Saturday, September 11, 2004
As my official entrance into the Lake Affected blog spot, I must express my concern over the 60 Minutes story on George W. Bush's military record.
I am more worried about the assault on the media's credibility at this point than I am about the accuracy of the story. It seems to me that even if CBS is right, and the documents are authentic, many people will write off the story because there have been so many distortions and mistakes by journalists in the past few years.
I am a member of the print media and it is becoming increasingly difficult for members of the public to trust us to print the truth. Every journalist I know takes accuracy VERY seriously and when we make a mistake we are quick to correct it.
But it seems now that many members of the public dismiss a story if there is even a hint of inaccuracy. It seems journalists are becoming part of the he-said, she-said game. One outlet will print or broadcast one thing, someone will deny it, and the public is left in the middle, wondering who to believe.
This story only illustrates the point. Instead of wondering whether the president actually did run into problems during his national guard service, many people are focusing on CBS and whether they were duped or fabricated the story.
If they did make it up, I have no sympathy for the reporters. If they were duped, everyone needs to determine where the problems are in authenticating this kind of stuff.
But there is a bigger issue here. I have always thought journalists have a huge responsibility in American society. Not only are we mentioned specifically in the U.S. Constitution, but everyone depends on us to watch over the government and give truthful information.
I am afraid that trust is eroding and I don't know if we can get it back. Every time a journalist publishes a fair and accurate account, there is one that conjures a story and says it's true.
The fourth estate must wake up before we lose all our readers, viewers and listeners. If we cannot be trusted, the people we are expected to watch over win.
I am more worried about the assault on the media's credibility at this point than I am about the accuracy of the story. It seems to me that even if CBS is right, and the documents are authentic, many people will write off the story because there have been so many distortions and mistakes by journalists in the past few years.
I am a member of the print media and it is becoming increasingly difficult for members of the public to trust us to print the truth. Every journalist I know takes accuracy VERY seriously and when we make a mistake we are quick to correct it.
But it seems now that many members of the public dismiss a story if there is even a hint of inaccuracy. It seems journalists are becoming part of the he-said, she-said game. One outlet will print or broadcast one thing, someone will deny it, and the public is left in the middle, wondering who to believe.
This story only illustrates the point. Instead of wondering whether the president actually did run into problems during his national guard service, many people are focusing on CBS and whether they were duped or fabricated the story.
If they did make it up, I have no sympathy for the reporters. If they were duped, everyone needs to determine where the problems are in authenticating this kind of stuff.
But there is a bigger issue here. I have always thought journalists have a huge responsibility in American society. Not only are we mentioned specifically in the U.S. Constitution, but everyone depends on us to watch over the government and give truthful information.
I am afraid that trust is eroding and I don't know if we can get it back. Every time a journalist publishes a fair and accurate account, there is one that conjures a story and says it's true.
The fourth estate must wake up before we lose all our readers, viewers and listeners. If we cannot be trusted, the people we are expected to watch over win.
