They're Just Trying To Pay the Mortgage

Those of us going into the world of journalism after college have high hopes that we will become the ordained "truth tellers" for our society. Our starry-eyed ambitions lead us to believe that we will go on to expose the lies of evil politicians, uncover the realities of human suffering and fight for the average American in their pursuit to obtain knowledge about the world around them.

Sadly though, a person does have to make a living . . .

Anybody who hasn't been locked in Azkaban the last few years knows that the media these days have been erring more and more on the side of entertainment rather than hardcore news stories. We hear more and more with each passing day the situation of the unfortunate Spears girls, but it is unlikely that many would be able to tell you about any current news about the war in Iraq. I'm pleased to tell you that Atonement has seven Golden Globe nominations, but please don't ask me about any updates about the state of Pakistan since the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Even if a journalist wants to get down to the nitty gritty when it comes to news, they're street smart enough to know what the people really want to know (you can tell what by which links you most likely wanted to click through this last paragraph); but the question still lingers: what does the public need to know?

In a 2006 article for MarketWatch.com, Thomas Kostigen wrote about ten news stories that had been given shockingly low coverage in America's news outlets. These stories ranged from Halliburton disclosing nuclear information to Iraq, to the rising effects of global warming, to the unveiling of the many corruptions of the Bush Administration. The article was taken from information that was released by the Sonoma State University research group Project Censored that tracks prevalent stories in the news . . . and those that are noticeably left out.

The question that all of this ultimately brings up is, what is the journalist's responsibility to the public? Is their true duty to give the people what they want, or what they need to know? While the cry of "freedom of the press!" rings in one's ears, the essential need of the public to be informed is what makes them "free". Only when armed with the necessary information can Americans truly carry out their democratic responsibility. Without the ethical consideration of journalists, this information could go forgotten and unnoticed.