Hillary Clinton: Today's media is more entertainment, less facts
Storrs, Connecticut (CNN) – Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lamented the state of journalism on Wednesday, telling an audience at the University of Connecticut that journalism is now driven more by entertainment than fact based reporting.
Clinton, who has been the focus of national media attention since the early 1990s, told the 2,300-person audience that "journalism has changed quite a bit in a way that is not good for the country and not good for journalism."
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"A lot of serious news reporting has become more entertainment driven and more opinion-driven as opposed to factual," she said. "People book onto the shows, political figures, commentators who will be controversial who will be provocative because it’s a good show. You might not learn anything but you might be entertained and I think that’s just become an unfortunate pattern that I wish could be broken."
Clinton's comments came as part of the question and answer portion to Wednesday’s event. University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst asked Clinton about how journalism has changed and whether journalists could help break gridlock that has halted work in Washington.
The former secretary of state went on to say that she feels there is a space for "explanatory journalism because there’s a lot going on in the world that needs explanation."
The former first lady also had a tip for journalists: Do your homework.
"It’s important for journalists to realize that they have to do their homework too and they really should be well-prepared when they interview people, when they talk about issues," she said. "I think that it’s with professional tweaking and creativity we could address some of the issues we know are plaguing journalism today."
Clinton has long been the focus of journalists' attention, which at times has caused an acrimonious view of media.
According to the diary of Diane Blair, a longtime Clinton confidant whose personal documents gained media attention earlier this year, Clinton regularly expressed frustration and a deep distrust of the media.
In January 1995, Blair wrote that Clinton expressed “her total exasperation with all this obsession and attention, and how hard she’s finding to conceal her contempt for it all.” On Thanksgiving Day 1996, Blair wrote that Clinton thought the press was “complete hypocrites.”
“Say they want the truth, want power to be transparent, but in fact they prefer the backstage manipulation of B. Bush, N. Reagan, B. Truman, R. Carter,” Blair wrote, listing several former first ladies. “On her death bed, wants to be able to say she was true to herself and is not going to do phoney makeovers to please others.”
When her husband, Bill Clinton, was president, many in the White House worried of a "vast right-wing conspiracy" that aimed to take down the Clinton White House. Some of that concern stemmed from the rise of right wing media and blogs.
Clinton's 2008 campaign also suffered from a sometimes tense relationship with the media. In 2008, former President Clinton railed against what he called "the most biased coverage in history," and both Clintons complained of what they believed to be pervasive sexism dominating the campaign narrative.
In response to her remarks, Tim Miller, executive director of American Rising PAC, a conservative research and media super PAC, said Clinton's problem with the media stemmed from "a lack of interest in transparency, not the media. She's never going to like anyone that tries to hold her accountable."
While in Storrs, Clinton also talked about National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, the future of the Ukraine-Russia relationship and the importance of youth participation.
Because the remarks came at University of Connecticut, a school whose basketball program won both Division I national championship in 2014, the former secretary of state also brandished some of her basketball bona fides, telling the audience that she was "a big fan" of Shabazz Napier, the men's senior guard.
"You just busted every bracket," Clinton said.
Clinton, who has used the last few months to travel the country and deliver paid speeches, has acknowledged that she is thinking about a presidential run in 2016. All polls have her as the Democratic frontrunner and it is likely that she would win the nomination if she won.
Former Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, who attended Wednesday's event, said the former first lady should think about running, while Connecticut's Sen. Richard Blumenthal said he would support Clinton "when and if she does."
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You should know since Obama beat you up in the 2008 elections that was all about race anyway.
A true statement if ever there was one. More commercial news, less news with facts. Gotta make them sponsors happy, you know.
Hillary is the master of cover ups and no stomach for transparency or truth to put it kindly dems are plaguing us she said and the media needs to obey and make up lies at her bekon call . I didnt make it up read the report above . Ill pinch you if need be ?
Duh, I agree with Hilly, more B.S. less facts. That's why MSNBC, and most of main street medias ratings are way, way down. Just shocked no one noticed this about a decade ago. It took Hilly that long to catch on ??, that is scary !!!
Corporate journalism is now driven more by entertainment than fact based reporting.
TRUE , money , ratings , earnings , 24 hours a day .
Look at Morning Joe , it's not about news.
and on this media it better that it is entertainment not fact, otherwise the lack of Hilarys accomplishments would be reported
When right wing talking heads and their minions of internet trolls deride Democrats like Obama for being elitist, aloof, etc. what they mean is cultured and EDUCATED. When Al Gore was called boring it was because he was detailed oriented. It is the "fair & balanced" news crowd that is largely the province of etertainers like Hannity, O`Reliey, formerly Beck, etc. Maddow is one of the most factually tight people on the air, so too is Alex Wagner or Chris Hayes or Chris Matthews..
