The Journalist's Job

Walter Cronkite died two weeks ago. Many people couldn’t care less. They were not alive in 1963 when Cronkite told the nation about the assassination of President Kennedy or in 1969 when he shared the national excitement about men on the moon.

After I learned of his passing, I went to the Internet to read more about him. There were many tribute articles and long lists of quotations. One in particular got me thinking. Cronkite said, “"It's not the journalist's job to be patriotic."

I disagree. One of the most patriotic persons I can think of is the journalist who is doing his or her job - ferreting out and telling the truth, however painful or unpleasant that truth may be.

Where would we be today if journalists had thoroughly investigated Wall Street or mortgage lending practices or the state of affairs in Iraq? Would not the country be better served by reporters who investigate facts and tell us the reality behind corporate or governmental press releases instead of parroting the words from them? What if all those talking heads had taken the time to explain to us derivatives, interest-only mortgages or Persia as Cronkite did Watergate?

There are people in broadcasting who call themselves journalists but who don’t have the faintest idea how to do the job. They spend a lot of time telling us how patriotic they are but they don't "present a detailed account" of anything but their own opinions.

Is the patriot the one who fawns over the emperor’s finery or is the true patriot the one who tells us the emperor is naked?

Communication is one of the most precious gifts we humans have. How we use it determines our fate. With Cronkite gone and those who followed him retired, who will communicate the facts to us? Where will we go to learn the truth so we have the knowledge necessary to be patriots ourselves?

Walter Cronkite and his journalistic integrity will be not be missed by most. The majority of people don't know what they've lost with his passing.

Properly vetted

A writer friend of mine insists that the restrictions placed on membership by professional genre fiction writing organizations and conventions are there because it assures the writers applying for membership have been properly vetted.

The term means that a writer’s work has been confirmed as accurate, that agents have screened it and editors have honed it. Of course, my friend is ignoring the obvious – no writer is properly vetted anymore. The big publishers refuse to pay for it and the small ones never could afford it. James Frey and Margaret Selzer are just two recent examples of writers published by major publishing houses who were exposed as frauds. Sadly, this lack of real vetting applies to journalism as well.

How does all this happen? We readers allow it. We settle for less than the best. We do not demand excellence. We accept what we are told without question because it comes from our newspaper, television, the Internet or an email from a friend. How many false stories circulate because no one stops to check the facts? Thank goodness for www.snopes.com.

In All the President’s Men, a book about the scandal that forced Nixon from the White House, the reporters dug out the facts, they followed the trail and they told us what was happening. They did not partner with the government; they exposed it. Why can we trust what they revealed? They had to obtain confirmations of their facts from at least two separate sources and those sources could not be other reporters. Their editor would not allow the story to go to press without that substantiation.

As citizens, it is our responsibility to question everything we are told. We should not assume that our representatives in government will act honorably – especially since there is so much proof that they will not. Greed and graft has been part of government since time began. This country is no exception. Mark Twain said it best. “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”

All writers should produce work that is properly vetted. All editors should require confirmation, checking sources and validating the facts. I’d like to see the population demand that higher standard.

We will be better for it – as readers and as citizens.