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Shelton Mason County Journal
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August 18, 2016     Shelton Mason County Journal
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August 18, 2016
 
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Page A-4 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016 KOMEN COMMENT was the Golden Age of tele- vision journalism in America. We had Huntley-Brinkley on NBC and Walter Cronkite on CBS. Edward R. Murrow, a "Washington boy," topped them all. He was the Gold Standard in those now-forgotten glory days of network television news. Huntley's "Goodnight, David" and Brink]ey's "Goodnight, Chet" was the sign-off of a nightly news program respected for its respon- sible and credible report- ing. Herb Robinson was the Gold Standard local- ly. His professionalism and journalistic training provided solid credibility for his nightly news pro- grams on Channel 4. The Robinsons and By JOHN the Murrows have been replaced by a bewilder- KOMEN ing number of television and digital channels all delivering non-step news and commentary. The blizzard of panel discussion programs compete for attention with their off-the-wall opinions and comments. It says something about to- day's television news when one of the most respected anchors today is Charlie Rose with a decades- long reputation for a half-hour interview program on public tele- vision. The news broadcasters of a half-century ago earned their spurs working in the vineyards of journalism, many as in-the- field reporters for newspapers. Cronkite earned his spurs as a United Press correspondent. Herb Robinson was a rising star report- er for the Seattle Times. With no broadcasting experi- ence, Robinson started his televi- sion career with what he knew best: journalism. He emphasized no-nonsense news gathering, professional news writing and straightforward reporting. Recruited by station executives when KOMO-TV first went on the air, Robinson hired and led a young aggressive staff to carry out the mandate he had been given -- provide the best evening newscast on Seattle television. It was said they found Robinson at the Times in their search for "the next Pulitzer Prize winner to run the station's newsroom. Robinson did it all in those days. He was in the field report- ing, because that's what he liked best. But he was also the news editor/director, the lead on-air anchor, the chief writer, the pro- gram producer and the assign- ment editor -- all rolled into one. It is unheard of in today's tele- vision news operations to combine all the responsibilities held by Robinson, but he did them all. It wasn't long before Channel 4 had the best news programming on the airJn Seattle. Robinson was the reason. His reputation, eth- ics and integrity won him wide respect from his journalism peers and growing admiration from the viewing public. Robinson also rec- ognized looming ahead were flaws and problems inherent in television broadcasting. Two of them were increasingly troublesome -- commer- cials and show business. Television station owners and executives quickly realized they could sell time -- commercials -- on the station's news programs. They determined program "im- provements"- show business enhancements -- could make the news more appealing to viewers, thus growing the audience and thereby selling more commercials at higher rates. Journalists like Murrow and Robinson soon felt pressures to improve show business aspects of television news. Murrow lost fa- vor with network brass and soon was gone. Robinson decided for himself he was not built for television. He returned to the Seattle Times where he could practice and write pure journalism. He closed out his career as the Times editorial page editor and colum- nist. He told friends he never missed the notoriety of being on television. Robinson died in Seattle 13 years ago. He was spared the cataclysmic changes in television and the resulting damage to daily newspapers. • John Komen, who lives on Mason Lake, was for 40 years a reporter and editor, Seattle televi- sion news anchorman and execu- tive, national TV network news correspondent, producer, colum- nist, editorial writer and commen- tator. His column, Komen Com- ment, appears each week in the Shelten-Mason County Journal. JOURNAL EDITORIAL first glance, it unded like mad- SS. But after we spoke with Luke Aikins last week, there was a method. Aikins, a regular staff member of Skydive Ka- powsin in Shelton, made national news July 30 when he jumped out of an airplane -- without a para- chute. The 42-year-old father and husband soared to the earth from 25,000 feet, and landed in a 100-foot-by- 100-foot net in Simi Valley, California. The entire stunt, which was broadcast on FOX, took only about two min- utes, but left spectators around the country with p an ,no one question -- why would somebody do this? According to an in- terview with Journal reporter Brianna Loper, Aikins asked himself that very question right before his jump. But he quickly pushed any doubts out of his head and took his leap of faith. At the Journal, we're used to reporting on local residents doing extraor- dinary feats. In this in- stance, we spoke with Ai- kins after his jump to get a full rundown of what was going through his head the moments leading up to and after his big stunt. What stood out to us was not just the feat it- self, but how prepared the skydiver and wing suit stuntman was for his big moment. Aikins wore neither a parachute or wing suit for his jump and insisted that hitting his target would have been more difficult, aerodynamics-wise, if he had worn a chute. Many viewers probably thought the jump, billed as "Heaven Sent," was dangerous and risky, and they'd be right if it was just your average Joe. Had he missed his target, we'd be writing a very different story. But Aikins, a sky- diver since age 16, had hit the jump 82 times in a row before the televised event. That's nothing short of amazing. LETTERS TO TIlE EDITOR Do our local Editor, the Journal The little green frog wants to know if the fol- lowing Republicans -- • MacEwen, Griffey and Shutty -- support the Tea Party and Donald Trump. I am not sure of this accu- sation, but they are guilty by association, just like Trump states. I think it is so; I believe it to be true. I need to see a rejection of this policy. I believe that Tea Party Republicans would not compromise -- they shut down the government my way or the highway (can't spend money on infrastructure). I need to see a rejection of Trump's hate and fear campaign. I could list all the things that he has said see LETTERS, page A-5 SHELTON-MASON COUNTY USPS 492-800 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mason County Journal, RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584. Published weekly by the Mason County Journal at 227 W. Cota St., Shelton, Washington. Mailing address: RO. Box 430, Shelton, WA 98584 Telephone: (360) 426-4412 Website: www.masoncounty.com Periodicals postage paid in Shelton, Washington. The Mason County Journal is a member of the Washington News- paper Publishers Association. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $42 per year ($33 for six months) for Mason County addresses; $56 per year ($43 for six months) in the state of Washington but outside Mason County; and $66 per year ($53 for six months} out of state. Owned and published by Shelton-Mason County Journal, Inc. Publisher: Tom Mullen General manager: Lloyd MuUen Newsroom: Adam Rudnick, editor Gordon Weeks, reporter Brianna Loper, reporter Michael Heinbach, reporter Alexandria Valdez, sports reporter Advertising: Brittany Haddock, ad representative Theresa Murray, ad representa'dve Front office: Donna Kinnaird, bookkeeper Dave Pierik, circulation and classifieds manager Delivery: Paul Kinnaird Gary Larimer Composing room: William Adams, graphics Linda Frizzell, graphics All editorial, advertising and legal deadlines are 5 p.m. the Monday prior to publication. To submit a letter to the editor, email adam@masoncounty.com.