I spent a good chunk of my broadcasting career doing news…when news actually mattered and, for the most part, could be believed. I still pride myself on keeping my objectivity, which has been the cornerstone of everything I’ve done. And that brings me to this piece of information that surprised me.
Chris Wallace, who recently left as a Fox News host after nearly two decades and has joined CNN’s new streaming service CNN+, suggested this week that his late father, legendary broadcast journalist Mike Wallace, and 60 Minutes, where his father worked for 40 years, bear blame for the current state of news media and distrust in it.
Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Wallace said when asked by Colbert about Americans’ loss of trust in the media, “In a funny way, I blame my father for this, Mike Wallace and 60 Minutes.” He explained, “It used to be in the old days . . . that news didn’t make money. It was a public service, and the networks viewed it as a public service. And then 60 Minutes came along and showed you could make phenomenal amounts of money with the news business.”
Wallace suggested that when it comes to news, particularly on cable, they are, quote, “chasing audiences,” looking for ratings and to make money, and believes that needs to change to improve news and restore people’s trust in it. He said, “[I]f people just accepted, we’re not trying to make money off this, we’re just trying to perform a public service, I think we’d have better news.”
Yahoo! Entertainment