Cable news anchors: Journalists? Not!

I just ran into another shining example of the vapid newsreaders who are described as "journalists" in our Mainstream Media. CNN's Tony Harris was anchoring on Labor Day when it came over the wire that a member of the Little Rock Nine had passed away. The cable news show got on the line one of the Little Rock Nine to comment on it. Her name was "Minniejean Brown-Trickey."

Now, granted, I wouldn't hold that anyone could remember the names involved in an event the occurred in 1957. But a little research (i.e., Journalistic behavior) would have pulled up the names of the nine lickety-split. I did it in about five seconds. And laptops wired to the Internet are ubiquitous on cable news shows.

Instead, our intrepid anchor Mr. Harris proceeded to call her "Millie." She corrected him, but he wasn't even listening to her and proceeded to call her "Millie" a second time. Again, she corrected him and he finally got it right.

Interestingly, the transcript (below) edits out the second time he calls her "Millie" and the second time she corrects him. I was watching it live and I distinctly remember both corrections:

HARRIS: This just in to CNN. Jefferson Thomas, one of the Little Rock Nine members, has passed away, we're just learning. And you remember the Little Rock Nine, nine black high school students who really are heroes of the civil rights movement, who braved segregationist mobs to integrate an all-white high school, Little Rock Central High.

I believe we have someone on the phone with us.

Millie (sic) is on the phone with us?

MINNEJEAN BROWN TRICKEY, ONE OF "LITTLE ROCK NINE": It's Minniejean.

HARRIS: Minnie, it's good to talk to you.

TRICKEY: Thank you.

Now why would CNN edit out the second mistake? Is it to make their anchor look not as, shall we say, "vapid" as he is? I thought transcripts were supposed to be accurate quotes of on-air conversations. Apparently, CNN is pulling a little CYA and painting their anchors in the best possible light and to heck with accuracy.

Also, don't you just love that he makes it sound like he new all about the story...like it was right there in his razor sharp head, and of course we had to know too, since it was a Very Important Story back then:

And you remember the Little Rock Nine, nine black high school students who really are heroes of the civil rights movement, who braved segregationist mobs to integrate an all-white high school, Little Rock Central High.

Of course, I remember! I was just thinking about it a minute ago! What a coincidence! I tell you, it's a daily occurrence with me, remembering the Little Rock Nine!

So - two examples of non-journalism. No research prior to the interview (but he remembers!) and not listening to the interviewee (just rambling on with the questions without paying attention to the what's being said).

It just goes to show that the anchor "journalists" are reading what's put before them or echoing what's put into their earphones and not bothering to delve into the story. And the media corporations love it. Far be it that CNN's crack "journalists" do any investigating (or any other cable news network, for that matter).