence around its predetermined war policy
<"Memo: Bush manipulated Iraq intel," News, May 9>, the news media feeds us around-
the-clock coverage of the Michael Jackson trial, runaway-bride, and
fingers in chili.

Truth is crucial to a healthy democracy, and the news media has an
obligation to report the truth on issues critical to our future.
However, todays news media is content to let talking heads from both
sides spin the latest stories, while doing virtually no fact checking
or investigation of their own, leaving the public with diametrically
opposed "opinions" having little or no factual basis. Unfortunately,
Watergate may have indeed been "big media's high-water mark", as the
quality and value of reporting today pales in comparison.