Are the President’s numbers up or down? Is Congress loathed and by how much? The media's attention span doesn't go much beyond +/- 3 percentage points in the most recent poll scrolling on their teleprompters. This is true of talking heads left, right and center. They consistently lament how uninformed the public is, but rarely do I ever see them point the finger at themselves for the shortfall. If the media is the fourth estate in this country, they are equally to blame for the multiple messes we've gotten ourselves into, including unfunded wars, unfunded mandates and financial collapse.
Just once during the chaotic political silly season already underway, I’d like to see some real journalistic backbone. Regardless of the topic, all we need are four simple questions:
- What do you see as the issue or challenge?
- What is your plan to do something about it?
- How does your plan contrast with the other side?
- Why is your plan or idea more likely to be successful?
If I was running a news department, I would require my reporters to ask these questions. If the answers were all bluster, talking points and no substance, I would end the interview. If a politician responded, "I don't have a plan, but I don't like the other plans," I would end the interview. Why give valuable air time to someone with no ideas?
Sadly, in the sound bite driven world in which we live, we rarely even get to first base! The network news show that gets closest to it, by a long shot, is The News Hour on PBS. We have to hold politicians accountable for what THEY think, not just what they think the OTHER guy is doing wrong.
