thoughts on my readings

The reading for my course "Reporting the World" started off with introductory articles and chapters about the practice of journalism itself, what motivates the doers and what (if anything) makes the industry necessary to society. I was reminded of this excerpt from the "The Ethics of Belief," an essay by nineteenth century philosopher and mathematician W.K. Clifford:

"Men speak the truth to one another when each reveres the truth in his own mind and in the other's mind; but how shall my friend revere the truth in my mind when I myself am careless about it, when I believe things because I want to believe them, and because they are comforting and pleasant? Will he not learn to cry, 'Peace,' to me, when there is no peace? By such a course I shall surround myself with a thick atmosphere of falsehood and fraud, and in that I must live. It may matter little to me, in my cloud-castle of sweet illusions and darling lies; but it matters much to Man that I have made my neighbors ready to deceive."

I first read this essay for an introductory philosophy class my first year of college, and at the time I was immediately struck by the logic that lays the responsibility of truth on the shoulders of all people, citing careless ignorance as a disservice to society. In this respect I see the relationship of the thought to journalism, as a validation of the practice as necessary to a self-governing citizenry.

The journalistic pursuit is often expressed as an ideal search for truth that will engender democracy. However, the recent failings of newspapers and other media companies have thrown a pall over the industry, and myself and others currently studying journalism wonder if there will be a place for us in its future. While print news outlets are struggling commercially, there are those critics out there that argue for government subsidies of the fourth estate, as in this article from The Nation back in March, "The Death and Life of Great American Newspapers" by John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney.

To quote: "The economic collapse and Internet have greatly accentuated and accelerated a process that can be traced back to the 1970s, when corporate ownership and consolidation of newspapers took off. It was then that managers began to balance their books and to satisfy the demand from investors for ever-increasing returns by cutting journalists and shutting news bureaus." (p 2)

And then later: "The old corporate media system choked on its own excess. We should not seek to restore or re-create it. We have to move forward to a system that creates a journalism far superior to that of the recent past. We can do exactly that--but only if we recognize and embrace the necessity of government intervention. Only government can implement policies and subsidies to provide an institutional framework for quality journalism." (p 2)

The article argues that the "impartiality" that has so long been understood as journalistic independence from government influence has suffered under corporate dominance in an equally disturbing way. The solutions put forth in the article end up being comprehensive, albeit expensive: a projected $60 billion over three years on government-sponsored programs to encourage consumer tax credits for money spent on newspapers as well as promote heightened journalism education at all levels.

Rationalization for the whole plan, and the industry in general, hinges on the argument that a free press is necessary to an informed populace, and thus to self-governance. What else besides a strong argument that journalism is necessary to the function of democracy could possibly entice a new administration to dive into legislation that would subsidize its production? If a widespread press were to dwindle to a handful of freelancers working for pennies and citizen journalism, where would that leave society? As W.K. Clifford puts it, "it matters much to Man that I have made my neighbors ready to deceive." So should it matter much to our government if the state of our national press is doing a similar disservice to its populace?