Sam Donaldson Tells NewsBusters 'Real Journalism' Is 'A Dying Breed'

"I think there’s some real journalism left, but it’s a dying breed.”

So said ABC's Sam Donaldson during an impromptu interview with NewsBusters at the Republican National Convention in Tampa Monday (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

After learning we were with NewsBusters, Donaldson said, “Brent [Bozell] is a favorite of mine...I think he’s a good guy. I don’t always agree with him. He doesn’t always agree with me, but I think he understands that when I’m wrong, it’s because I don’t mean to be wrong, I’m just not very smart.”

We asked him what he thinks of today’s media compared to those of the past.

“It’s all changed,” he said. “Technology has moved some. I think all of the changes in the way people deliver news and what they consider news has been brought about by the technology that allows everyone to talk, everyone to blog.”

“Do you think that there is any real journalism in America today, or is it all activist journalism and activist media?” we asked.

“I think there’s some real journalism left, but it’s a dying breed,” he said. “It’s become activism since we decided to hate each other…However, there are still people trying to bring information which is accurate.”

“But who do you think that is?” we asked. “I have a hard time finding that.”

“Some of the dailies, some of the old-line dailies,” he said. “I think ABC still tries to deliver the news that we believe is accurate, and we’re often wrong, and then I think we try to correct that.”

“You can find it,” Donaldson continued, “but you can also find all the other stuff, and since we don’t like to be bored, we want to be entertained in the sense of something interesting.”

Donaldson added, “Rush Limbaugh as you know will tell you he’s an entertainer…He really uses his ability as a communicator for political subjects on one side obviously. That’s what we’ve come to today.”