This column is the quintessence of the bullshit punditry that somehow passes for "wisdom" or political perspicacity in our mainstream media. Noonan literally personifies herself as "America" in this column and then proceeds on that basis to ascribe bone-deep patriotism to John McCain and Men's Vogue ambivalence--with all homosexual implications intact--to Obama. But more than that, this writing betrays the thoughts of a truly bizarre woman. The only thing weirder than Noonan's notion that anyone would become "misty eyed" over the story of the Wright brothers or the California gold rush is that McCain would and Obama wouldn't. Her views of the candidates seem to have less to do with objective reality and more to do with her own crabbed and malformed notions of race, gender and class.

I don't know how much money Salon pays Glenn Greenwald, but whatever it is, it is not enough.

Glenn you hit it right on the head when you said the blog entry was the most revealing thing. This line "it's tough to figure out exactly what readers the paper is speaking to, or seeking" makes it absolutely clear that Mr. Williams is not a journalist as much as he is in marketing. He's a salesman.

Objective journalism is not targeted to a group of readers, or viewers.

Arriana Huffington has a post up regarding the paradox of the political center shifting and that right-wing views are now at odds with the majority of Americans. She writes:

”Yet, despite this seismic shift -- grossly underreported by the media -- the Right remains as powerful as ever when it comes to setting the national agenda and dominating the national debate.”

Brian William’s post is a perfect example of why it is still able to do this. The Right sets the agenda most effectively through the “liberal” media and “liberals” like Williams who, while wearing their “liberal” badges distributed by the Right, spew exactly the talking points the Right wants out there. In this case, it’s that Obama’s patriotism really is suspect.

Despite the Right’s dominance, public sentiment has changed. And while the Right may still control the agenda and the “debate” on National TV, their agenda is so far out of touch with reality that the public no longer buys into the drivel.

When you’re having trouble paying for your basic groceries or gas, and can’t afford health insurance, whether or not Obama is wearing a flag pin seems so trivial, so far removed from the real issues, that Williams’ and Noonan’s grave “concern” about Obama’s patriotism becomes laughable.

The mission statement, as it were, for the blog:

The Daily Nightly began on May 31, 2005. As Brian wrote in his first post it aims to provide a narrative of the broadcast day and a window into the editorial process at NBC Nightly News. Brian weighs in every weekday

And some examples of the narrative of the broadcast day and a window into the editorial process? From April 7:

A mea culpa and a thank you to the sharp-eyed Newsviners who wrote us (along with others) to tell us we had used file tape of penguins in a piece on the North Pole! There are no penguins on the North Pole. I must admit I was watching from home, and muted the sound to talk to a family member. Something registered, and I'd like to think I'm smart enough to have noticed. It was the visual equivalent of a kangaroo bouncing through Central Park.

From April 1st (you think it's an April fool's day prank?):

Apologies for a cramped calendar and little time to post. I spent five hours on the set of Sesame Street today. We wrapped filming and the episode will air in August. I'll post an air date when I know it. Until then, I'll be mum about details... though if Elmo talks, that's something I can't control.

(Image: Brian Williams and Elmo)

Right now we have just broken from our editorial meeting, which morphed into a planning meeting for our Martin Luther King assasination (sic) anniversary coverage. We have a group of visiting journalists from Saudi Arabia who I must now go speak to.

About the posts over the past 24-hours, there are two conspiracy theories to knock down: first, that I would ever utter a bad word about our "regulars" -- the folks who make this blog go, and give me energy each day. I love knowing you're reading, and watching, and your loyalty means more to me than you could know. So I can't imagine ever posting a comment which would have been in any way negative. Second: I have no idea which companies make which pharmaceuticals. In my job, I have to know a lot -- and I generally like carrying around a lot of information. The parent companies of pharmaceutical products advertised on Nightly News? Not a chance.

But my favourite is this one, from April 24:

If you measure life's occurrences through the prism of our newsroom -- our daily editorial meetings and the broadcasts we air each night -- I'm not sure what it says about our world. A few days ago no one in the national media was giving much thought to rice -- except perhaps those who do the family shopping and had reason to know its price had risen globally 140% over the past year. Ditto the housing market, in that it only got to where it is now over the last few months.

Pap, pap and more pap. From this, I would take it to understand that the news business is intended to be a mild sedative for the audience that only seems mildly informative. Don't treat the viewers as seeking information or knowledge or understanding, but rather, as needing comfort, relaxation and reassurance that they can still trust their institutions and their celebrities. (Or at least be receptive to the advertisements coming up next).

Perhaps these are highly unrepresentative, I don't know. But it's hard not to get the impression that the "news" Brian Williams is blogging about has very little to do with hunting down or investigating or reporting on emerging stories. You know, the news. "A few days ago no one in the national media was giving much thought to rice". No shit Brian. I've been reading about these very predictions and concerns for the past year (example linked to sig), but then again, I'm not in the "news" business.