Common Ground: Brian Williams' losing war

Cal Thomas is a conservative columnist. Bob Beckel is a liberal Democratic strategist. But as longtime friends, they can often find common ground on issues that lawmakers in Washington cannot.

Today: Journalism standards

CAL: I don't know Brian Williams, but I knew several of his predecessors: John Chancellor, Roger Mudd and David Brinkley. They would have been appalled at what Williams has done to his reputation and the reputation of NBC News.

BOB: Williams said Saturday that he was temporarily stepping aside as anchor of NBC Nightly News. The question is will "temporary" become "permanent"? Maureen Dowd laid into Williams in her Sunday New York Times column; former Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw reportedly suggested Williams be fired (Brokaw denied the story); others in the news business, perhaps smelling blood, did not rise to Williams' defense.

CAL: NBC at first announced, and then stepped back from, an "internal investigation" into the matter that will include "fact-checking" Williams' remarks about the helicopter in which he was riding in Iraq coming under fire and being forced to land, and what he claimed to have experienced while covering Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. Fact-checking is something I would urge all the networks to do before putting stories on the air. It might help boost their low credibility numbers.

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BOB: The Internet provides news from dozens of sources 24/7, which has made the big three network newscasts fighting to stay relevant. In her column, Dowd suggested that Williams was attempting to portray himself as "heroic" in the mold of Walter Cronkite. The legendary CBS anchor reported from Saigon, after the Tet Offensive, that the U.S. and its then-South Vietnam allies were losing. That broadcast was credited with turning public opinion in the U.S. against the war. Williams' reporting in Iraq and New Orleans, Dowd suggests, was his effort to stay relevant.

CAL: A 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center found that across all 13 news organizations it surveyed, including TV networks and several major newspapers, "the average positive believability rating ... is 56%. In 2010, the average positive rating was 62%. A decade ago, the average rating for the news organizations tested was 71%. Since 2002, every news outlet's believability rating has suffered a double-digit drop, except for local daily newspapers and local TV news." News organizations are losing the trust of the public, and that is dangerous for them and for democracy.

BOB: I couldn't agree more, Cal. Much of the "believability" problem has been due in part to cable news outlets that often challenged the mainstream media's reporting as a thinly veiled attempt to spin the news in favor of presidential candidates and political parties. The news consumer seemed to agree, but in the process turned to news outlets on the Internet, which best reflected the consumer's own political leanings. Much like Washington politics, the news business became polarized.

CAL: You're right. One of the few to come to Williams' defense was former CBS News anchor Dan Rather. He said he believes Williams is an "honest, decent man." Rather also said he thought Bill Clinton was an honest man. He toldFox News' Bill O'Reilly, regarding the Monica Lewinsky scandal and Clinton's lying under oath to a grand jury, "You can be an honest person and lie about any number of things." I'm not sure Williams wants Rather as a character witness, especially after he treated allegedly forged documents about George W. Bush's National Guard service as fact, which lead to his departure from the CBS anchor chair.

BOB: Conservatives have given Rather a bad wrap because of the Bush story. Rather was a good journalist. Look at his reporting on JFK's assassination, the Vietnam War and Watergate, to name a few. Conservative blogs and web sites such as the Drudge Report use distorted headlines and are masters at taking a liberal's words way out of context and reporting them as "news". Increasingly, news reporting has been influenced by political ideology rather than facts. The biggest culprits are blogs, both left and right, which identify themselves as legitimate news sources.

CAL: I don't agree that the broadcast networks are without bias, but back to Williams. NBC has to decide whether its top anchor, who attracts an average 9 million viewers each night, can survive, or if he must be let go, or be placed "on assignment" like the network did with Ann Curry. Among its problems is a replacement. NBC has poor bench strength. There is no obvious successor. Rumors within the industry say former Today show co-host Katie Couric wants the job. NBC was where she attained her greatest success, but her tenure as anchor of the CBS Evening News was a ratings disaster, and NBC may want a fresh face. Ron Burgundy?

BOB: The real question is: Does the replacement of Williams, should it come to that, really matter? Network newscasts will continue to lose viewers, cable news will likely continue to grow, and more news blogs will appear on the Internet. If Williams' reporting proves to be self-serving and factually inaccurate, and if he is dismissed, it will have little impact on the believability of today's news. With respect, Williams is no Cronkite.

CAL: It matters because the broadcast networks still mostly attract more viewers than cable and help shape attitudes and political opinion. If Williams is forced out, he should take Al Sharpton with him. Sharpton's show on MSNBC carries more lies and exaggerations in one night than Williams has told in his entire career.

BOB: MSNBC leans toward my political persuasion, so your comments do not come as a shock, my friend!

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