William Safire, conservative columnist for the New York Times, has some excellent advice for the the journalism profession in his column today (Jan. 17, 2005).
The news media seem depressed over the growing power of non-journalist bloggers, the indifference of the president, the rantings of religious zealots, the widespread suspicion of political bias in reporting and the increasing tendency of judges to ignore the rights of journalists to operate. The press, he says, should stand up and be counted and stop wringing its hands in despair. There are plenty of reasons why maintstream journalism is important and necessary:
On national or global events, however, the news consumer needs trained reporters on the scene to transmit facts and trustworthy editors to judge significance. In crises, large media gathering-places are needed to respond to a need for national community.
Good reading.
(Posted Jan. 17, 2005)
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Tags: William Safire