The media elite

What do good journalists and good preachers have in common? Both would sincerely like to believe that the very truthfulness of their message is enough to attract readers and listeners. But both, if they're old and experienced enough, usually also know that it takes something more to make things work. It's why Dan Rather likes to go to the site of the hurricane and show his viewers that he's willing to risk the danger of the storm in order to bring them the story. It's why Billy Sunday would sometimes leap from the platform and physically shake a listener in his audience. The truth itself may be powerful-but a little theater tends to be a good amplifier. But when does "a little theater" become too much? That question is why there will always be a lively debate in both fields about when the faithful carrier of the word (whether he's a preacher or a reporter) has veered a little too far toward being an entertainer as well. It's why the professional news staff at ABC got bent out of shape when network officials sent movie actor Leonardo DiCaprio to do a much-publicized interview about Earth Day with President Clinton. "We're selling out to celebrity journalism!" screamed the regular news team. They probably saw it as a little like putting Madonna in the pulpit during a Billy Graham crusade. Who would think of such a thing? The sad fact is that a great many Americans think of little else. So bored are they by basic truth that only after lots of bells and whistles have been added will they sit around and listen to it. I'm not just pointing fingers; none of us is exempt. We at WORLD magazine know that pictures, color, good layout, and an occasional special offer help promote subscription sales. Knowing when you've crossed the line, however, and when you've sold out to entertainment interests, is crucial. As noisy as the professional news people were in critiquing the DiCaprio interview, none of them seemed bothered by the borderline ethics of one of their own-Tom Brokaw of NBC News-when he co-sponsored a "town hall" discussion on gun control in Denver with President Clinton. To put on an air of dispassionate objectivity while providing a two-hour forum for a highly politicized point of view is at least as questionable as letting a movie star do an interview.