Richard Armitage on the Media and National Security
- 6 years ago
Richard Armitage on the problem of national security and the press
Question: Does the media have too much say in matters of national security?Armitage: No. What has too much say is a newspaper like the New York Times, the Washington Post, notwithstanding whatever their biases. They have an actually small readership. And a newspaper like the former ___________ has a much larger readership. And if you look at their reporting . . . For instance, all during the Iraq war, you'll find they did very good -- very cogent and very critical. But we give too much credence to very lightly read newspapers. The readership of the New York Times and the Washington Post is not a million combined. But if . . . I don't think . . . In fact if I read things correctly, most Americans now are getting their news online, or unfortunately from the Stewart show . . . "The Daily Show" which, I must say, seems to find a seam and find the vulnerability of whatever they go after. I enjoy it enormously, but I'm not sure it's a real good phenomenon in the long run.
Question: Does the media have too much say in matters of national security?Armitage: No. What has too much say is a newspaper like the New York Times, the Washington Post, notwithstanding whatever their biases. They have an actually small readership. And a newspaper like the former ___________ has a much larger readership. And if you look at their reporting . . . For instance, all during the Iraq war, you'll find they did very good -- very cogent and very critical. But we give too much credence to very lightly read newspapers. The readership of the New York Times and the Washington Post is not a million combined. But if . . . I don't think . . . In fact if I read things correctly, most Americans now are getting their news online, or unfortunately from the Stewart show . . . "The Daily Show" which, I must say, seems to find a seam and find the vulnerability of whatever they go after. I enjoy it enormously, but I'm not sure it's a real good phenomenon in the long run.
Question: Does the media have too much say in matters of national security?Armitage: No. What has too much say is a newspaper like the New York Times, the Washington Post, notwithstanding whatever their biases. They have an actually small readership. And a newspaper like the former ___________ has a much larger readership. And if you look at their reporting . . . For instance, all during the Iraq war, you'll find they did very good -- very cogent and very critical. But we give too much credence to very lightly read newspapers. The readership of the New York Times and the Washington Post is not a million combined. But if . . . I don't think . . . In fact if I read things correctly, most Americans now are getting their news online, or unfortunately from the Stewart show . . . "The Daily Show" which, I must say, seems to find a seam and find the vulnerability of whatever they go after. I enjoy it enormously, but I'm not sure it's a real good phenomenon in the long run.
Question: Does the media have too much say in matters of national security?Armitage: No. What has too much say is a newspaper like the New York Times, the Washington Post, notwithstanding whatever their biases. They have an actually small readership. And a newspaper like the former ___________ has a much larger readership. And if you look at their reporting . . . For instance, all during the Iraq war, you'll find they did very good -- very cogent and very critical. But we give too much credence to very lightly read newspapers. The readership of the New York Times and the Washington Post is not a million combined. But if . . . I don't think . . . In fact if I read things correctly, most Americans now are getting their news online, or unfortunately from the Stewart show . . . "The Daily Show" which, I must say, seems to find a seam and find the vulnerability of whatever they go after. I enjoy it enormously, but I'm not sure it's a real good phenomenon in the long run.