SEEING PAST THE FLACK

A LOST CAUSE
NO WINNERS

    This goes with fairy tales are not real and life does not leap from a script.

    Human endeavors are messy, imperfect, not simply explained but some refuse to so acknowledge. People prefer easy answers, crowd support, bumper stickers and social media trending to tell us what to think. All of this comes to a center in the talk and reality of Truth-that is Truth the film.

    If it is possible, lets find a point of centrality on this controversy. No one wins. It is about a screw up on top of a screw up and in a time of nasty politics and polarity.

    Right wing and or conservative bloggers and critics say the film is a failure because it's a defense of flawed CBS News investigative report. Liberals say it's a failure because it memorializes how CBS News failed to hold George Bush accountable for being a slacker and avoiding air national guard duty while already avoiding duty in Viet Nam. Self appointed moralists or journalistic ethicists have also weighed in. Some of these children unleashed their screeds and words of torment even before seeing the film. That informs us. 

    Another point of centrality. CBS doesn't like the film and won't advertise it. Dan Rather doesn't like the film, it is a low point in his life. George W. Bush fans don't like it because of what it relates about him. It's been criticized by both left and right.

     OK, maybe another point of centrality. The flap and furor over the plot line, the screw up, has eclipsed the merits of the film. The artistic endeavor, a movie with actors making an entertainment has been overshadowed by largely preconceived notions about the CBS story, Dan Rather, George W. Bush, the 2004 Presidential election, Mary Mapes and who knows what else. I think the film is a victim of prejudgements about the story and personalities and those judgements over look what is after all only a cinematic creative effort. 

      Bull shit to those who say this is trying to change history. Only historian's change history. History is the way it is memorialized and told. Generations of historians see things differently. Winners of wars see history differently than losers. Slave traders see it differently than slaves. Invading business and governments see it differently than invaded natives and cultures and etc. Oliver Stone who is a talented film maker may be the exception. Stone has convinced himself he can fabricate events and change history. Instead Stone is seen for the self aggrandizing bull shit peddler he can be. His films can be entertaining but Wall Street, JFK, Nixon, World Trade Center, Evita and others have not changed truth or rewritten history. They are just films, an artistic pursuit even if written or directed with animus or motivation. Films do not write history.

     Truth is a geyser of how passionately stitched are our politics and biases. This film is being blown over by the same ideological predators who prowled the republic in the time of Bush vs Kerry. We should release history to historians undertaking a study where facts rise to the surface.

     There is a fact at the heart of this film Truth. Before CBS reported that George W. Bush was avoiding his duty, other news organizations had reported the story. They did not however rely on documents which put the CBS effort under fire.  

     Now to the film; Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Topher Grace, Dennis Quaid, Elizabeth Moss, Bruce Greenwood, Stacy Keach, John Benjamin Hickey, Dermot Mulroney. These are not slackers. They are terrific and well cast. Blanchett is once again brilliant. Redford as Rather is quite a site and credible! (Redford could have been a great anchor) The film explores the emotional tangles of a team of journalists, how investigative reporting is done, the pressures that come down from management. It samples the stresses and moments of elation that those of us who have done investigative work know. This film also explores the devastation to lives. These characters are based on real people, to whom these events were life changing. The film shows this by way of outstanding acting and directing.

     The film also shows how the CBS report was flawed. Where and how the team erred. How they were tricked. How they got the story right, but screwed up in how they did it.  And this last point is what it seems no one wants to face.  

      We should remember, a million dollars was offered to anyone who could prove that George W. Bush did not avoid some of his air national guard duty when assigned from Texas to Alabama. All of these years later, no one has been able to prove he did his full duty and took all examinations. What irritates liberals is that no one can really make that point  now without someone citing the questionable documents error at CBS News. The truth of the matter gets dunked in the process of the media fire storm and hissy fits. The screw up.

     Those who say this is a defense of the CBS report don't understand reality. Careers were ended. Good people got sacked. You see that. It is the consequence of the errors they made and you see how the error was made. You see how CBS News reacted. These are glimpses into the process and the good guys become the bad guys because they screwed up. This is not Oliver Stone changing history. Mapes has not worked in journalism since. Dan Rather's illustrious career and rich history at CBS were dumped on a trash heap. This hurt. They were trying to tell a story, they made a mistake.

They got trashed. That is what the film tells.  

      There is a moment where Mapes is speaking to the special inquiry team that CBS hired to investigate the report. What she said was a truthful recitation of how and why she erred. It does not change the outcome. But it does add another wrinkle, another fold of truth.

      One should look closely at the "inquiry team" CBS management brought in to investigate. But that is for another day.

