By Vaughn Ververs, NationalJournal.com
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, July 15, 2005

It's been more than six years since we sat down to write our first installment of "Talking Heads." At the time, we never would have thought it would still be going strong in 2005. Now, we can hardly believe this is our last one. Yes, it's true. I am leaving the Hotline, after more than 10 years of wonderful memories and historic events, for a very special opportunity at CBS News [PDF]. Time for that later. First, a farewell...

	Looking back, there are columns we cringe at, but many more that stand the test of time.... We hope we've at least contributed to the dialogue and maybe even helped some readers stop to think.

Under this author, "Talking Heads" has almost always used the royal "we" -- not to describe the many voices in our head (although they are there), but because this has always been a group effort. I may write in this space every week, but could not have done so without the contributions of a terrific and brilliant Hotline staff. From Editor-in-Chief Chuck Todd on down the masthead, the folks who walk in our door at 6:00 a.m. every day help fashion a creative atmosphere, one fertile with ideas and observations.

And with them -- many who have come and gone and many who remain -- we've observed a seismic shift in the media landscape, not to mention one of the most interesting political eras in history. We began just after the Monica Lewinsky scandal and Bill Clinton's impeachment trial. Since then, we've chronicled the ups and downs of the industry, the highlights and lowlights of coverage and the emergence of a free press that looks nothing like it did in 1999.

We've been there to watch and try to explain the meteoric rise of Fox News Channel, a phenomenon few took seriously until it was too late. We've seen CNN, once seemingly unstoppable, vamp and revamp to keep up. We've strained our brains (and necks) by watching the always-morphing MSNBC grope for some workable formula -- from John Hockenberry to Tucker Carlson, from "Time and Again" to "Countdown." We've seen the departure of at least two major network news anchors and hope for the healthy return of the third.

It's been a ride filled with TV obsessions -- Elian Gonzalez, Chandra Levy and the loss of John F. Kennedy Jr., to name a few. It's been a period that has seen the Fourth Estate don American flag lapel pins in the wake of 9/11, only to watch as that slowly fades and the backlash begins. (Do you think the current story about White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove really has much to do with former CIA operative Valerie Plame?) It's a time when journalists, and the organizations they work for, are openly at war with one another.

We've nervously tried to understand the growing partisanship of the media and the use of it by both sides for political advantage. The "Crossfire" model of pitting the right against the left may be on the way out, but some days it seems one could split-screen two cable networks for the same effect. We've marveled at the credibility decline of real media and shaken our heads at the realization that a comedian is one of the most trusted "news" sources in the country.

Right under our noses, bloggers have claimed their seats at the media table. Just when they were being dismissed as pajama-clad noisemakers, the blogosphere began swallowing up careers. And the Internet, left for dead after the dot-com crash, has ridden the broadband wave back to the future. At the same time, the mainstream media has suffered a string of scandals and stumbles that have left many wondering whether their past is all they have left.

We've seen our nation respond after being viciously attacked. We've watched, more closely than ever before, our country go to war. Embedded reporters have given way to embattled ones who risk their lives to leave the security of their hotels. Two presidential campaigns have passed, each one intense, controversial and bitterly fought. We've gone from a who-done-it over a mysterious debate tape to a whodunit over outing a CIA operative.

We've done our best to capture the essence of it all. Looking back, there are columns we cringe at, but many more that stand the test of time. We've tried to address important issues facing the media itself -- the addiction to anonymous sources, elite attitudes, dismissive East-Coast tunnel vision, the failure to respond to a changing audience and biased agendas on both ends of the political spectrum. We hope we've at least contributed to the dialogue and maybe even helped some readers stop to think.

It wouldn't have been possible without the amazing cast of characters that make up our "we" -- Chuck Todd, Danielle Jones, Emily Goodin and many others who've suffered our sermons and arguments over the years. We couldn't have pulled it off without Troy Schneider and his group of wonderful (and patient) editors at NationalJournal.com. Most of all, we never would have made it this long without our readers. You've always let us know when we were on target and when we were far off. You've corrected our mistakes and pointed out our blind spots. Your participation made us better, and we thank you.

"Talking Heads" will take a much-deserved vacation for a short time. But save a place for it in your weekly routine because it will be back. It lived before this author and will thrive far beyond. In the meantime, "we" take our leave.

-- Vaughn Ververs is a NationalJournal.com contributing editor as well as editor of The Hotline. His e-mail address is vververs@nationaljournal.com.

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