To the editor:
The American public is inundated with talk shows hosted, in the main, by individuals lacking in knowledge of current events and history and devoid of common civility. Lapses in and errors concerning current events and history abound in daily discussions and these seriously expose a knowledge dearth by hosts and/or shoddy research by program researchers. In either case, the audience is poorly served. In addition, experts in various fields are frequently interrupted by impatient hosts or by questioners too eager to insert their views into the dialogue before expert ideas are allowed to be completely expressed. Inarticulate and ill informed reporters too often try to challenge expert thoughts resulting in missed opportunities to receive coherent messages and being allowed to evaluate these on the audience’s part.
I would prefer to have experts coming to issues from variant positions explain their positions without reporter direction or input except to interrupt for commercials or program’s end. An example of this would be to invite Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft national security advisors for Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush respectively to discuss our current national security. Both men are knowledgeable, articulate, and civil to those they engage with so interjections or guidance from reporters(s) would be superfluous. Another example would pair two Nobel economists with different views discussing our economic circumstance. Such conversations would convey greater expert content and legitimacy that the all too familiar sound bites interrupted by reporter chatter.
I would think TV stations would relish this idea as the costs for talking heads would be reduced. More experts would likely want to appear on such shows as their ideas would gain a more prominent stage. Expert reputations would become enhanced if they contribute to a well reasoned, well organized, and civil discussion of vital issues. Promoting stations carrying such discussions would enhance their reputations as providers of understanding to their audience of vital national and local issues.
Presque Isle
