Brian Williams has been bounced by the Pooh-Bahs at NBC not for lying but for embarrassing them by being publicly exposed as having done so.
Mr. Williams longstanding tendency to engage in self-aggrandizing prevarications had long been obvious to all but those lacking even the most rudimentary critical thinking skills. They certainly were known to, and called to the attention of the network brass by numerous members of his production team. Mr. Williams had long been unqualified to report news accurately because he either was a habitual liar or delusional,
That was overlooked because he was a charming individual in whom the network had made a substantial and profitable investment. Thus when his untruthful utterances were initially exposed, the network's bosses first reaction was to try to protect him (and their advantageous investment), and they continued to do that until the effort became unsustainable.
In the course of that effort, the head of NBC's news division publicly muttered something about the impact that Mr. Williams' conduct had on "this proud organization."
That statement must have harkened back to the glory days of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. It surely could not have referred to NBC today -- the network of Michael Moore and Al Sharpton as well as Brian Williams. After all, in a trio that includes a clod-like profiteering rabble-rousing clown and a profiteering race-hustling agitator, a mere opportunistic dissembler is but a minor transgressor.
Anyone inclined to view the NBC-Brian Williams debacle as an isolated occurrence should recall the days when Walter Cronkite was foisted off on the public by CBS as "the most trusted man in America." Mr. Cronkite deserves to be remembered as the individual who gloried in setting the national agendawith his "reporting." His reporting resulted in allowing America's foes in the Viet Nam War to snatch victory from the jaws of their defeat in that conflict. Until Mr. Cronkite persuaded his audience that the Tet Offensive was a Viet Cong victory over the U.S., the Viet Cong viewed the offensive as a disastrous defeat that left them with no alternative other than to seek peace on such terms as the U.S. might accept. Instead, Mr. Cronkite's totally erroneous assessment led to a hunbling American retreat from a conflict that it had won at an enormous cost in blood and treasure.
The U.S. today gets almost no fair national news reporting. The nation's big media are led and staffed by idealogues who refuse to strive for any semblance of objectivity, balance, or fairness. They select what to cover and determine how to present their selections in accordance with their uniform views -- views of the nation's corrupt political and institutional elites.
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