By The Beacon Editorial Board
There is a fine line the news media has to walk between informing and entertaining its readers. It appears, however, that the balance may be falling towards the latter, much to the detriment of consumers.
News is a business, and an expensive one at that. Producing millions of copies of printed media, paying for reporters to travel and maintaining bureaus in different cities is a big drain on the budgets of news outlets.
Publishers, editors and producers know how to sell their products, but that increasingly means appealing to the lesser angels of their consumers.
More and more, media outlets are being drawn into the spheres of large corporations, placing more emphasis on the bottom line. What sells, what gets high ratings and more people at the newsstands often has little real value.
What was Hillary wearing at the last debate? Do American flag-lapel pins determine a politician's character? From what obscure country will Angelina Jolie's next adopted child come?
Stories like this have their place. They are fun to read. They provide a break from the real news, which in our world, can often be depressing.
Lighter, celebrity-related or human interest stories make money, as well. The problem is, this kind of coverage is starting to overshadow news and analysis.
Only 3 percent of stories covered in the news are about the Iraq war. An alarming number of people still think there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. People bought claims that Barack Obama pals around with terrorists and is a Muslim.
Things like Entertainment Tonight, Extra and the E! Network actually exist.
It seems like the news media did its last bit of decent investigative journalism with Watergate and decided they were done for a while. The drive to make money and be competitive has overridden responsible journalism
It is easy to admonish the media for letting us down. The same goes for the Rupert Murdochs and Ted Turners of the world.
But the free press is a two-way street.
Few news consumers would doubt the necessity of a free and responsible press in a democratic society. Nor would they condone the degrading state of the quality of the news.
Consumers need to hold their news sources accountable.
There is a place for the strange story, novel happening or bit of juicy celebrity gossip in the media, but that place isn't everywhere or all the time. When that kind of reporting, when the goal to entertain and make profit overrides their responsibility, consumers should speak up.
As consumers, they are entitled to getting their money's work. More importantly, as citizens they are entitled to a fourth estate that keeps watch over the excesses of the powerful and plays the role of gadfly to society.
The decline of the quality in American news media is, in large part, thanks to corporate greed trumping journalistic responsibility.
Consumers, however, share blame as well. We read or watch the news. We are participants in the process. As members of a free society, we require a free press to responsibly govern our country. We expect our police officers to protect our communities. We expect our elected officials to respond to the needs of their constituents.
When they screw up, we call them out on it. Why can't the same be true for our news sources?
Don't accept shoddy journalism, be it from the New York Times, CNN, The Oregonian or even The Beacon.
