The Democracy Papers
Ryan Blethen discusses the press, media and democracy. The Democracy Papers explores how to preserve professional journalism in the face of technology transformation and changing economic pressures. Though the project focuses mostly on newspapers, the essays and opinions touch on the range of challenges facing the press.
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Cronkite, the passing of an era
Posted by Ryan Blethen
A lot has changed in the world of journalism since Walter Cronkite retired in 1981. That was evident while watching the coverage of his death on Friday. Seeing the faded footage of Cronkite covering the nominating conventions gavel to gavel puts into perspective how different the CBS of today is compared to the network in 1980.
What was once the station of Murrow, Friendly, and Cronkite is now the network of Couric. That doesn't mean there are not great journalists at CBS. Bob Shieffer is one of the best in the business. His Sunday morning show Face the Nation is one of the highlights of my week. But the days of a CBS anchor affecting a president's decisions are finished.
Alex Alben gets into the reasons why the networks and press are struggling with an op-ed he penned for The Seattle Times, which ran today. Alben is now a technology consultant living in Seattle. Long before Alben lived here he was a researcher for Cronkite.
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
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