Bas-relief sculpture, Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona, Spain.
The Washington Post is the latest newspaper to cow to conservative and/or corporate critics, firing the excellent columnist Dan Froomkin. Glenn Greenwald has written an insightful article about the abysmal state of the establishment media in the US.
Is it any wonder newspapers around the country are dropping like flies? A newspaper's job is to investigate, discover, question and report; to call the government, as well as corporations and citizens alike to task. A newspaper is NOT supposed to publish bland press releases that suit corporate advertisers' sensibilities. Nor is it the reporter's job to throw up smokescreens or implement spin on a story - that's public relations; not journalism. Just the facts, please!
From Dan Froomkin's statement on his dismissal at the Washington Post:
"...I think that the future success of our business depends on journalists enthusiastically pursuing accountability and calling it like they see it. That’s what I tried to do every day. Now I guess I'll have to try to do it someplace else."
Thank you for this link.
It is very troubling that we are left with fewer and fewer venues for information. And I tire of hearing how it's just the natural-selection process... Oh, brother.
Posted by: Chris | 22 June 2009 at 22:52
How very sad...
Kudos to you, and those reporters who continue to try to sort out the truth and shine the light so others can perhaps see it too, even when it ruffles a few feathers along the way...
xox
Posted by: tinker | 22 June 2009 at 09:14
There used to be a time when people had a certain pride in the work they did. This is another field where I wonder where the pride went.
xo
Posted by: Christina | 22 June 2009 at 05:04
It seems to be getting harder to find the truth every day. Thanks for the courageous stand you've taken on so many issues.
Posted by: patry francis | 22 June 2009 at 02:04
I live in a small town in Southern California, it has always been that way here during the 7 years I have lived here. They rely on tourism so they print what the tourist want to see... nothing is accurate... or even close to it.
It is truly sad. If newspapers keep this up they deserve to fail. I grew up in a time when you looked to those investigative
reporters as heros... now who... where does the truth come from... not from taking corporates words as the truth...
Posted by: diane bronstein | 22 June 2009 at 01:57
Quite sad and quite common. Much has been written about the things that divert us away from real news...real issues... and real life. Entertainment and opinion have replaced facts and fact checking. Photos and quick sound bites, and news bunnies reading from the teleprompter are the preferred forms for obtaining news. Black and white print on piece of paper doesn't cut it for the generations coming up. The newspapers in New England are all on their way out and there have been many, many lay-offs.
Investigative journalism, as we once knew it, is already a thing of the past whether in print, on air, or over the airwaves. Reporting represents the views of the owners and their advertisers. It is hard to adjust to this way of thinking, but I think generations coming up will probably just accept this as the norm.
Posted by: Helen | 22 June 2009 at 01:02
Well said, Tara! We are fortunate to have independent reporters like you providing us with honest reporting, untethered by special interests. Thank you!
Posted by: dutchbaby | 21 June 2009 at 23:07
I watched a movie last night entitled "RKO 218" about the making of Citizen Kane, the powerful Wm Randolph Hearst and Orson Welles. This post reminds me of how censored our information truly is, and it's scary as hell!
Posted by: MiddleAgedWomanBlogging | 21 June 2009 at 22:09
As they say ... .
"follow the money" - just look at who owns the press and
what else they own. ... . as well as the boards they sit on.
It's all one big corporate pie .
I do feel that a few more people ( sheeple?) are beginning to question
what they read -
but, I fear it may be too late. What we're all seeing is that the
structures are crumbling because they're simply rotten and corrupt.
I do believe it's for the best .. . but, I also believe the next few
years of building newer/healthier structures are going to be
extremely painful.
JJj
Posted by: judith | 21 June 2009 at 21:15
Maybe this is...a last ditch effort by some to control the information available to the general public? Things like Facebook, blogs, etc., maybe this will take the place of what newspapers are supposed to do. (What else will fill the vacuum?) People talking to people around the globe, learning what's going on in their lives and their part of the world...the more connected with others we are the less able outside parties will be to define the world for us. We can see and hear about it for ourselves. Take Iran for example, trying to control world opinion by expelling journalists. We're still hearing about it though through first hand accounts. Hopefully...some ray in hope in all this, right?
Posted by: Cheryl de los Reyes Cruz | 21 June 2009 at 20:52
Almost daily I hear or see something and tell myself, No wonder newspapers are folding. It seems the "news" has become more "opinion"... xoxo
Posted by: Colette | 21 June 2009 at 19:08