For those bloggers who seem to be in a permanent state of hand-wringing about what they see as broadcast journalism’s plummeting standards, yesterday was a bonanza. Not only did Dan Rather, the last of the “voice of God” troika announce that he was being pushed out of CBS, but it was also the night that CNN, that stodgy, old cable news channel, featured two hours of Angelina Jolie’s impossibly plump lips.
First, to Dan.
Many bloggers did see Rather’s inglorious departure as a sign of the times. Joel Baglole’s post is typical: “As the media, particularly TV News, slides further towards so called ‘Infotainment’ it appears that traditional journalists such as Rather are being pushed aside in favour of ‘personalities’ such as Couric who are less likely to strive for objectivity, but may be successful in attracting an audience.”
Even at the blog called Rathergate — devoted to rabidly attacking Rather for the unauthenticated-letter controversy that set off the decline in Rather’s standing at CBS — Mark Kilmer offers the slightest hint of a conciliatory stance: “I know, I know… be nice to Dan Rather as he is forced ignominiously to end his career at CBS News. Right? Wrong. What he did is unconscionable, and the best reaction he should hope to have is one of severe pathos.”
Then there were those bloggers who placed Rather’s leaving in historical perspective, bringing up Walter Cronkite’s departure from the network. The legendary anchor was apparently forced out when the young Rather made his way in. As Geoff Fox describes it, “News coverage through the years implied, or sometimes outright said, he did not want Walter Cronkite to steal his thunder. When CBS gave him the job, keeping him from bolting, Cronkite’s fate was sealed. For Dan to be in, Walter would be out. Today’s departure is about as close as life comes to full circle.”
Now back to those lips. Anderson Cooper got an exclusive last night when Jolie gave him her first interview since giving birth last month in Namibia baby Shiloh. Even the promotional material for the two-hour talk was a bit of a bait-and-switch. Jolie would talk about her new “motherhood” but only in the context of her UN work with refugees. But that didn’t stop the Gawker duo from first getting excited, and then terribly disappointed when they actually sat through the thing: “It was certain to be a night full of gossip and girl talk, laughter and tears. But Coop, love him as we may, is no Barbara Walters. There was no soft lighting, no tears, no hard-hitting questions about Jennifer Aniston. Instead, we were faced unbelievable boredom: two straight hours of Jolie effusively discussing the plight of refugees, her face lighting up with every new country she could name-check.” At the end of their live-blogging, disenchantment reigned: “11:59 It’s over. Done. 2 hours, and you’ve got nothing to show for it but a reinvigorated dislike of Angelina Jolie and a profound disappointment in the Coop. Like he doesn’t read Star? Like he doesn’t have real questions?”
Jossip asks the most important query: “Looking for that exact moment when Angelina Jolie’s interview with Anderson Cooper last night started looking more like an Oprah Goes To Africa special than actual journalism?” It then finds the answer after “a whopping 3.5 minutes.” Here’s the exchange:
Angelina: It was probably, to this day, the worst [refugee] camp I’d ever seen.
Anderson: Had you ever seen anything like that before?
Angelina: I hadn’t seen anything like that.
Jossip continues its analysis, “to recap: Angelina says it’s the worst camp she’d ever seen. Anderson, not convinced, asks a follow-up: Yes, but had she seen anything like that before? Angelina is sticking to her guns: Damnit Anderson, she hadn’t seen anything like that. Bravo, Coop. Turns out cyclical interviewing isn’t just for Larry King.
To be fair, some were actually inspired to sentiment by the seemingly endless montages of suffering around the world displayed during the two hours, and a few bloggers uncharacteristically moved to earnestness.
Just look at what Aaliyah had to say on her blog: “I have a lot of respect towards Angelina Jolie and not just because she’s a world famous international actress. She’s on a mission to help save kids in Africa and I found it very touching. It showed me and motivated me to do my job and help too. We need more Angelina Jolie’s in this world, not any more Lindsay Lohans or Paris Hiltons.”
Gal Beckerman is a former staff writer at CJR and a writer and editor for the New York Times Book Review.