Writers Challenged to Spread the News: Journalism is Vital to a Free Society
by Evelyn Cunico, Freelance Writer

Journalists must do their best to demonstrate to their fellow citizens that a free press, sustained by tens of thousands of hard-working, honest journalists is the keystone of the continued welfare of a free society. We can accomplish this crucial educational task by:

1. Telling the truth, as best as we can determine it
2. Clarifying our role as credible watchdogs of government and other institutions
3. Disabusing our fellow citizens of inaccurate, negative perceptions about the journalism field.

John R. McClelland, Associate Professor of Journalism, Roosevelt University, delivered this vital message to an audience of journalists at the May 15, 2004 Mate E. Palmer Communications Awards Program sponsored by the Illinois Woman's Press Association at the Chicago Athletic Association.

The real purpose of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is to give protection from government to the people's freedoms of religion, speech, assembly, petition, and the press. "And it is no accident that the press is the only business thus given First Amendment protection," McClelland said.

"Credibility and the trust of readers are our most precious and fragile assets," McClelland told his audience. "It is up to us to help our fellow citizens see that, although our field is far from perfect, the journalism profession is vitally important to our society."

As different types of media have proliferated, the public has come to see all media as the same, with no distinction between conscientious journalism, on the one hand, and huckster glitz, on the other, according to McClelland. People often are not aware that there are many different types of media, with different objectives and different ways of attaining those objectives. For example, many persons do not know the difference between fantasy tabloids, like The National Enquirer, and conscientious newspapers, like the The New York Times, or Chicago's metro dailies, at their best.

According to McClelland, our fellow citizens often do not distinguish between "reality TV," and gritty reality on TV. Many persons believe that "infotainment" and information are one and the same.

Trends in newspaper journalism, which base priorities on improving the quarterly bottom line, have widened information gaps among the general citizenry. For example, "resources are shifted from vital services, such as reporting on state government, to profitable news products, such as descriptions of trendy fashions in new-home design," said McClelland.

The trend toward one-newspaper towns, following mergers or hard economic times, has eroded community awareness of current events. Reductions in news staffs have affected not only school beats and other local community services, but also statehouses and foreign news bureaus.

"Online news is not yet as easy to handle as paper, and it does a poor job of giving visible priority ranking of material via placement and headline size," noted McClelland. "The Internet is vast and can be easily searched. Alarming, however, is the finding that many citizens are gullible about electronic information that does not carry credible attribution."

"There will always be a need for solid news reporting everywhere, from the neighborhood firehouse to world capitals," McClelland said.

So, what can journalists do to help our fellow citizens see, know, and understand events? McClelland advises that:

1. We journalists must do our best to clarify the big issues, such as the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press, the differences among various media, the corrupting influences of corporate conglomeration, and the relentless pressure of deadlines every minute for 24 hours every day.
2. We must also do our best to address the smaller issues, such as the difference between news, on the one hand, and an analysis, commentary, column, or editorial, on the other.
3. We need to help citizens realize that only a community press can explain what the alderman, the village board, or the street department plans to do in a neighborhood.
4. We need to remind citizens that they have the opportunity to be heard in a letter to the editor, or, increasingly, in online forums, sponsored by legitimate news organizations.

McClelland left us with the personal challenge to "Do your bit. Help the public to see that, journalism, however imperfect, provides a public service that is vitally important to a free society."

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