Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Honest Journalism is Dead!

Growing up with my father, in the newspaper business (and helping him publish a weekly newspaper) gave me a close definition of his expectations of true journalism. My father was a very intellectual individual and studied various religions, philosophies and was constantly searching for truth and all definitions of honest journalism. He would move papers at the drop of a dime, when editors would sacrifice accuracy for local political factors.

I have always admired and respected his position and truly was effected by his work and our many discussions and debates. He revered the prominence of Edward R. Morrow and Walter Cronkite. He felt their work was the essence of real newscasting and tried to emulate their perspectives throughout his career. I sadly, never exchanged my true thoughts, in regard to his ability and his influence on me, to his face. I will forever regret this misgiving, as he passed this year, without all his faculties. Dementia had overtaken his frail body and he was a mere ghost of his self.

I look at today's writing and literally at times want to wretch my guts up and am forever castigating the majority of TV analysts and news editors as they eschew honesty for attention and ratings. My standard bearer was raised at a time, when legitimate news was reported with a professional and dignified doctrine. Principles were never abandoned and articles were written with veracity.

These individuals were never interested in making themselves "The Story" and would not embellish content or chronicle adjectives just to draw attention to themselves. I struggled for years subscribing to local newspapers, in whatever city Kim and I resided. I am OCD and read the dailies from cover to cover religiously and digested the entire content, until recently, when I have become overwhelmed with remorse. I have dropped my subscription and no longer read the local newspaper.

I can no longer accept the unadulterated bull crap that is construed on a daily basis and TV news that is reported from a "Got Ya" mentality. Our current crop of newscasters have sold their souls to the devil and my father is turning over in his grave! I do believe if you look deep enough and research enough blogs, you will find writers who still are interested in the truth.

I yearn for the day, when all editors make a decision to return to the truth and refrain from political pressures and billionaire owners who think that money is the only reason to publish!

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