In MY Opinion What Is CNN, O’Reilly and Newsweek?

K L Marsala

What has journalism really become? When did humankind give birth to journalism? (Was Moses actually the first journalist? He is the one giving an eyewitness account to the Exodus and the parting of the Red Sea). Moreover, what was the original point of journalism? Was it nothing more than pontificating opinions? Good questions, now how about a journalistic opinion… wait isn’t that all we have today anyway…just opinion?

One might ask what constitutes good journalism, or better yet how do we define journalism? (Some would define good journalism strictly by punctuation and grammar) Is it Dan Rather? Is it Barbara Walters? Is it Katie Couric? Perhaps, it is nothing more than a cross section of the supermarket tabloid with a pinch of the New York Times, a dash of CNN, a deluge of ego by Mr. O’Reilly, a smattering of the BBC, a whirl of Al Jazera Network and a sprinkle of psychology by Dr. Phil. Ooooo, what a mess we’ve created and thrown up for human consumption, calling it “the news.” How poignant the song was by Don Henley a few years ago… Dirty Laundry… “I make my living off the evening news- Just give me something, something I can use- People love it when you lose, they love dirty laundry.” Does it matter to journalist if what they are portraying to the public is a dressed up lie? Do readers really want to be spoon fed something, just anything? This does seem to be the pathetic course readers are being served.

The news media this past year though has had its god-like form of all knowing taken down a notch or two. No longer can the media rule over the masses. What Hitler once proclaimed, “What luck for rulers that men do not think” is being exposed by the masses hungry for truth and willing to spend the time and effort to dig for it. Tabloid glorifications, mindless chatter (known as gossip), sound bites of spin, sensationalizing what is only a small fraction of truth, so we can sell our papers, magazines, websites, and television programs to the ever-gullible public is over. The public has become wise to the system of journalistic news and they are tired of twisted, skewed facts- whether the stories lean to the left or to the right- John and Jane Smith are tired of shoddy, overtly opinionated, sensationalized journalistic junk! How do we help bring investigative style back into the realm of writing? We must demand it as readers for starters. We need to insist that we want to form our own opinions, and not just follow the intelligentsia crowd. It is dangerous when a society becomes so apathetic that they are willing to let others decide how to think for them. Remember it only takes a generation to forgo their obligation to be involved and tyranny slips itself into the fine threads that bind a country and world together. Is all lost?

Maybe what journalism has become perhaps isn’t so bad, sure, we’ve catered too much to just one side of the pen to paper. There isn’t anything wrong with slanted opinioned writing, there isn’t anything wrong with sound bites, and there isn’t anything wrong with sensationalism… What is wrong though is this is all we get.

The latest fiasco comes from Newsweek and it builds the case that we aren’t presented with responsible news stories, delivered by well-informed investigative style reporting. Unnamed news sources are a dangerous thing to play with in today’s world. Newsweek has retracted their story and apologized for their faux pas, but it has contributed to the escalation of Muslim hatred towards the U.S. The story even caused an uprising that led to more than a dozen people dying and many injuries. With the advent of high speed global communications, where in an instant a story true or untrue, can be read by millions it would seem this would weight the importance of confirming sources to be sound before publishing them. The journalistic shakers and makers need to state unequivocally to the public when they write or speak that they are either giving their own opinion, someone else’s opinion, being paid to lie or truly reporting the facts they’ve painstakingly investigated and be willing to substantiate their legitimate sources.

Moreover, when was the last time a breath of- “this good news just in-” came wafting across our TV speakers? We need some good news each day. Whether it’s a kind deed performed by a young person, or an accomplishment in Iraq’s development… we need to share good news. News isn’t just about pain, anguish, and others misfortunes- it is information about recent events or happenings. The word itself is a middle English word meaning tidings, intelligence, and word. This means news can be diverse in topic and not fed to the public in myopic distorted bites.

What is the future of journalism? We are witnessing a point in news making time that has never been explored before. The news industry and journalists are scrambling to be the first source with the big story. Competition is tough, but ideology of what true journalism should be need not take a back seat to sell a paper. With the ability to write and give voice over events we witness unfolding about us comes great responsibility and the public now is demanding that journalist’s take their oath, and their passion seriously. Paying heed and respectfully gracing it with due honor. The pendulum of true journalism is making its swing back towards the middle. There is room for opinion editorials and biases, but we need to bring back the strength to our words by utilizing the ability to investigate from all angles and report to the public…then we can let them decide, the public doesn’t need the “papes” to tell them how to think any longer. But then again… is that just my opinion?