Dan Rather speaks out

Fellow blogger Richard posted some recent comments from Dan Rather on the state of "journalism" today. A sample:

Addressing the Fordham University School of Law in Manhattan, occasionally forcing back tears, [Rather] said that in the intervening years, politicians "of every persuasion" had gotten better at applying pressure on the conglomerates that own the broadcast networks. He called it a "new journalism order."

He said this pressure -- along with the "dumbed-down, tarted-up" coverage, the advent of 24-hour cable competition and the chase for ratings and demographics -- has taken its toll on the news business. "All of this creates a bigger atmosphere of fear in newsrooms," Rather said.

More on Rick's blog...