“Good evening, and welcome to Celebrity Interview. I’m your host, Rex Veneer. Tonight, I’ll be talking to a man who has made a career out of talking to other people, both the famous and the obscure. He got his first break on Edward R. Murrow’s See It Here, spent several years as a reporter on Entertainment Right Now and even developed his own short-lived cable series called Just Plain Folks. He is currently the anchor of the Deadline News Network. I’m talking, of course, about Rex Veneer. Rex, welcome.”
“Well, thank you, Rex. It’s a pleasure to be here. Before we get to anything serious, I just have to ask: who does your hair? It look fantastic!”
“Thank you very much. We can talk about that after the show. Now, you’ve been around television news and public affairs for a long time. What do you think is the future of television news?”
“Whoa! That really is a serious question, Rex…”
“Well, do your best, Rex…have fun with it.”
“Okay. Actually, I’m glad you asked me that question. As more and more people turn to television as their main source of news about the world, it will have to deliver more of what they are looking for in order to fulfill its democratic potential…”
“You mean, to get good ratings?”
“Isn’t that what I said? The average length of stories will have to be shortened, getting as low as five seconds, and visuals will have to get even more…visual. To keep audiences watching, every other story will have to have human interest value…oh, by the way, what do you think of the Deadline News Network?”
“Well, I find your broadcasts particularly superficial.”
“You do? What…what makes you say that?”
“No need to get defensive, Rex. Let’s change the subject, somewhat. What do you feel is the proper role of the press?”
“Well, when I first started in this business as a cub reporter at KNUT, Nutty Radio in Des Moines, North Carolina, getting the story straight was the most important thing. The rols of the press was to uncover the truth – and avoid lawsuits. Then, with the advocacy journalism of the sixties, the press was supposed to promote worthwhile social causes. In the seventies, this led to the idea that the press was supposed to uncover abuses of power, especially in politics. Some people think we should still watch the government very, very carefully. Of course, now, in the eighties, the press is viewed as a form of entertainment, as a relatively painless way of learning about the world. So, you could say that my view of the proper role of the press is…umm…well…”
“Confused?”
“Exactly. Confused. But, why don’t you lighten up? What do you think of Geraldo Rivera?”
“Geraldo Rivera? He always struck me as a public relations hack pretending to be a journalist. I have a vision of Geraldo Rivera sitting down with Richard Nixon at the height of the Watergate scandal and saying, ‘Now, Dick, I know you didn’t mean any harm. Do you promise not to let the American people down again? Cross your heart?’ You call that responsible journalism?”
“So, you saw the special on teenage runaways, hunh?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Well, I thought it was very moving…”
“Okay. Let’s agree to disagree on that point. Tell me, Rex, which do you feel is a more effective medium for news: television or newspapers?”
“Effective in what sense?”
“Effective in the sense that it actually tells people something they should know.”
“Oh. That sense. Newspapers certainly contain more factual information, of course. But, people don’t want to be informed by news any more. I mean, they want to get an idea of what’s going on, but they don’t want to run the risk of really finding out. Do you know what I mean?”
“No. No, I don’t.”
“Oh. Well, can we just say that I think television is more effective? After all, I’d be a traitor if I didn’t…”
“You can say whatever you think.”
“Good. Why don’t you tell me, Rex: to tie everything we’ve been talking about together, what do you think is the future of television news?”
“Well, television news is going to have to abandon its populist tendencies if it intends to have any relevance in the future. Human interest stories are going to have to make way for more in-depth reports about serious subjects. The importance of visuals will have to be downplayed, and stories will have to be given as much air time as their complexity demands.”
“Well, that sounds like a good note to end on. I’d like to thank tonight’s guest, Rex Veneer…”
“It’s always a pleasure to be here, Rex.”
“I know. Next week, Donald Hodel, Reggie Jackson and Nell Carter will be part of a roundtable discussion entitled: Curbing Your Pet: Necessity or Intrusion? Until then, this is Rex Veneer for Celebrity Interview…
“Are we off? So, come on, tell me: who did your hair?”