Making news

Thus the advent of the pseudo-experts who pontificate regularly on camera
whether or not they know anything about the evolving story. Fast-breaking
stories draw commentary before the facts are ascertained, so these folks’
remarks on cable talk shows are about possibilities, often creating
pseudo-stories that are not yet true stories.

Think of those unsolved crimes — usually grisly rapes, kidnappings, shootings —
where lawyers, ex-prosecutors and “experts” comment about things they can’t
possibly know. Or celebrity divorces, where sexual scandals turn viral, though
the “facts” are not really known. 

The other personality in this phenomenon is the pontificator-in-chief, the
television host who brings on these experts (“Thanks for having me on”) to be
their editorial foils. It may be entertainment, but it is not good journalism.
The need to fill the airwaves 24/7 forces cable-folk to grind out stories,
endlessly, repeatedly, unauthorizedly; stories that are often wrong, and
generally meaningless. 

Perversely, the scandal or bad news often makes the wrongdoer a celebrity, and
rather than slinking out of town in shame, they often become media pundits
themselves, or get book contracts to tell their “real stories,” the promise of
salacious details pumping up advances.

States had to pass so-called “Son of Sam” laws to preclude killers from capitalizing
on their crimes. Yet many culprits (the Watergate gang is an example) wrote
books and went on to media notoriety. If cable and their tabloid print counterparts
provide the modern “moment in the sun,” the public needs sunglasses. 

Visit www.RonaldGoldfarb.com.