Fixin’ Sundays

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Here’s a brilliant idea on how to fix the Sunday morning talk shows.

I think the situation calls for cynicism. But I have to admit that is not much of a call. So instead I propose this modest little fix, first floated on Twitter in a post I sent out to Betsy Fischer, Executive Producer of Meet the Press, who never replies to anything I say. “Sadly, you’re a one-way medium,” I said to Fischer, “but here’s an idea for ya: Fact check what your guests say on Sunday and run it online Wednesday.”

Now I don’t contend this would solve the problem of the Sunday shows, which is structural. But it might change the dynamic a little bit. Whoever was bullshitting us more could expect to hear about it from Meet the Press staff on Wednesday. The midweek fact check (in the spirit of Politifact.com, which could even be hired for the job…) might, over time, exert some influence on the speakers on Sunday. At the very least, it would guide the producers in their decisions about whom to invite back.

Anyone who has sat though any of the Sunday morning talks shows knows only too well the feeling of frustration from watching politicians get away with nonsense as they spew their often baseless and endless stream of talking points. The format lends itself to BS because instantaneous fact-checking by wussy moderators is not about to happen. Or can it?

Naked assertions from politicians are the stuff of these shows. Why can’t some of them be checked in real time? Surely it’s possible to have a small army of fact-checkers at the ready during the broadcasts of these shows. Network news divisions already employ reporters and researchers (all of whom are likely passively watching their network’s program anyway) who can be deployed to assist the overall journalistic enterprise. Moreover, I’m reliably informed that technology now allows for people to send “instant messages” to one another. Why not use it? Why not open up these lines of communication between the backroom and the moderator, and bring the full force of a news gathering organization to bear as the cameras roll live?

At the very least, the producers of these shows should be capable of calling out anything that doesn’t pass the “Look What You Can Find On Google Within Thirty Seconds” Test.

And as John Cole notes…

And for us, it is a win/win. If people lie or make things up, there will be a publicized forum for correcting them. And once the guests start to realize they are going to be fact-checked, folks like President McCain might not be on every Sunday spewing bullshit.

I’m loving this idea the more I think about it. If there’s a way to make politicians and pundits more accountable for the words they speak, the spread of misinformation could be curtailed to some degree.  And to top it off, it would make for great and informative teevee.

Do it guys.

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