“The Sense of Judgment, History, Perspective & Wisdom Now Being Lost…”

The Baltimore Sun’s David Zurawik recaps a depressing year for the news media, and concludes on a sour note:

“The last and, perhaps, most disturbing lesson of the year came with the departure of [Ted] Koppel from Nightline. While his retirement in November from weeknight TV was widely mourned, analysts missed a larger truth at the time: the way in which Koppel represents the sense of judgment, history, perspective and wisdom now being lost in TV newsrooms across the country on an almost daily basis as corporate owners try to cope with declining revenues by downsizing and forcing out expensive talent.

One can only hope that the manic, glitzy and empty-headed Nightline with which Koppel’s program was replaced is not representative of the direction in which the media is headed in coming years.”