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Sept. 23, 2004 Whatever happened to baby reporter? Back when I was a kid in school, we were taught the keys of journalism: Who? What? Why? When? Where? The cardinal rule of journalism was to get the facts and get them right. Now, however, we have do-gooders masquerading as journalists. I note this quote from John Carlson, a radio guy who used to do news and who worked with Mary Mapes, the "producer" who has apparently killed Dan Rather and CBS, and who is the designated sacrificial lamb, soon to be thrown to the wolves: "She definitely was someone who was motivated by what she cared about and definitely went into journalism to make a difference," Carlson said. "She's not the sort of person who went into journalism to report the news and offer an array of commentary." And the main problem we have now with news "reporting" is that the major focus of the "reporters" is not the accurate reporting the the news, but "reporting the news" in a way so as to produce specific changes in the beliefs of readers or listeners or watchers, and thus specific changes in society. Journalists are no longer accurate reporters but do-gooders, out to change the world. They are missionaries out to bring the true religion to the savages. They are crusaders, out to destroy the opposing religion. They are the journalistic equivalent of Islamofascists out to convert the infidels. Since that is so, we can't trust them any more, can we? So what can we do about it? I note many TV stations and radio stations canceling CBS news feeds. That's a start. We can tune them out individually. We can write sponsors complaining that we will not buy their products unless we get honest news reporting from those they sponsor. Hurt them in the pocketbook. And, when throwing Mary Mapes to the wolves doesn't work and Dan Rather goes down and CBS tanks, perhaps we can cheer and gloat a little. That will be a win for the long-dead journalism professors who actually revered honest reporting. ------------ About the author Brooks A. Mick: 63-yr-old physician, still practicing medicine but retired from the US Army. Write just for the fun of it, but working on novel in the vein of Tom Clancy's politico-military genre. Email: brooks15@cox.net ------------ |
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