That Time Tom Brokaw Bragged about Being a Reagan Lapdog

I ACTUALLY TOOK SOME JOURNALISM COURSES WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE, I DON'T LIKE TO BRAG ABOUT IT -- HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE SAYING? THEY SAY THAT JOURNALISM IS PRINTING SOMETHING THAT SOMEONE DOESN'T WANT PRINTED. EVERYTHING ELSE IS PUBLIC RELATIONS. HAVE YOU HEARD THAT SAYING? >>I'VE HEARD THAT. >>IF YOU READ THE MAINSTREAM NEWS MEDIA, IT IS NOT THAT. IT IS THE OPPOSITE. IT IS, HOW CAN I WRITE A STORY THAT DOESN'T LOSE ME ACCESS? THAT DOESN'T *** SOMEONE OFF? NANCY REAGAN DIED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AND TOM BROKAW WAS ON MORNING *** AND HE BROUGHT A FRAMED PICTURE -- ONE TIME WHEN RONALD REAGAN WAS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, HE WROTE AN ARTICLE ABOUT HOW THEY KEPT TRYING TO PUSH THIS STORY THAT WHEN RONALD REAGAN GOT OUT OF COLLEGE HE WAS POOR, AND BROKAW COUNTERED IT WITH FACTS. HE WAS ONE OF THE FEW GUYS TO GO TO COLLEGE IN THAT DAY AND AGE, HE GOT A PAYING JOB OUT OF COLLEGE AND WENT ON TO AN ACTING CAREER. SO HE WROTE THIS, PUSHING BACK AGAINST THE WHITE HOUSE NARRATIVE, AND HE GOT A PHONE CALL FROM THE CHIEF OF STAFF SAYING, YOU BETTER STAY AWAY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE FOR A WHILE BECAUSE NANCY IS REALLY PISSED OFF AT YOU SO YOU BETTER NOT COME AROUND. SO FOR TWO MONTHS HE DIDN'T GO TO THE WHITE HOUSE, AND THEN WHEN HE GETS INVITED TO A STATE DINNER -- IS THAT WHAT JOURNALISTS SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED? THEY SHOULD BE INVITED TO TUXEDO DINNERS? -- AND THEY SAY, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO SAY TO NANCY ON THE RECEIVING LINE? AND THIS WAS A CRISIS, WHAT A JOURNALIST WAS GOING TO SAY TO THE FIRST LADY ABOUT A STORY HE WROTE. A TRUE STORY. SO HE SAYS, NANCY, BACK TO SQUARE ONE. AND THERE WAS A PICTURE OF THAT, NANCY TOOK A PICTURE, HAD HER ASSISTANT FRAME IT, SHE WROTE TOM, BACK TO SQUARE ONE. HE BROUGHT IT ON MORNING JOE THE NEXT DAY TO SHOW, LOOK, ACCESS MEANS MORE THAN ANYTHING TO BE. I GOT THIS INSTEAD OF A REAL JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY SPINE. HE DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THAT WAS WHAT HE WAS DOING, REVEALING THE SAD STATE OF JOURNALISM 30 YEARS AGO. IT IS ALMOST WORSE. SO TOM BROKAW IS ONE OF THE CHAMPIONS, HE WAS A PIONEER OF ACCESS JOURNALISM. IF YOU WONDER HOW LUKE RUSSERT HAPPENED, IT IS BECAUSE TOM BROKAW IS HIS REAL BAD. >>ONE THING PEOPLE DON'T THINK OF. I LIKE JAKE TAPPER, FOR EXAMPLE, BUT IF I HAD THE LUXURY OF INTERVIEWING DONALD TRUMP ON THE YOUNG TURKS AND I ASKED THE QUESTION OF THE *** AND DONALD TRUMP PLAYED DUMB, I WOULD END THE INTERVIEW. AS A JOURNALIST, THAT'S HOW YOU NORMALIZE RACISM, BY ASKING A QUESTION ABOUT THE ***, THE CANDIDATE SAYING I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE ***, YOU PUSH BACK TEPIDLY, AND THEN YOU MOVE ON. THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU DO. >>YOU HAVE TO SAY -- YOU ARE RIGHT, JORDAN. DONALD TRUMP, YOU ARE TELLING ME YOU DON'T KNOW WHO THE *** IS? IF YOU REALLY, WITH A STRAIGHT FACE, CAN SAY THAT, I HAVE TO END THE INTERVIEW BECAUSE YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY LYING. BUT