An insider's look at network television news--past, present and future -- from a thirty year veteran. The past looks a lot better than the present --and the future?

This story is an excellent example of journalism by someone who has been practicing such for a long time. It also explains why ,when it comes to 'news', the effect of corporate ownership has had the effect of 'dumbing down' those who rely on network news as their source for 'news'.

A leisurely tour of journalism to the present. Not a lot of news nor strong bite on the issues he presents, but fair background.

this story makes one think about what we as viewers are seeing and hearing. the synergy between viewer and medium is not discussed enough; the culture of the viewer has changed also, independently of the medium. the paradox of analysis is important--the author points out the need for more analysis of important events, and yet, how often the wrong analysis doesn't serve to convey the real events. unfortunately not much offered to hope for mitigation of my own disappointment in so much of media

The author of this opinion piece is nostalgic for the “good old days” and he provides some interesting anecdotes about his service in the industry. But he is ignorant of the prior history of the TV networks: they have always been owned by big corporations. General Electric formed RCA, parent of NBC, in 1919, for example, and controlled NBC for decades. Thus blaming the failures of network TV news on big corporations goes against the facts. This lowers the credibility of the piece considerably.