When I was reading the Chapter 10 in The Press I was really interested in the 'role of the watchdog' and decided to delve more into it.
I came across this article- which really echoes a lot of what the reading reflected in practice.
“This story is far from over,” Mr. Conroy said last week. “There are 20 men in prison who are there on the basis of suspect confessions, and no one is paying attention to them because investigative reporting is time-consuming and expensive and no one wants to pay for it. I’m not paying attention because I can’t afford to.
This is a quote from this article, and it is so fascinating that the role of the watchdog is really grey. It seems that journalism is the utmost important thing in a democracy, however things like making sure the ratings are up and not being happy with the hidden news is keeping the role of the watchdog of doing what it is supposed to do. Even in this case Mr. Conroy is stating that it is too expensive so investigative reporting is being ignored.
There is so much that news stories don't tell us or know and then we read all the really biased accounts from people- but what i feel is necessary and what the role of the watchdog should be in in between that- there to find out the real facts without as much as possible to add a bias.
I think the role of the watchdog is really important- and that people are really missing the point.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/05/business/media/05conroy.html?_r=1&src=busln
You're right, but (this is going to sound really fatalistic) I think that it's almost impossible.
ReplyDeleteAnything that is being produced (or written) by humans is going to inherently have an agenda or angle.
To expand on what you finished off with, the chapter mentioned that the only way true watchdog reporting can exist is if both those producing news stories and those reading them understand that there needs to be more than just a production of entertaining sensational stories. Maybe if we lived in a alternate reality where there was an emphasis by newspapers on delving into certain stories in order to uncover the truth for readers. Considering that most newspapers are going down, and the majority of readers like sensation, I do not really see this happening...
I definitely agree with you that those are unrealistic expectations- what I was really saying was a very optimistic outlook- and that this is what democracy needs and what the chapter emphasized which is the ideal role of a watchdog journalist.
ReplyDeleteBut i do agree with you that it is very difficult and just to emphasis what you are saying how not only is the role of watchdog journalists being greyed but people are finding it harder to commit to the job since it is time consuming and difficult, and not helping them up the career ladder.
Look at what the journalists have to deal with in Egypt today such difficult circumstances. They aren't being allowed in Egypt to report etc.. however, this is a great example where watchdog journalists are needed and this is where the ideal role of the watchdog journalist should be playing its part.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110208/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_journalists