The failures of the press have contributed immensely to the emergence of a talk-show nation, in which public discourse is reduced to ranting and raving and posturing. – Carl Bernstein
The lowest form of popular culture – lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most peoples lives – has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage. – Carl Bernstein
The greatest felony in the news business today is to be behind, or to miss a big story. So speed and quantity substitute for thoroughness and quality, for accuracy and context. – Carl Bernstein
So why do people keep on watching? The answer, by now, should be perfectly obvious: we love television because television brings us a world in which television does not exist. In fact, deep in their hearts, this is what the spuds crave most: a rich, new, participatory life. – Barbara Ehrenreich