Professional interviewer of current presidents, Hank Green, talks about legitimacy in media.
Walter Cronkite wasn’t representing a political ideology, or even discussing politics when my father watched the news as a teenager. He was discussing the news. Cable news today uses the residual legitimacy of that bygone era (that they are simultaneously destroying) to degrade the legitimacy of their political opponents.
Man, the ‘news’ is really crap isn’t it? I think younger people 1 – with easy access to information covering multiple viewpoints – have a lower tolerance for bullshit and a higher propensity to detecting it.
Hank talks about authenticity and honesty in his essay, elements that traditional news is lacking. That lack of trust is something that news 2 once had, but is sorely missing. Younger people are often labeled as cynics when we balk at the junk ‘news’ they’re throwing out. We’re considered disinterested or disconnected when we tell folks we don’t watch the 9 o’clock news. When in reality, we can see through their dishonesty and are insulted.
Will that trust and authenticity come back to traditional media? I say no. I think folks like Hank are the future of news creation. That’s what their audience wants (and expects). Folks with access to more information want honesty and trust in who is telling them the news.
You can watch the interview with the President on YouTube. Hank even shares a few thoughts about the experience on the vlogbrothers channel.