Wrest that Torch

Rathergate, as Anne Applebaum writes this morning, marks the "final collapse of network television's dominance over the news." Like her, I "am unable to conjure up a single shred of nostalgia for the once-fabled network evening news programs." Why? Because, like Applebaum, I'm a late-Boomer (and, some might say, late-bloomer as well). There's a world of difference in the two camps of kids born pre- and post-1960, about which I've written before.

Please forgive the self-reference, but I think that, over the past several months, the torch of an older generation is not so much being passed as wrested. In the blog linked to above, I wrote:

"I was a child in the '60s and not a child of the '60s, so perhaps my views are colored by my late-Boomer birth date. But the Boomers born in the immediate post-war period, or at least those who are now in positions of influence in Washington, are for my money the most reactionary generation in American history. All things -- history, literature, art, religion -- must be viewed through the lenses of youth -- their youth (not yours or anyone else's). But that youth, as our rising medical bills and sagging bodies show, was 30 or more years ago."

This morning, Applebaum describes something similar, using Rathergate as her reference point:

"What became clear, as the story wound down to the inevitable apology on Monday night, was that Rather and his fellow network newsmen are stuck in a Vietnam/Watergate-era time warp. Most of us regard network anchors as faintly pompous talking heads, people who read other people's prose off teleprompters. But the anchors, rather extraordinarily, still regard themselves as the conscience of the nation. They aren't mere 'journalists' who have to use authentic documents to prove their allegations but rather people whose fame and large paychecks and unchallenged power entitle them to some kind of automatic credibility, even if their documents are fake."

We're pleased to have many new readers, and for those who haven't already read Wilfred McClay's blog on this topic, "The Passing of an Era?" offers a thoughtful look at the ongoing changing of the guard.