Great point, I hadn't thought of it that way. I guess what little I've seen from real (serious?) Colbert reveals a very deep humanism that, coupled with his smarts, is rare for someone so comfortable in front of a camera.
I think he has the talent to engender the widespread trust and respect that people had for Murrow. I'm not saying he should be a newscaster, though. I don't know what format a realtalking Colbert would come by. At some point in the Schmidt interview he goes into his sense of what character Colbert is in relation to discourse and media and it's a variation of the Stewart/Colbert party line: they are there to make fun of the media. It's too bad because if anyone has the ability to change media for the better, it would be them.
I think that if Colbert did approach it seriously, his apparently genuine sincerity (which I agree with you on, is heartening and rare), would wear thin on most people. Especially his guests. I think before long they just would avoid his show or people's cynicism would harden them to it. I think this is why when he or Stewart do lash out with an honest emotion, it's so stark to everything else they do, and everything everyone else does.
No, I think Stewart and Colbert are best where they are, at least for now, as biting satire that reveals the shallowness of the news and pundits they mock. Hopefully the constant razing leaves the ground ripe for a new growth of journalism with less weeds.
And I say this as someone who previously worked in local news, and hopes to return very soon. I sometimes think that if you watch the news without giving serious thought to it, there's a very real possibility you're doing yourself more harm than good.
I think he has the talent to engender the widespread trust and respect that people had for Murrow. I'm not saying he should be a newscaster, though. I don't know what format a realtalking Colbert would come by. At some point in the Schmidt interview he goes into his sense of what character Colbert is in relation to discourse and media and it's a variation of the Stewart/Colbert party line: they are there to make fun of the media. It's too bad because if anyone has the ability to change media for the better, it would be them.