The little shit almost smiled when he brought me the envelope from Corporate.
“No deviations, Howard. It is to be read exactly as written.”
I’d been with KGIM since the Nixon administration, working my way up from cameraman to morning sports and weather to the Big Slot, the daily six-and-eleven newscast.
I’d won countless awards for most trusted newsman in the region.
Sure, modern news was flashy, horrifying and fluffy in turn.
Ratings were king.
But it was still journalism.
This envelope was not.
This was slanted political bullshit. A hit job.
“All the stations are reading it,” he added.
A choice between what’s right and what’s right
Huh.
Dear Josh,
Oy the news media. How much do I miss Chet Huntly, David Brinkley and Walter Cronkite. Bias and poorly spoken English prevail. Good story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
I think we look on that era with more rosiness than it may well deserve, but I agree that the Murrow school had a lot more integrity than what we see now. When we lost the Fairness Doctrine, the whole industry went into the crapper. Thanks for reading and hosting the prompt!
Time for him to take a stand, or burn his bridges. Moral high ground, or keep the paycheck?
Howard Beale for the modern age. Thanks for reading.
Great film.
Moral dilemma! Nicely done.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
Hard to be the one who bucks the trend and do the right thing. I hope he does.
Someone put together a string of different news anchors across America, one after the other using identical words in their report, and all ending with “dangerous to our democracy.” It was clear that they’d all been told what to say, and perhaps most of them were comfortable saying it. I don’t know.
Sinclair Media does this all the time for news and features both.
A moment of truth. Or maybe not.
Terrific story, Josh, really well written. A powerful message, too.
thanks!
Say what you know to know be true and watch the ratings soar! Nice one.
My story!
Haha awesome start to the story.
Begs of one to know more. Will he stand by his own values or be swayed by the contents of the envelope??? Will he walk out rather than read it??? Great writing, and what an Elephant you left in the room today.