Dan Rather is to blame for everything.
Confused? Let’s review.
A few weeks ago, Miss Teen South Carolina was thanking Britney for getting her off the media spotlight hook.
Now it’s Britney’s is thanking O.J. Simpson for bailing her out. (That works on a few levels.) Leave it to “The Juice” to show Ms. Spears how to make a real comeback.
Slashing through the media frenzy surrounding Britney’s VMA debacle, Simpson filled computer and television screens alike after allegedly storming into a Las Vegas hotel room demanding the return of “his” sports memorabilia. Or as witnesses claimed he said in the heat of the moment: “my shi–.”
(Sigh.) O.J., you drive me crazy.
Days after the release of the controversial “If I Did It” – which was almost called “I Did It, But I’m Not Going to Tell You While I Make a Buck Off My Murdered Wife” – O.J. found himself in Vegas to attend the wedding of a close friend. Doesn’t anyone remember what happened the last time he was involved in a marriage?
And what bride said, “Sure, honey, invite him. My parents would love to meet him!” Perhaps the bride also asked for a set of knives as a wedding present, too.
But in reading a clip of the book yesterday, I came across an interesting passage connecting Dan Rather to O.J. The book recounts how Simpson was contemplating suicide while riding in the back of that famous white Ford Bronco. He decided against it when he heard a radio report citing Dan Rather reported police had been to Simpson’s house six or seven times for domestic violence calls.
According to the book, it angered Simpson so much that he decided to not kill himself.
Thanks, Dan. You drive me crazy.
Because of that report, we had to deal with the countless hours of the Simpson trial and the lingering doubts (by some) about his guilt. The reputation of the media died a little that day.
Years later, when news anchors were retiring left and right from the national evening news Dan Rather ran a story about President George W. Bush’s Air National Guard days that turned out to be false. Rather took responsibility for his producer’s error and fell on his sword to save face for the network. Brokaw retired, and Jennings stepped down shortly before dying.
Already in the midst of the Iraq War (version 2.0), the country needed its top anchors to better hold its leaders accountable and to give people someplace to look to for real news.
Now we have Brian “I spend my spare time on ‘The Daily Show'” Williams, Charlie “no, it’s not morning still” Gibson, and Katie “I had a colonoscopy on live television” Couric.
“The CBS Evening News” was once the most trusted in America. With Couric at the helm, it is now the least watched and most idiotic. While I respect Rather for taking responsibility for his show’s actions, he didn’t have to quit. Why should he set a better example than our national leaders? (Please note that while most of Bush’s people may quit, they don’t take responsibility.)
The ratings for the “News” are the lowest in 20 years thanks to the journalistic credibility of someone who has already had two instances of plagiarism on her watch. When Richard Jewell died a few weeks ago, she said he was suspected of the Atlanta Olympic Village bombing. She failed to say he found the bomb, saving many lives, while the real bomber now sits in prison.
Oops, she did it again.
Now we’re left with CBS and Viacom putting money behind socially important productions as the Video Music Awards. Which brings us back to Britney.
It’s a circle of life and Dan’s in the middle.
There’s two things I know: Kato Kaelin will soon be on YouTube screaming “Leave O.J. alone!” and if Dan Rather is the head for HDNet news, stay with analog.
Or as he said, “If you’re disgusted with us, frankly, I don’t blame ya.”