Opinion: Criticism of News Today.

Don Hewitt, creator of the TV program "60 Minutes," said, "There is a fine line between show biz and news biz. The trick is to walk up to that line and touch it with your toe but don't cross it."

Here Hewitt describes the challenge of creating something people will want to consume all while maintaining the truth. In today's ever changing 24-hour news cycle, that mandate seems harder than ever to uphold.

One example comes during the Presidential election last Tuesday. Different TV news sources could be seen competing for viewership through the use of up-to-date graphics and game show style story telling. News stations such as CNN went to great lengths to create a great event.

Two competitors raced for first place, their progress tracked by red and blue lights creeping up the top of the Empire State Building.

State-by-state progress was meticulously scrutinized and people came out in droves to various "viewing stations" being held in different parts of the nation.

One particular viewing station was in New York City right outside CNN's headquarters and was complete with a larger-than-life TV screen that would provide rally-goers with minute-by-minute information. At one point during the rally, camera crews scanned the crowds of people eagerly anticipating the latest results. As the camera grazed the attendants, the crowd cheered and jumped around with excitement.

One reporter on the scene commented on the celebrants. She stated to the news room and the viewing audience that, those these people were showing great displays of excitement, they were probably just excited to see themselves on the jumbo-tron much like at a sporting event.

So were is the real news here? Is this group of people really excited about the election as if it were second only to New Years Eve, or do they just enjoy seeing themselves on TV? Is this news station reporting news, or creating it?

Don't get me wrong, the election is an important event that deserves some level of excitement. But this was simply over the top.

Incidents like these may not have a profound effect on the election and it may not cause immediate injury to the general public, but it does create a sense of how we as Americans live our lives and what we really care about. Creating a sense of excitement and then reporting on it in order to increase viewership skirts the line of morality in reporting.

Viewership may be an important part of being a broadcast journalist, but it is still important to retain the line of fact vs. fiction, even if to the smallest degree.

As Don Hewitt said, "There has to be a line because the line is the truth. And the difference between what we do (and what others in entertainment do) is we tell true stories."