Not so Naive-

I think it was the "your momma" comment by "foo" that bought the derision. That's the one that hacked me off, anyway.

Don't let any negative drive-by poster get you down--it says a lot more about than him/her than it does about you.

Here's to a great, super-successful future!

Alex-

Don't take that nasty little snipe to heart. There are people who make livings these days smearing good, decent, honest people. Good luck to you.

Alex:
Great blog posts by you and your fellow interns. I not only appreciated the line “… but to be a fully informed citizen Nightly should not be your only source of news”, but also the timing of it…while you interned at Nightly!
A (well-deserved) public defense from Brian should be really encouraging; along with NBC’s decision to actually publish, the negative comments- for it is only going to make you stronger.
Hope to be listening “The News” from you, pretty soon.

It cracks me up how everytime someone expresses a different view (as its been refered to "Negative") or doesn't agree with the status quo, they revert to insults. We never said that Alex shouldn't pursue his career dreams, we simply stated that he shouldn't dismiss a reality that exists based on one explination from Brian Williams. Calling people "idiots" and "kooks" is a tactic used by people who don't want to, or can't debate the facts.

When someone says: "There are a lot of kooks out here, but there are a lot of sincere, honest people here as well. Look for the best in people and ignore the idiots", implies a "Good Guy -vs- Bad Guy" mentality. This type of thinking is exactly what has led to the current situation in the middle east.

Alex, I wish you the best of luck!! There's no doubt that your heart is in the right place. My only hope is, that your future impact on journalism is more objective then subjective.

I was a Nightly intern 2 years ago. It was the best experience of my life and had a profound effect on how I view the world. You have been given one of the greatest gifts in the world and from your entry, I can tell you will go very far in life. Good luck and congratulations!

Alex:
Well, I guess it is "welcome" to the crazy world on internet blogs. Don't let a few idiots who have responded negatively to your blog, keep you from pursuing your career dreams. Keep your head up and look to the future. There are a lot of kooks out here, but there are a lot of sincere, honest people here as well. Look for the best in people and ignore the idiots. All the best.

I agree, you sound a little naive to me when if comes to network bias. Having said that, we're all a little niave in our youthful years. Hopefully you can maintain an objective view when its your turn to report the news. It won't be easy though, America's journalism schools are filled with brain washing professors who are more interested in feeding you their political views then teaching you what you need to know. Sadly though, so are a lot of the people at NBC.

"Your writing was not only stylistically eloquent, but profound and investigative. Young man, your future look bright."

You should really stop asking your mom to write comments for you.

You seem to have missed some very important points in your search for lack of corporate interference at NBC. You were not certainly not looking for evidence of corporate interference. This is a little like trying to prove the sky is red by ignoring 23 1/2 hours of the day and upon seeing the sunset declaring that the sky is indeed red. Some of the questions never raised are:

How was the article worded? After all you are dealing with a serial corporate polluter with GE.
How far after the fact was the article written?

You see, simply regurgitating news is not journalism and neither is following up on an article simply because every other news source has broken the story and not reporting it starts to strain your own credibility. Also, even if the above points are not valid for the GE story, one example is a hardly an inductive proof of lack of corporate interference. In fact if this is the only example you could dredge up I would say that your case for lack of corporate interference is a weak one indeed.

Bravo! I dont think you could have written a more penetrating and revelatory piece of blogging about the machinations of a large operation like NBC. I congratulate you on your successful effort to put hard news under such intense scrutiny.

If only it were your handsome face gracing the sound stage of NBC Nightly News. I imagine you will get quite the "strong response" from your adoring fans down the road, I know it has elicited a similar response from me.

We think you are a very good writer and have learned a lot during your internship. Good luck.

Fact checking on your own, to ease your sense of commercialisim and biasness, is outstanding and I am confident that Brian does not feel slighted by your own inquiry. In fact I am sure he probably is stylishly encouraging. That said, there are some obvious conflicts of interests that no matter how they are airbrushed are plainly visible. All true journalists are acutely aware who signs their checks. Some organizations go out of their to distance themselves from the strokes of the brush by the powers to be but reality is what it is. Nightly is most assuridly a class act but yes they are limited in their scope and its not just the clock that constrains. Understanding these limitations and working with and around them is mature journalisim. Nightly is for sure emerging as a reliable source of information and the folks there are working very hard to make Nightly top shelf, even with the strings. Mr Wright has made some incredible strides to seperate the organization from the "purse strings" and surely he and his predecessors have a long difficult road ahead to bring the kind of quality journalisim into our hearts and souls that the public deserves. Far as the argument goes, for expansion of the slot, that the way we "newsjunkies" retrieve our daily dose of reality is changing so rapidly and that us newshounds will be and are now utilizing new mediums to get our fixes and that affilates have contractual commitments to promote brainmush programing, well, that brings back the observation of how strong a pull there is on those strings. The public is controlled throughout our world. Messages are short and repetitive and effective. Repeat the falsehood enough it becomes the truth. Alex you have an independent mind that dosent take the message at face value but digs down to find out for yourself what the deal is. Thats a patriotic value and I sincerely hope you can maintain that perspective when the checks come in. We are in a morphisis of sort. The mediums which we can obtain information and the powers that control that information are changing rapidly. Will this be good for the public? I think so. I am a firm believer in the good of the human spirit. I am also a realisit when it comes to politics and power. Just for us to be able to openly critique our elected and appointed officials and the correspondents, producers and exec's in a forun such as this is evidence times are a changing. Keep in mind, Alex, that what you have experinced is but a small portion of the entire dynamics in the industry. Assuaging ego's and wringing hands with the backstabbers are also part of the profession. I am sure Dan Rather can illuminate that side of the buisness if one of us asked him. Dont be discouraged by the somber realities in the industry, be motivated. Excellent blog post, you obviously paid attention to your english instructors, perhaps some poly sci classes could provide some additional insight and motivation. Alex, your a writer, the world is your tablet. Hit it son, hit it hard. Journalists are our modren day patriots. Bullets dont win wars or hearts, communication and education are the keys to unlock the doors. You are a natural Alex, take the keys and open the doors, especially the ones that get slammed in your face. And remember, no matter the tittle one labels oneself or their account balance, we are all humans, we are all traveling the same time just to different destinations. Dont let anyone with a long tittle or a thousand dollar monkey suit intimdate or influence your own judgements. That is a lesson that will compound with interest.

Wow..that was great Alex. You are definitely the biggest news nut I know and you always kept us on our toes. Your future is extremely bright and it was a pleasure working with you:)

I've never read your blog before but you sound more than a little naive regarding a network's bias because of large conglomerate ownership. Your cursory examination and comments from Brian Williams on a story taking place back in 2001 are less than reassuring in the world we live in today. We are participating in a war that the media complicitly let happen. I watch the Nightly News daily and while I respect some of their reporting, I feel it is seriously lacking in watchdog journalism especially as it applies to the administration and the Congress. There is only reporting and no hard questions asked. One has to ask if it has anything to do with who controls the purse strings.

Mr. Lebowitz-
You're blog is truly awe-inspiring. Never have I been as impressed with the language and diction used by an intern as I was while reading this entry. Brian Williams better watch his back, because I expect in 20 years you'll be his successor!

Your writing was not only stylistically eloquent, but profound and investigative. Young man, your future look bright.