When I watch CNN now, I am reminded of a phrase from a famous commercial that was used by Walter Mondale to stunning effect against Gary Hart in 1984: “Where’s the beef?” Without question, CNN has gone soft on what used to be hard news.

I do not mean to imply that CNN is the only network that has gone down this road recently. Many networks have begun sacrificing news for ratings. Even Dan Rather’s sanctimonious refusals to cover the Chandra Levy case seemed intended to generate news rather than monitor it. Even more convincing is a recent experiment proving that when networks present news in non-sensational formats, the results are conclusively lower ratings.

Even so, I remember the days when CNN reporters broadcast while being bombed in foreign lands and when typical Larry King Live guests went by titles like “Mr. President” or “Senator” rather than “the blonde one.” I’m afraid that kind of serious journalism is gone, and its absence is most noticeable on CNN. I think the death of news sounds pretty sensational.

So why doesn’t someone do a story on that?

Joshua I. Weiner ’03 is a government concentrator in Leverett House.