iCitizenForum by Colonial Williamsburg

The news media still protect Americans

By Mac McKerral
10/17/08
1 comment

I have worked as a journalist and journalism educator for 28 years. I still report and edit, and consume all kinds of news each day — TV, newspapers, magazines, the Web and in whatever form it gets delivered.

I have been a news consumer since childhood. I grew up in a family and with parents who believed that people need to know what’s going on in the world — the world defined very loosely: our neighborhoods, our cities, our states, the U.S. and all other places.

I share this with you because of my deep concerns about how those who lead our country have for the past 30 years systematically attacked the news media. They spend a lot of time and money trying to trick Americans into believing that our country does not need a free and independent news media. Indeed, they preach that the First Amendment protection given to the news media outlived its usefulness ages ago.

Don’t believe it.

This country needs a watchdog more than ever. And while I admit that the news media don’t always vigorously exercise that role, without it, you and I and many others in this country and the world would suffer.

I admit that the news business doesn’t seem to do itself many favors when it comes to endearing itself with the public.

All news media bear the guilt of pandering to increase the bottom line, shrinking news resources to please shareholders, placing important news coverage on hold to appease advertisers and allowing a host of agenda-pushing, overpaid pompous pundits to pass themselves off as journalists.

But you need to know this: Each day somewhere in this country good journalists report valuable, quality news that makes the lives of the readers and viewers they serve better. The news media will always do more good than harm, and the news media’s attackers know that.

That scares the naysayers, especially politicians.

In turn, the naysayers try to scare Americans and continue a systematic attack on the news media in order to cast a fog on their ills: more laws the restrict public access to government business; throwing journalists in jail; more subpoenas and jail time or financial penalties when they get fought; and “targeting” journalists based on their reporting.

Yes, it’s very easy to say, “The media cause all the problems.”

It’s very hard to defend it.

Finally, I offer this reminder: A news story is a place to start understanding an issue, not a place to stop. The news media serve as a watchdog for the public, not a surrogate. It cannot replace the value of individuals exercising civic involvement on a daily basis.

But it can and does assist Americans who want to do that.

Resources:

• www.pbs.org/aboutpbs/news/20080707_newshunt.html
• Search Google on Assessing the quality of news coverage