Many of my favorite writers have a somewhat skewed view when it comes to journalism. A lot of them feel that journalism is something that is below their stature as writers, but something that one must do in order to pay the bills in between book gigs. The great Dr. Hunter S. Thompson hated the gigs, but since the money was good, succumbed to it (hilariously I might add).
There aren’t a lot of journalists that I would say I am a fan of, either on TV or online, but there are a few. Sarah Kwak writes about hockey for the online version of CNN/Sports Illustrated, and she’s awesome. This young lady knows her shit when it comes to the NHL, and her writing style makes her quite easy and enjoyable to read. Ms. Kwak gives you the facts about whatever she’s writing about, and sometimes very subtly injects her sense of humor into her work as well. Great sports writer, and probably THE best person writing about hockey anywhere.
Then there are the bad sports writers. The ones who come across in their writing as if they are all knowing and all being. Peter King of Sports Illustrated/NBC Sports falls into this category. I used to love reading his work, but over the last couple of years, I have found him to be irritating and pompous; an arrogant piece of shit. He clearly has no journalistic credibility when it comes to writing about his hero Brett Farve, because over the years he has kissed Farve’s ass to the point of no return. He lost me completely when he made a smart assed remark about The Who playing at halftime in the last Super Bowl, and for that reason alone he should just shut the fuck up.
On the non-sports side, the number of reporters/journalists that I can tolerate is also a small list. I like Anderson Cooper of CNN, because he comes across as a clear professional all the time. Some of my friends have a problem with Anderson because he’s openly gay. To be honest, his sexual orientation never entered into the picture as far as I’m concerned. It’s not like he’s going on the air and saying stuff like, “Today President Obama had a townhall meeting in southern Iowa to talk about drug law reform. Oh, by the way, I like cock.” Even if he did, so what? The fact of the matter is that he’s a pretty damn good reporter who doesn’t try to inject himself into the story.
Kelly O’Donnell from NBC is a really good location reporter, and probably the only reason to watch NBC News in general or the Today show in particular. Gets her facts lined up, does her research, and again, doesn’t try to inject her own opinion into things. Straight up professional and the fact that she’s probably one of the few white women who actually makes me drool also makes me a fan.
Other than that, I can’t think of any reporter/journalist that really trips my trigger. Maybe it’s because I grew up watching Walter Cronkite on TV, who was THE MAN when it came to reporting. Even as a small child, I could appreciate his Art for what it was. When he came on, it was as if you had a favorite uncle stopping by to relay the news of the day to you.
Most of the reporters these days, and 99% of the anchors on various shows are just bodies and nothing else. I’ll watch Robin Meade on CNN Headline news once in a while if I’m bored, but merely from the eye candy perspective and not from any real sense that I’m going to be informed about the news of the day. All of the hosts on ESPN are idiots, and most of the time I watch it with the sound turned off.
It all makes me wonder when someone in the media is going to step up, get some game. Unfortunately, I think the days of Uncle Walter and Edward R. Murrow are dead and gone. I get better news from Jon Stewart and the Daily Show, and also get to laugh a lot in the process.
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