      And so back to why this film is so troubling. It demonstrates how messy and screwed up life can be and how good can be bad. That ain't easy for humans to abide. Especially in a fully loaded media world where everyone is on at high volume with their minds made up.

     25 or 50 years from now this film will be seen as a portal into a moment and void of the hype and bias will be appreciated as an artistic exploration of human frailty, well acted. Americans of all persuasions don't like films or morality tales without a happy ending. Sometimes Truth is bitter.

A PEACEFUL RETREAT

   A little finger pond, near where Santa Rosa Creek flows into the Pacific in Cambria, is a hidden get away for water birds.

   I thank them for sharing their peaceful setting with me.

   See you down the trail.

TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

CAPTAIN OF THE WALK

Twilight in Morro Bay

TIME FOR A CAPTAIN TO GO

     Naming Walter Cronkite and Brian Williams in the same sentence is somehow inappropriate but now inevitable. 

     They had the same job title, but the world between them is profoundly different. Williams appears to be a likable guy, big personality, glib and facile mind but he's no longer right for the job.The NBC Nightly News anchor and managing editor has benched himself for a few days during the furor over his indiscretion. As hard as it would be to do, he should step down and find another role. 

     In the age of Cronkite, Huntley, Brinkley, Smith, even Jennings, Brokaw and Rather he'd be out. Rather's demise at CBS News was linked to his voicing a report, prepared by a producer, that claimed documentation they did not have. Later those documents were evident, but not when CBS claimed they were. Williams, kindly put, exaggerated. More pointedly he hyped or lied about being on a helicopter hit by ground fire. His credibility is shot.

     Back to my lead sentence.  Walter Cronkite was a journalist who spent years in the field and learned the craft first as a writer and reporter. Eventually he became a broadcaster.  Williams is of an era of "studio babies."  There are many of his generation who have spent most, if not all of their career in studios. That is not a skill to be discounted, but it is nothing like being in the field, gathering facts and data and sorting through experiences.  

    I know the difference. I've been a reporter on his own and I've been an anchor in the field, surrounded by producers, and other support staff.  When a network anchor leaves the studio for the field  there are many who accompany them.    

    The current gold standard for a television anchor today is personality, looks, style and communication skills. There was a time when journalistic tools, writing and reporting were the skills that moved a person to the anchor desk. It is a different world and while standards and roles have changed, an appearance of credibility still matters. 

     I can't begin to understand how Williams could have confused reality. I don't know why he would need to inflate his resume and experiences. I don't buy the excuses he offered. 

    I've covered stories with gun fire. I've reported from war zones. I've had a gun jammed into my chest by a young combatant. My crew and I were the only unarmed people in some situations. Memories like that remain focused, even when you try to forget or bury them. 

    I'm sorry for Brian Williams, but I'm old fashioned enough to expect my anchor person to be honest and to understand the most important part of the role is the news, not them-self. The task is to get it right and to be honorable and honest.

GRANDEUR IN DECLINE

 A once stately building on Oahu provides an interesting photo op.

  

A MOST INTERESTING FILM

   JC Chandor seems to have mastered the art of making a film that has a mostly singular focus, immersing you in a tight and enthralling struggle and delivering extraordinary and unique work.

    A MOST VIOLENT YEAR is not for everyone, but if you enjoy a compelling tale, realistic in style and scope and full of brilliant acting, you'll want to see this.  Chandor wrote and directed A MOST VIOLENT YEAR. His previous work was the solo performance of Robert Redford in ALL IS LOST.

   Oscar Isaac is marvelous as the New York fuel dealer who trys to play it honestly in a business full of corruption and violence.  Jessica Chastain is also superb as his wife who's family ties are to the other side of the street. Albert Brooks demonstrates his great acting chops as Isaac's partner.

    The film is not full of violence, despite the title, though it is a marvelously taut script, brilliantly directed and unpredictable through out. And it is a tribute to honor and honesty.

    See you down the trail.

   

ARE YOU REALLY SURPRISED?

BEING LOVED

  It was almost like being in a newsroom with alert bell rings. Friends and former colleagues from around the world forwarded or texted information about the latest poll data that shows America's trust in the news media hit an all time low.

   As a former news director slugged his forward-"duh!"

My response, and in fact the attitude of many veterans of the news wars, is pretty much the same-why are you surprised? Watch any cable net and the morning news programs on the broadcast networks and it's obvious why viewership and trust are down. The product is terrible and getting worse.

    The 24 hour news networks are at their best when something needs covering.  Breaking news, pending votes, onset of disaster or war, the kind of event that needs constant attention.  Remove that need and you have 24 hours to fill and, sadly, instead of deep investigative or explanatory reporting the time is filled with hot air and gas bags.  And it is all done with such hype and breathlessness as to be a caricature of itself. So many of the on air talent are self conscious and self absorbed you'd think it is all about them.  Oh, sorry, of course it is all about them.

