In times like these,
clear, insightful news reporting is something we all need.
And then, we also have cable news.
Desi Lydic has more in tonight's edition of Journalisming.
♪ ♪
Journalism has never been more important than it is 2018,
but some say it's under attack.
For more on this, I'm joined by Matt Davis,
a reporter for the Hartford Daily Times,
and Judith Star
from the Institute for Media Integrity.
Is there a war on journalism?
Matt, let's start with you.
Yes, absolutely, Desi.
The media is under attack,
but also, perhaps more importantly,
facts are under attack.
Um, can I jump in?
The media should be under attack because the fake news is...
Oh, now, Desi, see, this is exactly what I'm talking about.
These are talking points instead of the truth.
-No, the lies are actually -There is an all-out war
-coming from the news. -on the free press as we know it.
-Sources and fact-checking, -Everyone knows that democracy
-it's all pretend. -itself relies on a free and fair press.
And freeze.
What you just saw is a little something
we journalists like to call a panel,
because, actually, that's tonight's topic:
cable news panels.
Groups of experts brought together
to debate today's biggest issues.
Great, you guys can go.
You can go now.
Now, people have been discussing the news on TV
since before President Truman tore down the Berlin Wall
or whatever.
But for decades,
even the most heated debates looked like this.
Isn't the certitude of the innocence
of Dreyfus a part of your sort of natural equipment?
Aren't you willing to come to historical terms
-with that data? -Well, the French government,
which originally said he was guilty, reversed itself
after Esterhazy had confessed that he was guilty.
Yes, but there are a lot of Mark Lanes around, you know,
who make the same objections.
Hey! Wake up! Clip's over.
I assume you fell asleep.
But since then, the game has changed,
and there is no channel that can panel like CNN.
They do three boxes, five boxes,
long tables, circle tables, horseshoe, double stuffed,
and who could forget the time they tried out bunk tables?
So what makes CNN's panels better than the rest?
Let's start with the most important thing.
You want a spirited debate.
If the panelists can hear each other talk,
you've already failed.
You have no respect for Mrs. Trump.
You have no respect for his children.
-You have no respect for his family -Oh, I'm sorry.
-because this has nothing to do -I'm sorry.
-with him as a candidate. -I'm sorry.
-Nobody goes back in your past -We're gonna talk about respect?
-and picks up something... -We're gonna talk about respect?
(overlapping chatter)
One voice.
Oh, my gosh, you guys, you guys, you guys.
Please, please, please, one of you at a time.
I wish you were this compassionate
-about the Clinton Foundation. -I didn't interrupt you.
-You had your turn... -You have a duty to announce...
You had your turn to talk.
Give me my turn to talk.
See, CNN doesn't waste time
trying to solve a crisis or educate the viewer.
Their priority is producing a shitshow
that will get them millions of clicks on their YouTube page.
Look at that. Those are Pornhub numbers.
Sorry. That's not fair.
I shouldn't associate such a disgusting industry with porn.
But you can't get train wrecks like these
without an anchor who's asleep at the wheel.
That brings me to our next tip:
hosts need to moderate in moderation.
Just let the chaos unfold.
Better watch how he talks about me, too.
-I understand... -Paris, shut up, please!
-For God's sake, why do you keep doing that? -Okay, so when...
-Governments that stone women to death. -This is what this is.
-We've got 19 days till Election Day. -How do you...
-Wait, let me... -And Donald Trump is flailing...
-(overlapping chatter) -But you... But you...
Loretta Lynch?
-Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton? -It's Donald Trump.
-Patty, Patty... -If you believe that,
then will you shine that same light on team Clinton?
Now, that's how you do it.
You just let them go at it.
I mean, does Jerry Springer intervene
when two chicks start slapping each other?
No, because some someone's shirt might get ripped off,
and then we about to see some titties.
But if there's one thing I learned
while volunteering in a nursing home,
it's that shouting and negligence
only get you so far.
So pundits need to use this trick of the trade:
bomb throwing.
Say something people will remember you for.
I believe in only two things completely:
the First Amendment and boobs.
This nation has been victimized by rampant election fraud
-in the past. -No, no, no, no.
When Bill Clinton was president,
my children came home from school,
and they had no idea it was actually called the Oval Office.
They thought it was called the "oral office."
I want to say something here
that I know will probably drive someone crazy,
but think of President Trump
as the Martin Luther King of health care.
-Oh, Jeffrey. Jeffrey. -When I was a kid...
I have a dream that none of you ever stop talking.
This shit is gold.
So there you have it.
Staging a successful cable news panel is easy
if you know how to do journalism good.
Guys, what do you think?
We're definitely witnessing the tabloidization
-of the fourth estate. -Tabloid? What is it, Judith?
It is the politicians that are trashy.
-(scoffs) -The news is simply a reflection of a political...
Do you hear yourself when you speak?
-(overlapping chatter) -A real shitshow.
Mission accomplished.
I am a huge fan of the First Amendment.
-Until we're eventually living in a world -But this?
-where no one can believe anything. -This is untenable.
Desi Lydic, everyone.