Watching a bit of muckraking

TONY DODERO

“Television: Chewing gum for the eyes.”

-- Frank Lloyd Wright,

Architect

Most print journalist I know don’t have much regard for television

reporters or television news in general. And I have to say, I’m in

their camp for the most part.

Sure there are some exceptions in my mind, like local TV reporter

Valerie Mitchell at Comcast Channel 3 in Costa Mesa and most every

hard news reporter at CNN.

And then there is the most rare of the TV newsman breed -- John

Stossel.

Stossel is an ABC News investigative reporter who has unearthed

scams and debunked myths as co-anchor of the network’s “20/20” news

magazine with his signature “Give Me a Break,” series of stories.

Unlike other television journalists, I admire Stossel as a modern

day muckraker. He reminds me of my favorite newspaper columnist, the

late Mike Royko, who was equally disdainful of the left as he was the

right. It didn’t matter who you were to the hard-bitten Royko, he

took his literary knife out and stabbed you deep if you deserved it.

Stossel has a similar quality to him.

So, when I was invited to hear Stossel speak at the Orange County

Forum this last Wednesday at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, how could I

say no?

And when I heard the topic was going to be his new book, “Give Me

a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became

the Scourge of the Liberal Media,” well, then I knew his talk would

be perfect fodder for this column.

Right from the start of the talk, however, Stossel probably

disappointed a number of listeners in the packed house by assuring

them that while he’s not a member of the so-called “liberal media,”

he’s no conservative either as his critics have charged. He’s a

Libertarian who believes gays should be able to do as they wish,

prostitution should be legal and so should drugs.

“Real conservatives should be insulted,” Stossel said of the

right-wing label his critics give him.

Stossel said his belief in free markets and libertarianism caused

him to shift the focus of his reporting from largely going after big

business to now going after big government, which he said makes up

40% of the U.S. economy.

His big business attacks gained him oodles of notoriety over the

years, and he became the darling of those who beat the drums for more

regulation.

“They were proud of me in those days, and I won 18 Emmy Awards,” he said.

Then came the shift in his reporting that rankled his colleagues

in the media, he asserts.

“I don’t win them anymore,” he said of the Emmys.

Stossel said his main targets along with big government are

lawyers, whom he called, “the real scammers.” They attack

institutions that we need most like hospitals, he said, and they take

way too much money when it comes to civil awards.

But he also had some harsh words for his friends in the media.

“I try to talk to them about bias and it’s like talking to a fish

about water,” he said. “They say, ‘Water, what water?’”

Stossel does have his detractors in the media as well.

On the web site of the media watchdog group, Fairness and Accuracy

In Media, there is a whole section of the website dedicated to

debunking Stossel and his reporting.

The main criticism is that he plays fast and loose with the facts

and ignores information that may hurt his preconceived premises.

There’s no space in this column to rehash all of the criticisms but

for those of you interested, the web site is at https://www.fair.

org/media-outlets/stossel.html.

Whatever you think of Stossel, he definitely provides a service on

television that is rare. He questions society’s myths and social

morays and makes us think. That’s what good journalism can and should

do.

It seems to me we need more John Stossels on television and in

print to keep government, politicians, lawyers, big business and yes

even the media itself honest.

*

Please forgive me for taking a small bit of space to recognize a

couple birthdays.

First is my youngest daughter Kristen, who turns 3 on Monday.

Funny thing is, Kristen shares a birthday with Richard Nolan Dunn,

the son of Daily Pilot Sports Editor Rich Dunn. Little Nolan, as Rich

calls him, also turns 3 on Monday.

Finally, Wednesday is the third birthday of the Daily Pilot’s

Sunday edition.

I can’t believe it’s already been three years for all these

birthday kids, but I have to say they all are well worth it.

Happy birthday.