○  英语演讲：television news coverage  ○

ing to the committee findings, one network in particular presented, and i quote, “a one-sided picture which in large measure exonerates the demonstrators and protestors.” film of provocations of police that was available never saw the light of day, while the film of a police response which the protestors provoked was shown to millions.

another network showed virtually the same scene of violence from three separate angles without making clear it was the same scene. and, while the full report is reticent in drawing conclusions, it is not a document to inspire confidence in the fairness of the network news. our knowledge of the impact of network news on the national mind is far from complete, but some early returns are available. again, we have enough information to raise serious questions about its effect on a democratic society.

several years ago fred friendly, one of the pioneers of network news, wrote that its missing ingredients were conviction, controversy, and a point of view. the networks have compensated with a vengeance.

and in the networks' endless pursuit of controversy, we should ask: what is the end value -- to enlighten or to profit? what is the end result -- to inform or to confuse? how does the ongoing exploration for more action, more excitement, more drama serve our national search for internal peace and stability?

gresham’s law seems to be operating in the network news. bad news drives out good news. the irrational is more controversial than the rational. concurrence can no longer compete with dissent. one minute of eldrige cleaver is worth 10 minutes of roy wilkins. the labor crisis settled at the negotiating table is nothing compared to the confrontation that results in a strike -- or better yet, violence along the picket lines. normality has become the nemesis of the network news.

now the upshot of all this controversy is that a narrow and distorted picture of america often emerges from the televised news.

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