Sometime around the Christmas holiday a reporter from The Herald-Sun interviewed me about gift-giving. When I asked why she'd called me, I laughed out loud at her answer: "Because you're an etiquette expert," she said. (My grandmother would have laughed, too--she, who used to knock my elbows out from under me when she'd join us for meals at our dining room table.) I'm an etiquette expert, apparently, because I published two columns in recent years about manners and I was once quoted in an AP article about RSVPs. Miss Manners I'm not.
Whether we watch Fox News or listen to NPR, we hear opinions from experts who have been designated as such by often-unseen editors and producers. The expertise may be as suspect as my etiquette credentials, yet most of us don't realize this. With round-the-clock news and the proliferation of talk shows, lots of unqualified people peddle their ideas.
Which makes selection of news sources all the more important. The Diane Rehm Show is my most reliable resource for balanced, comprehensive information. Produced by WAMU in Washington, D.C., and aired on public radio stations, the program features opposing perspectives on current events by knowledgeable guests. Perhaps most important is Diane Rehm's manner: calm, measured, and--contrary to most of her peers--not at all inflammatory. Her integrity is beyond question, and she treats callers with equal respect. In short, her character attests to the character of her experts.
If we had more news programs like The Diane Rehm Show, we'd be a better informed populace.
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