What we almost missed today…

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced today that for the first time in American history the families of fallen military officers would have a choice in whether or not the media could photograph flag-draped caskets. The lifted ban was put in place in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush.

60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt remembers Edward R. Murrow and comments on the industry today on HuffPost. “Is it different now? Not all that different. Murrow and Friendly gave us something to measure up to. And, by and large, broadcasting has measured up. One of the things that’s different now is that being a television journalist (or a print journalist, for that matter) is a better way to earn a living than it used to be. Guys who were known as “ink-stained wretches” when I started out… now have weekend houses and kids in private school and more and more of the best reporters and editors are- at long last- women who have the same determination to cover a story without fear or favor as the best of their predecessors did, even though not one of them ever made the Murrow team…”