Former ABC News guy Ted Koppel is not a fan of mine.  Years ago, appearing on the Factor, he blamed me for corrupting TV news standards because I developed an analysis program in prime time that changed the tempo of news presentations.

Koppel is correct that I did that but fails to understand why it was necessary and a very positive thing.  For decades, the network news organizations controlled what Americans heard about issues of the day. Having worked as a correspondent for CBS and ABC, I knew the internal cultures were liberal.  Also, most major newspapers were very leftwing on their editorial pages. Therefore, the information flow heavily favored liberal Americans.  Obviously, not fair.

In 1996, the Fox News Channel went on the air featuring my program which offered robust opinion and debate.  All sides were featured.  But Mr. Koppel and many other media people hated it.  Why?  Because the upstart threatened the establishment.

Fox derived hundreds of millions of dollars from the O'Reilly Factor which dominated the TV news industry for 16 consecutive years, a record that will never be broken. That led to the other cable news outfits featuring opinion in primetime.  The traditional network dominance collapsed.

Then came Donald Trump and everything changed.

Sensing easy money, cable organizations set themselves up as either Trump haters or lovers.  Instead of trying to appeal to a mass audience, they all went niche, speaking exclusively to ideological and party zealots.  They targeted selected audience groups and gave them what they wanted to hear.  Choir practice every day.

That was much easier than analyzing the news objectively based on facts.  Sadly, the partisan approach has made money, which is always most important to corporations, but it has also caused a huge deterioration of standards.  The Dominion voting machine debacle is proof as is the failure to honestly cover the destructive Biden administration.

But worst of all, television news has devolved into a daily cauldron of propaganda. Dishonest statements go unchallenged, phony narratives are peddled as fact. Somewhere in a very hot place, Joseph Goebbels is delighted.

With that truthful scenario as background, I entered NewsNation's Wednesday Town Hall on Trump's first 100 days (of his second term) with a plan.  I was going to resurrect my original Factor concept; remind the world what news analysis used to be.  And James Carville as well as Massachusetts Congressman Jake Auchincloss were going to help me even though they had no idea.

I knew the two men would come in with anti-Trump talking points and they did not disappoint.  Mr. Carville began by criticizing the President's "trade war."  I then challenged: "so you're okay with a trillion dollars (trade imbalance)?"

Old Jim then pivoted to "cutting Medicaid."

Propaganda playbook: when you are losing the point, obscure by jumping to another subject.  I wrapped Carville by saying: "This is your propaganda, Jim.  It's bull and you know it."

Auchincloss was even worse.

"Four point six trillion has been wiped off the value of the stock market under Trump's tenure."

I replied: "That's nonsense, Congressman, and you know it.  You're reading off a script ... you've said 50 times in the last three days."

According to The New York Times, the S&P is now above where it stood on April 2, when Trump announced the tariffs.  Can you handle the truth, Mr. Auchincloss?

Both the Congressman and James Carville were not happy with the debate.  They are not used to that.  They are accustomed to trained seals in expensive clothing nodding affirmations.

So, the Town Hall was a blast from the past, as Murray the K once said.  An illustration of what should be broadcast today but rarely is.

Here's the truth.  Easy money and venal news presenters have dealt the media a severe blow with no relief in sight.

And the nation is worse for it.

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