Lessons from “Almost Famous.”

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A look at how modern journalism has abandoned its role, trading hard questions for access and friendship with the powerful. Drawing on the Lester Bangs–Stillwater storyline from Almost Famous, Chris examines the revolving door between administrations and cable news, the seduction of power, and why citizens—not cheerleaders—must hold elected officials accountable.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast, explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it will have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hey, phenomenal movie came across my screen the other day
and I came to the realization it's been twenty five
years since this movie came out, twenty five years almost famous.
It's it's a favorite of mine. It really is one
of Cameron Crohn's Cayman Crow's best movies. Twenty five years.

(00:37):
There's twenty five years I've been on the air as well.
And one lesson that I know I brought up in
the past here on the program, and I thought, you
know what, why not do it again, because as of late,
I've been talking about rage baiting and what people need
to do in regards to consuming media algorithms, how things

(00:57):
are pushed on people. Well, this movie, for not familiar
with it follows a young kid around who is following
one of the hottest bands going one of the hottest
bands in the land. This is early nineteen seventies, and

(01:19):
he has a conversation. Great actor played with the character's
name was Lester Bangs and he played a writer for
Cream magazine played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and they have
an ongoing dialogue at this kid he you know, gets
this opportunity, tricks Rolling Stone into sending him on the

(01:39):
road to follow this up and coming band still one
of his name of the band, follow them around the
country and get the story. And Philip Seymour Hoffman, you know,
basically tells him and say, hey, listen, man, you got
to remember that they are the enemy. They're the enemy.
They're going to try to apply you with boos and

(02:00):
women and drugs and be your friend. But the best
thing that you can do for them is to be honest.
Be honest, be without mercy and what you're doing, because
you're going to make them better. And I've watched this

(02:21):
over the years and it's always been curious to me.
It's this incestuous relationship between people and power and the media,
and I never really seemed I seemed to understanding, you know,
how judges have to recuse themselves. They have to recuse
themselves if they're involved in a case when they were

(02:44):
a lawyer and then they're they're on the bench, and
they said, well, you know what, I was involved that.
I can't I can't get involved with that. I always
found a problematic. I said, you know, well, you've got
you know, you've got your significant others in the administration.
Maybe you shouldn't be in the administration. And this happens
on both sides. And then quite frankly, they have the

(03:06):
nerve to work in government and then come over and
work in media after the fact, and they do it
again both sides. Don't you think that maybe they should
be disqualified from that position. We wouldn't allow. We'll take

(03:28):
it out of music, we wouldn't allow. We would allow
professional baseball players to retire and then become umpires. I
get it, coaches and managers, but not umpires.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
This is where we're at today, these two sides. And
it's probably have that White House correspondence dinner. I get it.
You want to do it once a year and they,
you know, hang out and have a party together. But
it shouldn't be on a regular basis. You know, you
shouldn't have politicians and media types sitting together in boxes

(04:05):
at the super Bowl in various different games. Again, we're
all human, Okay, we're all human and powers are a
very very seductive thing. It is. You're gonna You're gonna
they're gonna try and apply you. They're gonna try to
get invite you to certain thing, to try to be

(04:27):
your friend and cozy up to you. You can. You
have to remove yourself from that situation as far as
the media is concerned. This is why you know, I
have a You know, we got Nicole Wallace worked in
the Bush administration. She's on MSNBC. You got Duffy's wife
working over Fox. You've got uh. I mean, it goes

(04:47):
on and on and on. Kaylee mcinna. They all get jobs.
What's her name there? The redhead on MSNBC, Jenaki. I mean,
you guys can't find something else to do with your time.

Speaker 1 (05:03):
Hm.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
No, it makes them safe. Okay. I'm gonna work for
the I worked within the Biden administration. I'm gonna work
in the left wing media. They know I know the players.
I can make a few phone calls and they know
I'll be nice to them. Is that really journalism? Are
you really doing your job?

Speaker 1 (05:27):
No?

Speaker 2 (05:28):
I'm not going to ask the hard hitting questions. You're
playing a part and that's not what journalism is supposed
to be. So I guess we have to do it
on our own, okay. And we have to understand again
that the enemy. That might be a harsh word, you
know when you're taking a look at people that representives.

(05:48):
But yeah, you gotta understand, okay, that we have to
be truthful. I don't care how much don't you like
I voted for this guy. No, you're not getting on
any team. Okay, you're not. You're not there to be
a fan. You're not. You're not supposed to be a fan.

(06:12):
You are, in essence, you're an employer. That's what we
all are with these politicians, Okay, they work for us.
There's one thing I can never get my arms around,
you know, people going to these rallies or these politicians
and cheering and jumping up and down. I'm like, for
crying out loud. This guy puts his pants on, just

(06:35):
like everybody else puts his pants on. You're cheering some
somebody special. No, he's an employee of ours, and we
should be making sure that he's doing a good job.
You want to uplaud something that they have done, Oh,
you know, good job. That's fine, Okay, but we have
to stop treating them again like they're a celebrity, like

(06:59):
they are better than we are, because they're not. They're not,
And if more of us actually held them to account.
They say, people get all sorts of hot and bothered
by the comments I make over people that they voted for.
And my comeback is always prove me wrong. Tell me

(07:20):
where I'm not being truthful. You know you don't like
my conclusions. Oh, okay, that's fine, But what have I
said that's not accurate? What have I said that's not true.
I'm not insulting your child, okay at a uh you know,
at a at a youth basketball game or a little

(07:42):
league game like some jerkuid. I'm not doing that. That
guy that I'm going after, that woman that I'm going to,
whoever it may be, not only works for you, works
for me too, and it's our job to hold them
to account. Watchdog on Wall Street dot com