As IF Times

link Sideshow: Wholl take Courics CBS anchor chair? | Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/05/2011.

What, are there no hand puppets available?  In this day of computer generated graphics, isn’t it possible to synthesize a cartoon character to read the news?  Although the job probably pays a pittance of only 10 million dollars a year, can’t they find some aspiring model or journalism student to fill the space?  Wouldn’t it be just as effective to have the weather girl on channel 7 read the news?  To be clear, the person is not expected to make the news, only read it aloud on the teleprompter.  Any dummy can do that as we know. Someone has to enlighten us rubes outside of New York city as to why replacing Couric should be that difficult.

In days gone by, a personality like Walter Cronkite was determined to have credibility when he read the news.  He was a familiar face and and even more familiar voice that brought the news of the world to Americans during the all important dinner hour.  Back then, with only 3 major television networks broadcasting, the delivery of what was news was filtered by ABC, NBC and of course CBS.  The veracity of their versions of events were beyond question.   Of course, in those days, The New York Times was a legitimate newspaper.

This grip on information by the major networks has long become a relic of a quainter time.  As the access to information has opened up to all who are willing to look, the importance and even relevance of the major news networks’ version of events have diminished greatly.  Gradually, people could see and think for themselves (well mostly) what was truly happening in the world and opinions often formed which differed from the offerings of the networks.  If CBS had lost Walter Cronkite during the late ’60’s, it would have been a devastating blow since America hung on to uncle Walt’s every word as gospel.  It can be argued that much of how America viewed major issues of the day was shaped by the utterances of uncle Walter.  To his credit, Cronkite seldom betrayed any personal judgement in delivering the news.  It was apparent that he told it, ‘just the way it was’ as his trademark signoff claimed.

When Couric took over the anchor chair, to great fanfare at the time, her background was that of daytime talk show host on another network.   In that role, she often was in the news herself as a personality and celebrity of the New York media scene.  Couric had to transform herself from perky interviewer to somber newscaster.  She never did seem to be able to bring the gravitas and objectivity of news to the public as did her predecessors.  This of course excludes his nutness, Dan Rather, who began the whole demise of the credibility franchise at CBS. But that’s another story.   During the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, she was widely lauded by the left for her apparently revealing question to Sarah Palin about what she read.  The implication was of course, not what she read, but if she read.   While the mainstream media credited Couric with brilliant reportage, it begs the question of whether that same question would be asked of any male candidate.

From that point on, her fate was sealed.  Most of America saw this somewhat condescending event as confirmation of her lightweight talk show background.  Any pretensions to being a genuine news broadcaster was shattered.  Viewers left in droves from the CBS evening news broadcast.  To be fair, the other national broadcasters also suffered the same collapse in viewership, but not as dramatically as at CBS.   Couric had to go.

Getting back to the original point then, how hard could it be to find someone to read the news?  Once the insular types at the networks peer out of their towers in manhattan, they may figure out that the U.S. extends beyond mid town New York.  But it may be all moot because the franchise on being the gatekeeper for the public’s news consumption is long gone.  It’s now true that some of the most significant stories broken today are not by the big news networks, but by cable or internet based operations.   It’s also true that broadcasters do not offer the balanced analysis offered by other information concerns.  To add insult, The National Enquirer, known to many as a gossip rag, has broken some of the biggest news stories of the day.   It’s as if Charlie Sheen became Walter Cronkite.  Come to think of it, Charlie may be looking for a job….

link For McIlroy, an Ending He Never Saw Coming – NYTimes.com.

There was no better display of why golf is the most fascinating, compulsive and frustrating sport there is than was in evidence at this year’s just completed Master’s golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia.  It is virtually impossible to script the drama, excitement and yes, heartbreak that is typically on display at this annual event, but particularly, this year.

When it was all over,  a very talented but relatively unknown player, Charl Shwartzel,  emerged as victor from the very crowded pack of contenders.  Among the contenders,  a resurgent superstar trying to salvage his place among the greats was the drama most focused on by the maddeningly bad TV coverage.  It was shamefully obvious that the entire broadcast centered on Mr. Woods as his every grimace was recorded and every good shot wildly celebrated.   However, there were other great stories not as well covered, including a player who would vie to be the first victor from Asia, K.J. Choi;  there was the contingent of 3 players from Australia trying to win the Masters for the first time for that country.  There was Fred Couples, more than twice the age of McIlroy but who was still able to compete at this elevated level with all the kids until fading near the end.   Most compelling of all was the upstart 21 year old Rory McIlroy, whose virtuoso performance, dared to lead the tournament for 63 holes before succumbing to what can only be described as a nerve meltdown of grotesque proportions.  Watching McIlroy’s Icarus-like ascent and fall was excruciating to all who had ever played in any sporting event, but especially golf.

At the end of it all, despite the stinging collapse, he showed a graciousness and composure beyond his young 21 years of age, traits that are increasingly uncommon in today’s sporting world.  Unlike almost all other sports played at the professional level, there are no officials involved in directing the rules of play.  Success and failure is entirely up to the player.  Unfortunately, there is something called the ‘rub of the green’, which in real life terms means, what happens, happens.  Nobody gets a do over.  You take your lumps or your streaks of good fortune and move on.  The ultimate test is not necessarily determined by the ones with the most physical talent.  It is not determined by youth or age or experience.  At the highest levels, golf is principally a mental game since it is the conviction of one’s self that ultimately determines the ability to execute in the intense crucible of major tournament play.

Most people cannot identify with some of the extraordinary shots made and scores recorded, but ALL can identify with the spiralling meltdown suffered by McIlroy.  We’ve all had to endure the stinging bite of defeat or loss just as we were expecting only victory.   This must be the secret allure of golf.  Apart from the masochistic element of the game,  it is still a test of both skill and of fate.  Nobody gets blamed but yourself.  Cheating is not tolerated and petulance and weak minds cannot persevere over the long term.  If only that kind of decorum can be found in real life.  To play like young McIlroy did for most of the tournament, only to succumb to the vicissitudes of fate is surely painful, but all are willing to bet that he will be all the tougher mentally in the years to come.  Nobody doubts his talent; it just wasn’t his turn.  We identify and sympathize with young Rory because we generally have those same convictions about ourselves.  If we haven’t made it yet, it’s only because it’s just not quite our turn and our time will come.  When the victories come, they will be all the sweeter.

Sure it’s only a game; but what a game it is, the game for life.