BOB GARFIELD: This is On the Media, and I'm Bob Garfield with some of your letters and comments. Our May 29th interviews about credit rating agencies got a response, most people taking issues with the agencies’ contentions that their ratings qualify as opinion that should be protected by the First Amendment. Chuck Thompson of Anchorage, Alaska writes, “Ratings aren't just words. They are products, products that are bought, have value and can cause harm when manufactured in an irresponsible manner, just like any other product. It may contain numbers and words, but that does not make it ‘speech’ equivalent to my political rantings or a newspaper’s typo.” Peter Bernick of Boston writes, “Doctors have specialized knowledge and are paid for their opinions. When their opinions are wrong, they can be held accountable. Ratings agencies should be held to similar standards.” We got an interesting response to my feature on a much-YouTubed local TV story that aired on San Francisco’s KRON in 1981. It was about newspapers that could be read on a computer, and it was reported by KRON’s Steve Newman, who now lives in Pilot Point, Texas. And he writes, “Thanks for highlighting my 1981 KRON TV report on the fledgling newspaper efforts to go online. We in print and TV all thought back then that we would eventually prosper and thrive in the new media. I felt so confident in the Internet’s future nearly 20 years later in 1998 that I quit a lucrative TV career to focus on my syndicated newspaper column, Earthweek - A Diary of the Planet and its online component. Now the newspaper version is threatened with extinction and the Web version doesn't make enough to live on. Local TV news is no longer an option for someone who has matured with a face meant for the radio. It’s a good thing I invested somewhat well.” Well, I don't like that radio crack, but keep your emails and comments coming. Email us at Onthemedia@wnyc.org or post your comments on our site, www.onthemedia.org. And don't forget to tell us where you live and how to pronounce your name.
