NBC's Nascar Nation News ... but what about the rest of us?

The New York Times's Frank Rich quotes NBC president Jeff Zucker who says of his network's new anchor, Brian Williams: "No one understands this Nascar nation more than Brian." This chimes in nicely, Rich notes, with NBC Universal chairman Bob Wright, who has just called America a "red state world." Welcome to the NBC nightly news of the future: A place where "blue America" doesn't count. So don't expect any much in the way of, ahhh, real journalism from these guys anytime in the next four years. Trouble is, as Rich notes, we still need strong journalism - willing to take on powerful interests rather than get in bed with them. But as the old, Watergate-era generation retires, it gets harder and harder to see where that strong journalism is going to come from. Certainly the bloggers can't do it on their own (dare I say our own)? One thing I'm sure of: journalism's standard bearer won't be Brian Bloody Williams!