It`s Fox News and network people that don`t do their homework and allow lying, distorting, obfuscating Republicans to regurjitate their "talking point" rather than answer the tough, objective questions. Commentators who don"t call out obvious lies or purposefully misleading comments are part of that entertainment rather than factual mindset. If journalists want to raise their professional game, the winnwers will be the American public . . . and Democratic politicians because they are required to be "more steak and less sizzle". Republicans on the other hand are "all hat & no cattle", i.e. not very factual at all..
Thank goodness for fox news..one of the few organizations that balance out the sugar coating of democrats by the mostly liberal media
It's not even entertainment because a lot of people believe everything faux news tells them.
BTW – anyone watch the Daily Show on Monday and Wednesday? Stewart calls out insanity on the rancher who is standing up to the government he doesn't believe in but he uses the Stars and Stripes regardless to make his point. Then insanity goes after Stewart on his silly show. The best was Stewart going back after insanity and showing him that he's full of it! This includes our Founding Father, Washington in a situation very similar to this ranching fool.
Stewart 2 – insanity 0
Yes, on Hillary16.
PS: all say "Amen".
REALLY!!!!!! Gee I would have NEVER thought THAT!!
Yes it is Hillary.
Hillary shouldn't complain about the media. It is serving her well and will most likely (with a few exceptions) support her run in 2016.
Especially liberal journalism, where they cant even ask the President one hard question. They protect everything he does. It is quite disgusting .
Not a huge fan of Clinton. But can't disagree here. The media has become an option of liberal opinion, conservative opinion, or run on one story tabloid journalism (cnn).
Kinda the same as our Government.
I appreciate her bringing up this subject – it's long overdue. Every TV station on the dial now has a political swing one way or the other so we can't get the "straight" news anywhere. Then there is the problem of defining what is "news". I'd like to think it is providing useful information about what is going on in the world – stuff I need to know. Good luck waiting to hear any of that kind of news – maybe the weather info is useful and close to us. The bad stuff going on close by is just too depressing to bother us with it. I don't know how to fix it – ratings drive it so maybe a station that doesn't depend on ratings – just honesty and need to know.
Hillary Clinton is right on. What used to be" the news" is now the bimbo opinion hour or " the propaganda". Scores of great newspapers have gone out of business or been taken over by syndicates with political bias. News stories have taken on the color of editorials with political slant. TV has taken over as the dominant news source.
On TV the political orientation of a story determines whether it will be given prime time, how many times it will be aired or whether it will appear at all. Interviewers ask questions liike "Does your mother know you beat your wife." Inuendo has replaced fact. The big money interests who advertise have tremendous influence and cannot be offended. Political pacs are allowed to air just about any outrageous charges they want as long as they pay for ithem. Money rules.
Very true. "Reporter" vs "journalist". Journalists area a nearly extinct breed.
Today's journalism han't much in the way of editors, either.Your headline should read "more entertainment, fewer facts." "Less" is for bulk or volume or collective nouns, "fewer" for individual items or things. For instance: "there is less whiskey in the barrel, but fewer Scots are drinking it."
Along with the drivel and hype now passing for news, lack of professionalism, dearth of editors, and general illiteracy are ruining journalism. But to my mind, the damage done to the English language, a rich and nuanced tongue, especially by TV and radio newscasters, is horrific.
Well said, Ms. Clinton! Look at Fox or MSNBC and they are entertainment networks now, completely removed from facts and are solely opinion based.
Couldn't agree with her more. The media are more interested in sensationalism, ratings and promoting various political agendas than they are in reporting facts / news. This has been the case for a long time I think, but it seems to be getting more rampant and more annoying.
Well, CNN, your story did a fine job of proving Clinton's point. She suggests that journalism is not of the same quality that it once was. In response, you ask a bunch of Republicans what they think ... instead of talking about journalism, they give you their opinion of Clinton. Then you throw in a remark about basketball for no apparent reason. You see? Even on a story about themselves, so-called "journalists" turn it onto an incoherent fluff-piece. Remarkably, in a story about the state of journalism, you very quickly move to personal attacks like "she's not going to like anyone who holds her accountable" ... this story does not need to be a Dems vs. GOP story, but, of course, that's what it becomes. Pathetic.
This is my favourite sentence: "Clinton has long been the focus of journalists' attention, which at times has caused an acrimonious view of media." You have nothing to back this up, you just throw it out there like it's a fact, and then the rest of the article is all about how bitter she is based on your little assertion based on nothing but what you think. What happened to the story? The story if that the media has gone downhill in her time in the spotlight ... debate. You think the story is "cranky lady we don't like lashes out at us because she's cranky" ... as she suggests, that's a super fun story for you, but perhaps the idea that media has gone to complete crap over the last 30 years or so might actually be worth looking at instead of (as you always do) putting pundits on the opposite side of the table and hoping that they'll have a fight for your titillation. Once again ... you're even more pathetic than Clinton suggests.
Couldn't agree more. The media today is more interested in sensationalism, promoting political agendas and achieving high ratings that actually providing us with facts or news. It's been this way for a while, but it's recently started becoming more rampant and annoying. The owner of this website is certainly no exception.
journalism is ded...