    The broadcast nets still offer a decent product on their marquee evening programs, but not as good as they used to be when issues mattered more than celebrity and pop culture.  Foreign coverage on the American nets is abysmal.

Too much of the "reporting" in Washington is recycling the 

spin product of media manipulators.  The current White House press corp is a pansy assed cartoon compared to a generation or two ago.  Dan Rather is reported to have said to a lying and prevaricating Ron Ziegler, "you either talk to me or I'll kick your ass."  That doesn't happen any more.  Heavens, you might not get invited back to the next social.

    The network morning shows are hardly news. How can you justify talking about the latest network drama, or contestant show as being "news?"  Those shows are full of hype, shill, gossip, chatter and drivel.  CBS is trying something a little more solid and I hope it works.

    Broadcast nets with 30 minute evening programs caught in a 24 hour news world where Cable nets talk and hype and puff, morning shows that care more about ratings than information and networks that stake out ideological positions, what do you expect?  So, no one should be surprised by the low confidence and respect level.  They don't deserve respect. 

    And a final thought poached from a friend who has managed presidential and senate campaigns and who has advised major corporations and governors.  Much of the proof of the under performing of the news media is the state of government today.  

    The quality of the House and Senate and their legislative record, the ethics of the membership, the rampant power of lobbyists and special interests all reflect a media that has lost its way. Where is the watchdog role?  Sadly the gruff old watch dog of the public's good has been replaced by a lap dog sitting on a millionaire news talents lap being fluffed and pampered with the same care and devotion that a Khardashian gets.

DAY FILE

ODD GARDEN SCENES IN CAMBRIA

An inventive display area at Grow-a Cambria succulent merchandiser.   

    I know this is a plant holder, but at its height on the cross bar of a fence above a flower bed it looks like a backboard for gopher basketball.  
    See you down the trail.

WHY NOT RELEVANT COVERAGE? & TREES AT SUNSET

IT IS ABOUT MORE THAN A HORSE RACE
Election night was as much fun as Christmas morning. I was always amped up by the prospect of our hours long unscripted coverage, both on radio and for many years on TV. I'm a political junkie, as you might expect after decades of journalism covering campaigns for school boards to the White House. So, with that as prelude--
WHY CAN'T WE GET BETTER COVERAGE?
We don't need more. It seems wall to wall now, but
the focus is almost exclusively on the horse race.
Oh, we have marvelous polls and data sets and awe inspiring graphic displays, but somehow it misses the point.
Ultimately the voter will decide, regardless of how
pollsters handicap or predicatively prophesize.
Don't you think we need better analysis of how
these candidates will behave as Chief Executive and
Commander in Chief?  I'd rather know how they
propose to handle the latest Iranian saber rattling and what will they do, specifically, rather than how much money
they've raised, and what their strategy is to win New Hampshire.
We have a disconnect.  There is the business, and a sleazy one it is, of getting elected.  Then there is governance.
Our media attention is almost exclusively on the  business of
campaigning, which is an important story, but not as
important as understanding who these people are.
What about their personality and beliefs?  How might they affect political decisions?  What is their competence in 
dealing with the Joint Chiefs of Staff?  How much do they know about the American Intelligence Community?
What do they really know of American history?
What do they know of previous Presidents?
Do they understand how government bureaus operate, or Weber's laws of bureaucracy?  How effective are they at managing?  Can they manage a budget?  Do they know how to hold people accountable?
 Can they, measure outcomes or articulate a vision? How do they make decisions? What experience do they have at 
working with varied special interests? Etc, etc.
I'd much rather see a few months of microscopic 
examination of character, decision making, experience, 
personality, philosophy, than canned sound bites
in predictable debate scenarios where everyone, even the panel is playing to the camera, or reportage about 
the horse race that has all the hype and speculation
of a Super Bowl lead up.
Maybe the current crop of reporters have seen too much
American Idol or Dancing with the Stars.
Oh how I miss Tom Petit, Herb Kaplow, Douglas Kiker, David Brinkley, Walter Cronkite,  Bob Clark, John Chancellor, Marvin Kalb, Cassie Mackin, Dan Rather, Lynn Sherr, David Broder, Tom Wicker, Joseph Alsop, Johnny Apple, Richard Reeves, Walter Mears, Adam Clymer, I.F. Stone, Scotty Reston, Bill Bradley, etc, etc, etc. 
DAYBOOK

TREES AT SUNSET

This series captures the texture and

magic of watching the sun dance behind

a tree in wine country.

My English uncle told me, when a boy, this is 

the time of evening of myths, legends, visions,

dreams, fairies and goblins.

See you down the trail.