I was all set to do a tirade on how television political “analysis” no longer exists; how disgusted I am with biased “opinions” — even when they agree with my own — when what I’m really looking for are some facts.
So, I was interested in The New York Times and MSNBC stories on how MSNBC is taking Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews off the anchor chairs for coverage of the election. But what really caught my eye and proved how dismal the facts we’re getting from the networks really are was just a few pages away, interestingly enough, reported in the Times “Media” section >>>
The essence is this: Starbucks and Good magazine have beat our on-air political professionals out of the starting gate! They’ve teamed up to produce “the Good Sheet,” which will tackle one election topic a week — like carbon emissions, health care and education. According to the Times, “The sheet on health care…gives a history of government health care programs, statistics about health care spending, and suggestions about solutions, including notes on those that John McCain and Barack Obama endorse.”
Well, finally, somebody is showing some responsibility. Guess now I can get everything I need over a cup of coffee at the nearby coffee house — freshly edited, easy to read, in context, with facts I need to help me make my decisions.
Hello out there in TV land … knowing all of your offices are surrounded by Starbucks, they’ve just saved you the trouble!
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The New York Times, Business Day, “MSNBC Takes Incendiary Hosts From Anchor Seat” by Brian Stelter, Monday, September 8, 2008, pg C1
The New York Times, Media, “Ice-Breaker at Starbucks: The Good Sheet” by Stephanie Clifford, Monday, September 8, 2008, pg C7
