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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Hillary never liked the Media.... They might not give her such a pass as they did with Obama!
The state of headline writers is also sinking. What's with the bad grammar?! Correction: "fewer facts" not "less," unless the facts are "less factual."
So has she...faded.
"Clinton has long been the focus of journalists' attention, which at times has caused an acrimonious view of media."
Yeah, well. I have an acrimonious view of the media as well and I'm not in politics, nor would I ever be.
Political journalists have become their own worst egos. Not one of them are worth the camera time, let alone to be taken as serious intellects. They live in their own reality where they are seen by themselves as completely beloved by the very few who can stomach watching them day after day.
"All polls have her as the Democratic frontrunner and it is like that she would win the nomination if she won."
Proof reading is another thing media professionals need to do.
WHOA!
Good call, Media has flavored the news instead of factually reporting it
The media likes to pit the left and right against each other to keep you reading and try to start a war in this country. They can say anything they want. Mostly all news is gossip.
@amecians. . . , the difference between faux news, emphasis on the faux, is that MSNBC is trying to tell US that the red state politicians, the kochs and adelson's of the world are trying to take away our voting rights Nd they are making sure that we the people know.
This faux news is all about, I heard or she's a will but he isn't or I was told or we think or he is a communist, socialist, nazi, blah, blah, blah. No real news just lies and innuendos. They are given talking points, which that brainless steve doocey(sp) let out of the bag a while back, and they stick to them.
I love it! she called out foxnews
Many of the comments here completely demonstrate her point. And CNN is one of the major players in this "entertainment business."
This is the equivalent of a 500 pound person complaining that there are too many fast food options out there.
As much as I dislike Hillary, I have to agree. No I don't dislike her because she's a woman, I dislike her because she's as far left as Ted Cruz is far right, and can't work with anybody.
don't forget they have also outlawed investigative journalism over the last few years!!!
"All polls have her as the Democratic frontrunner and it is like that she would win the nomination if she won."
About the only place I've found that has a modicum of credibility in news reporting these days is Aljazeera. It's something like CNN was in the early days... before entertainment, reality shows, sensationalist crime and Barbie Doll newsreaders trumped real journalism. BBC America *was* good, but lately it's starting to latch on to 'feel good' stories rather than hard journalism.
Of course, there's always the Internet. Everyone knows you can't lie on the Internet...
Funny – I rarely read CNN these days, but as I scanned their homepage today, I thought, "Huh. When did CNN become so much about celebrity and lifestyle topics?" Then I see this article, and have to say, I agree.
She's completely correct, and that goes for both MSNBC and Fox News, and even to an extent, CNN (ahem, Crossfire).
Finally one intelligent human being realized this after so many years. The media has always been promoting whatever was the trend, starting with election of Obama, same-sex marriage, etc. never stayed neutral with these subjects. The media tends to make you feel guilty if you don't follow whatever is the trend. Media is supposed to report & be non-partisan to anything.
WOW!!! I agree!!! Journalism has gone TMZ. There was a time when I loved CNN and trusted the reporting. Now....I prefer to get the news from my 5 year old who is more factual.
Rest of us have known this for decades.
Geez, wonder how Hilary Clinton would answer the question asked of Sarah Palin by Katie Couric "what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?"
Thankfully, a bright, intelligent, articulate candidate on the Dems side and one that will keep the "fact-based GOP campaign" searching for the right combatant so they don't get decimated again.
Hillary is absolutely correct. I wonder what her first clue was.
At the same time, she is a bit of a hypocrite.
I consider myself to be apolitical, these days. In years past I have sworn by, sworn at and sworn off both Democrats and Republicans.
The media these days tends to either inject themselves into stories or support a particular agenda. There are plenty of cases of both "right wing media" and "left wing media" out there. It seems we are no longer given facts.
On a daily basis, I follow a variety of news outlets. I find it interesting in stories that are reported in one branch and ignored in another, and in how the same story is reported differently in a variety of sources.
Edward R. Murrow must be rolling in his grave.
Hillary Clinton: Today's media is more entertainment, less facts
Kind of like her and her husbands 8 years in the White House.
God help us...........
From NPR to the commercial news channels the public receives propaganda and not news. Also they specialize in lies and they are King makers. Unless the press become non partisan and truthful, democracy may fail and they themselves be extinct.