This week’s group presentation brought up an interesting point. A quote by Nick Clooney states “if it comes down to a matter of loyalty, my loyalty will be to the person who turns on the television set.” This is, ideally, a great idea. I raise the question, however, of how valid this is for the general community of journalists. I think it would be fabulous if all journalists truly wrote for what the public wanted and needed to hear. But all too often, especially in an economy like the one we’re in today, I would expect journalists to find themselves writing for their editors; or, writing what the high-paying advertisers want to see in order to get their advertisements and money. Now, I may stand corrected. Perhaps I am just cynical. Perhaps I am wrongly under the impression that many journalists are evil and will give us only the information convenient for them to give us. I may very well be wrong, but maybe all us journalists need to take a step back and look at the reasons we are truly writing those articles.
"We have to remember that, at the very end, the paper and the word are the core business and the strength of print media. Focusing on words means ability to give readers the background and the depth analysis when conveying meaning of what happens more powerfully and exactly than moving pictures. In today's turbulent world, the quality newspapers' capability of explaining what is happening, what is behind the news and where does it lead us will be the real strength of our operations."
Another interesting concept is the effects of the ownership of multiple companies by news organizations. For example, I would reference http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main. This website lists media conglomerates – something I never realized was so huge. Disney owns ABC, ESPN, Good Morning America, and ESPN Magazine, to name a few. This severely limits the information that Disney can cover. It also limits what viewers that view these programs will see. When one views something produced by one of the many branches of Disney-owned corporations, they will be bombarded with Disney propaganda. Is this necessarily a bad thing though? As more media companies combine, we are able to get more accurate media. This is because these companies are highly successful so they can afford to do more extravagant and in-depth research and better coverage. If all we had was thousands of small, independent companies, our news would be terribly scattered and diverse. So, although massive organizations like Disney might bring us a slightly more biased coverage, is it necessarily detrimental? You decide for yourself.
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