Hail the Media Heroes

"I didn't think the subject matter of Thursday's show was the kind of broadcast that I should be doing."
-- Larry King Live substitute host Bob Costas.

(Coverage of the BTK trial is) "a ghoulish exercise on the part of the news media," . . ."if ratings are the reason...we ought to be ashamed of ourselves."
-- Jack Cafferty, CNN host.

If the media is ever going to stop behaving badly, reporters themselves are going to have to draw the line between what's acceptable and unacceptable coverage because their producers most often seem to have no shame. Finally! Two CNN personalities -- Jack Cafferty and Bob Costas -- said "enough" to tabloid news coverage on television. Costas excused himself from his show altogether and Cafferty voiced his concerns clearly on the air. Granted, both men might be able to find other work easier than most; Costas is a busy sports personality and Cafferty must be close to retirement. But a stand is a stand and these guys both took one, and on a network that claims to want to shift away from "Crossfire"-like shouting to more hard news. Maybe they will help CNN put its money where its mouth is.

Costas and Cafferty may have only chipped a sliver off of the glacial pile of crap that often is the broadcast media, but the fact that they both spoke out is reassurance that someone in television news still has a conscience.

Watch the Cafferty video or read the transcript at Crooks & Liars

Read more about Costas at Crooks & Liars

[Via DigitalSpy and amberglow via Metafilter]