Quote Originally Posted by jenniferro10 View Post
I am interested to hear from this crowd who we think is doing a solid job of being a television media advisor on military issues.
"Doing a solid job" and "being a television media advisor on military issues" are mutually exclusive. I'm not asserting that to be a wiseguy. The media is not interested in solid analysis. They are interested in selling advertising. They sell that advertising space by appealing to an audience. A viewer in that audience will find no appeal if the "news" program is inconsistent with the existing views of the viewer. Most viewers (in my highly un-scientific estimate) do not want to learn, so much as they want a continuous stream of information that reaffirms their views. It is a source of assurance. From the media's standpoint, the best analyst is the one who can most artfully deliver information in terms of black or white, right or wrong, yes or no analysis. The more clear-cut and definite the analysis, the more reassuring it is to the viewer.

Television is not a medium for the free flow of ideas, for give and take, learning, discussion, or contemplation. It is to entertain, comfort, and deliver information. Very little of that information is actually news and that is by design.