PressEthic

The New Republic got a head start on the competition by bashing the newly-annointed King of Broadcast Journalism, CNN's Anderson Cooper. Comparing the 'prematurely gray, preternaturally boyish reporter' to Geraldo Rivera, Senior Editor Franklin Foer writes:

Nostalgia for the glory days of television news is crazy. The medium has rarely provided for genuine depth. But to imagine that Cooper will help stem this slide is equally crazy. ("Anderson Cooper is rewriting the rules of news anchoring," Interview magazine has declared.) A cosmopolitan upbringing, a sophisticated wardrobe, and a few moments of genuine outrage aren't the same things as analytical heft and moral seriousness. Unfortunately, in this era, they are too easily confused.

I was surprised by Foer's commentary, especially since the writer used some particularly cheap shots at Cooper. For instance, he mentions Cooper's previous involvement with the reality show, "The Mole" as being reason enough to suspect the reporter 'might not have much respect for the boundary separating journalism from entertainment.' He also feels it relevant to raise Cooper's upper class upbringing as an issue, mentioning his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt (and 'Frank Sinatra's former lover') and tacitly raising an eyebrow at the reporter's presentation as a voice "of the people." Finally - and possibly most egregiously, depending on perspective -- he compares Cooper's style to that of Geraldo Rivera, the mustachioed Fox News anchor and noted news ambulance chaser. After reading all the low blows, I was half-expecting a mention of Cooper's sexual orientation, which has been tabloid fodder for years now.

As Foer articulates well, there's undoubtedly A LOT wrong with the news on television. One can argue that the success of "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart is largely a direct reaction to how pitiful the news has become, with its emphasis on sensational, empty stories driven by the bottom-line but failing to inform the public on the issues it needs to know about. But Anderson Cooper's moment last week-- where he articulated the desperation of the people of New Orleans and challenged of the Govenor of Louisiana -- shouldn't be chalked up as yet another news anchor pandering to his audience. Simply put, Cooper showed courage, a quality sorely lacking in the media today. While he may not be this generation's version of Walter Cronkite or Tom Brokaw, Cooper showed that he's part of the solution for the woes of journalism, not part of the problem. For that, he deserves every last bit of praise he's received this week.