Deep Throat

Tuesday' revelation that W. Mark Felt was "Deep Throat," the anonymous source who tipped off Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein on some of the most important information in the Watergate story, has been a bit overwhelming.
Watergate, of course, was the news story that turned me and many of my generation towards journalism. Along with the Pentagon Papers a few years earlier, it illustrated the power of the press in the strongest possible terms. By unearthing the truth behind a seemingly minor burglary, a power-hungry U.S. president was brought down.
What a long and sad distance we've come since then.
Dozens of factors -- economic, political, personal -- have led to the decline in the media's independence and stature. Consolidation in the publishing industry has given rise to risk-averse, conservative press organizations that would rather concentrate on celebrity scandals than controversial investigations. The right wingers have learned to strike poses of phony outrage at the first sign that reporters may be getting too close to the truth of an issue, and have developed their own sense of the kind of scandal that can divert the attention of reporters away from the important stories and toward sensationalized trivialities. Contempt for and threats against journalists -- including, increasingly, the prospect of jail time for protecting anonymous sources of information -- have weakened journalistic resolve and undermined the sense that the press performs a vital public service. And, of course, there is the fact that it's a lot easier and less stressful to repeat the words of officials rather than challenge them.
I do feel for reporters today. The stress of daily journalism -- among other things, the unfairness of being called a liar when you have done your damnedest to tell the truth -- is one of the reasons I walked away from the profession at 30.
I hated being hated. But I also miss the adrenaline rush of working against deadline on a breaking story, of confronting someone with the evidence that they have lied to you, of knowing that you have exposed what someone worked feverishly to hide. I know journalism is still full of those who feel that thrill. If only they would direct their energy toward George W. Bush instead of runaway brides, human vegetables, and plastic pop stars.
Ted Turner was right yesterday when he said that CNN has descended into "pervert of the week" territory. The competition from Fox News has dragged them down this path to some degree, but so has Time Warner's corporate ownership and so has the pressure to prop up share value rather than provide public value.
The blogs seem to be where passionate journalism has gone to rebuild. Not this one, but folks like Brad Friedman and John Aravosis, who daily do what the MSM has given up on. Here's to you, guys. You earn and deserve our respect.