Journalism "Systems" Go Critical - (former "kings of the hill" now recognizing grievous faults!)

A.I.M.ORG ^ | JUNE 24, 2005 | SHERRIE GOSSETT

[CHARLITE]

The light is blinking red. Media crises and controversies seem to be reaching a tipping point. Dissatisfaction with the media ranges from disgust and outrage to general suspicion. This sensibility is spreading like a virus via the blogosphere, media watchdogs, and books written by media insiders.

Factors include inappropriate influence by political figures, use of unreliable anonymous sources, use of non-existent sources, laziness, general dishonesty, corporate bean-counters, corporate influence on content, pressure to not displease advertisers, infotainment mentality, staff cutbacks, loss of morale in the newsroom, payola, lack of opportunity for enterprise reporting or the pressures of the 24-hour news cycle. Most cite a combination of the aforementioned. Whatever your view though, the public and honest journalists are hungry for change.

The headlines say it all. Headlines like "Press is Doing its Worst to Erode Trust" (Robert L. Jamieson Jr., Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 18, 2005), "Press in a Mess" (Ric Bohy, Detroit Metro Times, May 18, 2005), "'Freep' Editor: Lack of Attribution is My Fault," (Joe Strupp, Editor & Publisher, May 16, 2005), and "Courier-Post articles lacked proper attribution," (Editorial, Courier-Post, May 19, 2005).

Veteran journalists are speaking out boldly and courageously. "No more conning the public," wrote award-winning journalist and author Bonnie M. Anderson in her groundbreaking book "Newsflash."

[CHARLITE]

For your interest. Great piece by Sherrie Gossett.

Char :)

[skinkinthegrass]

(.)

[Reactionary]

The press is a messs because our schools of journalism and mass communication are a mess. And in this case the "mess" consists of an ideological committment to the Left and a desire to affect societal change throught advocacy journalism.

Universities will, of course, never have to deal with market forces, nor the growing dissatisfaction of the public.

[R. Scott]

Like many, I have been developing a deep skepticism concerning our news media . Do we really have a free and open news media, or is it controlled by a cabal – a committee controlling what we are presented as news?
I look at the cases of Laci and Scott Peterson, Jennifer Wilbanks, Natalee Holloway and Michael Jackson. Is there really so much public interest in these cases that even when there is nothing to report, TV news spends a large amount of time to tell us there is no new news to report? How is it that all these stories break on the same day, even at the same time? How is it that every news outlet decides – supposedly independently – that the exact same story is worthy of major coverage?
I guess I’m turning into a “conspiracy theorist”

[ncountylee]

Attribution difficult when dealing with pretend friends!

[coloradan]

In other news, the NYT today ran an editorial praising yesterday's Kelo vs. New London, CT, Supreme Court decision allowing seizure of private property for private (corporate) developers. (That entirely destroys the notion of property rights under federal law.)

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Dissatisfaction with the media ranges from disgust and outrage to general suspicion.

I disagree.

The attitude of the public toward journalism ranges from the liberal Democrat position of abject credulousness through general suspicion to disgust and outrage - to my own position, contempt.

Big Journalism is negative, superficial, and arrogant:

• Big Journalism is negative because it's hard to ignore bad news - even speculative, "Is Your Drinking Water Safe?" bad news,
• Big Journalism is, superficial because "the show must go on" - journalism has deadlines and inevitably reports something as if it were reliable and of earth-shaking importance,
• And Big Journalism is arrogant in claiming the virtue of objectivity.

"Arrogance, superficiality, and negativity." That's a pretty good description of political liberalism, as manifested by Democratic slander of America's servicemen doing demanding and dangerous work. It is also a fine definition of "cynicism." I am not ashamed to react to cynicism with contempt.

Why Broadcast Journalism is
Unnecessary and Illegitimate

[philman_36]

Like many, I have been developing a deep skepticism concerning our news media . Do we really have a free and open news media, or is it controlled by a cabal – a committee controlling what we are presented as news?
IMO it seems that the cabal would actually decide what news is "news". Too often it seems that the mundane or trivial is treated as "news". The important things are simply too complicated for Mr. Average Joe to understand or comprehend so they have no need to be informed of such things.
While I understand the need for local "news" people should know the difference between "news" and the freedom of the press covered in the Constitution. Whereas we have "freedom of the press", designed with the intent to cover the govenment and keep the public aware of their actions, today's "news" rarely does that. When such things are covered it is rarely more than a blurb or is so heavily biased as to be embarrassing and then it's on, usually, to the latest and greatest "breaking story" of the most trivial things imaginable.
The MSM has, begrudgingly I'm sure and out of pure necessity, increasingly done so in the last few years mainly due to the Internet and more recently with the blogs.
My greatest fear is that people don't understand the difference between "news" and freedom of the press. Even worse is that most don't even know the difference between news and propaganda. The dumbing down of America continues at an alarming rate.

[meema]

bump

[R. Scott]

My greatest fear is that people don't understand the difference between "news" and freedom of the press. Even worse is that most don't even know the difference between news and propaganda. The dumbing down of America continues at an alarming rate.

One of our local newscasts is now blurring the line between news and advertising – They blended news and editorial comment long ago.

[thedilg]

[The press is a mess because our schools of journalism and mass communication are a mess. And in this case the "mess" consists of an ideological commitment to the Left and a desire to affect societal change through advocacy journalism.]

It struck me that you could replace "Press" with "Public Schools" and "schools of journalism" with "teaching schools" and be just as truthful.

Godspeed, The Dilg