In 2012, the HBO series “The Newsroom” appeared. Modeled on the best of traditional network news (that is, Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow of CBS), its dramatic opening involves the star, Jeff Daniels, as newscaster Will McAvoy. The moderator in a panel discussion at a college pushes him to answer a question from the audience, “Why is America the greatest country in the world?” After a long pause, he announces, “It’s not the greatest country in the world!” Without any hesitation, he then reels off a staggering list of statistics comparing our country to others on health care, poverty levels, student achievement, median household income and exports, among other categories. The audience is stunned into silence; after a few seconds, he wistfully says, “But it used to be.” As written, tha

See Full Page