THEY WOULD NEVER SAY THAT BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE LIKE, THAT WOULD OFFEND PEOPLE AND IT WOULD NOT BE NEUTRAL. YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE NEUTRAL, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE OBJECTIVE. AND ANY GROWN-UP, LET ALONE SOMEONE WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, WHO CLAIMS THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE *** IS IS OBVIOUSLY OBJECTIVELY LYING. HAVE YOU DISQUALIFIED YOURSELF HERE BY ADMITTING THAT YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT AMERICA, YOU WOULDN'T KNOW WHAT THE KU KLUX *** IS? BUT HE WON'T SAY THAT, BECAUSE THEN HE WILL COME BACK ON. LOOK WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW. NPR, AS WE REPORTED, IS DOING BASICALLY WAR TRAINING FOR THEIR REPORTERS IN ORDER TO GO TO TRUMP RALLIES. THAT IN A SENSE IS ALSO NORMALIZING IT TOO. IF REPORTERS ARE GETTING BEAT UP AT TRUMP RALLIES, LET'S JUST LEARN TAE KWON DO AND GO BACK IN. NO, LET'S NOT DO THAT. LET'S FIGHT BACK. NOT PHYSICALLY, BUT BY DOING JOURNALISM. >> WHAT I LEARNED IN JOURNALISM SCHOOL WAS ABOUT MUCKRAKERS, THEY HELD THESE PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS. THEN I GRADUATED AND I REALIZED, OH ***, THAT IS NOT WHAT JOURNALISM IS ABOUT ANYMORE. IS ABOUT ACCESS QUITE A BIT. TO SHARE A QUICK STORY, MY MANAGER IS AN AWESOME GUY. HE WANTS NOTHING BUT THE BEST FOR ME. AND HE WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO DEVELOP SOME SORT OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ME AND HILLARY CLINTON BECAUSE HE WANTED ME TO DO A ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW WITH HER. HE SAT DOWN WITH ME AND TOLD ME I'M NEVER GOING TO TELL YOU HOW TO REPORT YOUR STORIES WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T DO, BUT IF YOU WANT THIS ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW IT IS UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN IF YOU ARE SO OPENLY CRITICAL OF HER. I WAS LIKE, OKAY, GREAT. HE GOT ME INVITED TO ONE OF HER FUNDRAISERS IN LOS ANGELES, I MET HER, SHOOK HER HAND, SHE WAS NICE TO ME, AND THE NEXT DAY I PUBLISHED SOMETHING ON RAW STORY THAT WAS SUPER CRITICAL OF HER. AND OF COURSE I DIDN'T GET THE INTERVIEW. BUT TO ME, I DON'T THINK THAT MY VALUE OR CREDIBILITY IS BASED ON HOW MANY BIG-NAME -- NAMES I INTERVIEW, I THINK IT IS BASED ON WHETHER I CAN BRING TRUTH TO MY AUDIENCE. I THINK IT WOULD SPEAK VOLUMES OF HILLARY CLINTON IF SHE SAT DOWN AND IN AN INTERVIEW WITH ME, IT WOULD GIVE HER A CHANCE TO DEFEND HERSELF. BUT IF SHE IS NOT BRAVE ENOUGH TO DO THAT, THAT IS ON HER, THAT IS NOT ON ME. >>AT THIS POINT, GIVEN THE SIZE OF OUR AUDIENCE, AND HONESTLY THEIR AGE, DUE TO THE FACT THAT NO OTHER NEWS ORGANIZATION REACHES YOUNG PEOPLE ANYWHERE, ANYWHERE NEAR THE SCALE THAT WE DO, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO REACH THEM, THAT IS YOUR PROBLEM, NOT OUR PROBLEM. YOU DON'T WANT TO COME ON THIS SHOW? YOUR LOSS. HOW ELSE ARE YOU GOING TO REACH 35-YEAR-OLDS AND BELOW? BY GOING ON TELEVISION? THEY DON'T EVEN OWN A TV. IF YOU WANT TO REACH YOUNG VOTERS, YOU PLAY BY OUR RULES, AND OUR RULES ARE OLD-SCHOOL JOURNALISM. WE HOLD YOU TO ACCOUNT. YOU DON'T LIKE IT? THAT IS A SAD DAY FOR YOU.