The Rather Wrap
The other important note was sounded by NBC News anchor Brian Williams, who said, "somewhere in Pennsylvania a father of four with 19 years under his belt came home after getting his notice at the factory today, and he would give anything for one week of Dan's compensation. Dan would be the first to counsel massive amounts of perspective on this story."
The media itself is notoriously obsessed with itself and all the maneuverings happening in their business. Far more ink and airtime is devoted to media personalities, their contracts, job changes and off-air comments than the actual journalism they're supposed to be representing. Their names appear in gossip columns far more often than in straight news stories. And the average person is probably more likely to be able to provide a one-word description of an anchor's personal attributes than any particular news event with which he or she was involved with.
On-air personalities are indeed the faces and voices of their respective brands, none more so than the anchor. They are the people we come to identify with on a one-on-one level. News divisions are built around them and, especially, around the ways in which the public perceives them. It's a natural part of the business of news – and yes, news is a business. And because it's part of the business, these personalities take on larger-than-life personas. It can all feel out of place, but it's natural. People simply identify on some level with those they see on TV hear on the radio or read in the newspaper just like they connect with actors, writers and entertainers.
Still, the comments by Rather and Williams serve to put all this into a more reasonable perspective. As integral as these individuals may be to their news organizations, there are many ways in which they don't really matter to the news. The news is the news. A war, hurricane, political debate or economic development is going to be covered regardless of who the correspondent is or who is sitting in the anchor chair.
More importantly, especially in television news, there are a great many individuals involved in just about everything that makes air -- desk assistants, producers, editors, cameramen, sound technicians, graphic artists, writers, researchers and others. Each of them puts their own small but unique mark on the end product. As their comments suggest, even big-time anchors like Rather and Williams understand their place in the news machine. So, while we continue our seemingly endless fascination with personalities in this business, let's not forget the legions of individuals behind them who participate in the business of bring us the news every single day.