Longtime NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw came on CBS’s The Late Show Monday to talk about his new Watergate book and compare the impeachment inquiry of Richard Nixon to the current impeachment of President Trump. While he was there, he also boasted how journalists in his day could be counted on to report accurately; but today, people got their news from social media which couldn’t be trusted.
While comparing his time covering Watergate to the current impeachment proceedings, Brokaw told host Stephen Colbert how journalists used to be considered trustworthy, because they had plenty of time to do their own sourcing and could control what was reported:
“[I]t wasn't 24-7 on television...I would be working the phones all day long to try to find out what, in fact, happened and, when it would go on, it would be very much organized and I could count on what I was saying,” he touted.
Colbert interjected to joke, “Wait, go back! What was news like when it was organized and you could count on what you were saying? Take me back to this mythical land!”
But now, Brokaw lamented, the rise of new media on social media platforms had caused Americans to pick and choose what media they wanted instead of what “could be authenticated.” He added that while journalists weren’t infallible, they “worked hard” at finding the facts and were held accountable for their reporting.
Brokaw also complained that the traditional media no longer had a monopoly on news reporting, saying we've "lost control" of social media:
Well it was. It was a big difference between now and social media. The fact is that this technological change -- and I do believe that the people ought to have access to stating what they believe and what they want to be involved in, but we've lost control of it because you don't know where it's coming from, where it's going, what the motivation is, and, so, when you see something, so many people believe it, ‘I believe that!’, and so much of it can't be authenticated. That's a huge difference between then and now. Doesn't mean that those of us who are White House correspondents or in American journalism had all the answers but we worked hard at determining what in fact had happened, because we were liable for it at the end of the day, and the country paid attention to it, on that basis.
Brokaw shouldn't be the one lecturing about fake news. The veteran journalist has his own fair share of biased reporting and fake news reports. Brokaw also seems to miss the point, that the news media is held more accountable now than they were in his heyday, because they can be fact-checked in real time.
While Brokaw was there, Colbert did not ask his guest about the sexual harassment allegations against him by his former colleague at NBC News.
Read the transcript below:
The Late Show
12/10/2019
TOM BROKAW: The difference between them and now, as well, it wasn't 24-7 on television. You know, we would, as a White House correspondent, we would get briefed at 10:00 in the morning. I wouldn't go on the air till 6:30 at night for nightly news. I would be working the phones all day long to try to find out what, in fact, happened and, when it would go on, it would be very much organized and I could count on what I was saying because I---
STEPHEN COLBERT:: Wait, Go back. What was news like when it was organized and you could count on what you were saying. Take me back to this mythical land!
BROKAW: Well it was. It was a big difference between now and social media. The fact is that this technological change -- and I do believe that the people ought to have access to stating what they believe and what they want to be involved in, but we've lost control of it because you don't know where it's coming from, where it's going, what the motivation is, and, so, when you see something, so many people believe it, ‘I believe that!’, and so much of it can't be authenticated. That's a huge difference between then and now. Doesn't mean that those of us who are white house correspondents or in American journalism had all the answers but we worked hard at determining what in fact had happened, because we were liable for it at the end of the day, and the country paid attention to it, on that basis. But now it’s jump ball, 24/7.
