Panel criticizes news media for various issues

Last night, a couple dozen students gathered to hear a panel of Boston College professors discuss the American news media and its involvement in domestic politics. "From O'Reilly to Olbermann: TV News Media and its Effects on American Politics" was one of a series of panel-discussions sponsored by the student, non-partisan group Americans for Informed Democracy of Boston College. According to treasurer Michael Madormo, A&S '09, the group seeks to fill the gap between the partisan groups on campus and usually addresses international political issues, though last night's discussion was more focused on a domestic topic.

The panel, consisting of professors Alan Wolfe and Dennis Hale of the political science department, and the Rev. Kevin Kersten, S.J., professor in the communication department, addressed a spectrum of issues, displaying varying opinions as to what problems existed within the field of journalism and how these problems affected participation in and development of American politics.

Kersten began the discussion with an anecdote about his father, a former U.S. congressman, and his experience with local newspapers that purposefully portrayed candidates they do not support in a negative light. He said that the news media is biased and makes decisions based on its own personal opinions, and this bias can adversely affect politics.

"New programs have a limited amount of space and time," said Kersten. "You would have a hard time convincing me that political ideology doesn't come into play when choosing stories, the content of the stories, and then affect the subsequent editing of the stories."

Kersten explained that this created problems because for most Americans, the news media is the main avenue of contact between the public and politics. He said that if something occurs and does not enter the mainstream news media, the general attitude appears to be that it doesn't matter. "What [Americans] get from journalists is all they need to know, for all practical purposes," said Kersten.

For this reason, Kersten emphasized that reporters have a responsibility to provide the public with what it needs to know, rather than what it wants to hear.

"The media industry must provide us with what we need to know to make balanced, informed judgments," said Kersten. "We must not only have a say in political life, but have leverage in political life."

Kersten further said that the public needs to be better informed regarding what the important issues are and that the news media is obligated to address these issues in an unbiased manner. "As the public, we must insist on substance, objectivity, truth, and fairness in the media," said Kersten.

Although it may be the duty of the news media to act in such a manner, as Hale described in his talk, the news media did not always follow such standards in his day. He gave examples of how journalists do not always employ such truth and fairness and how they may use unethical means to support certain specific political agendas.

Hale cited Dan Rather's premature release of unverified information regarding President George W. Bush's National Guard record during the 2004 presidential election campaign. Although the documents were evidently suspicious and he had been advised to wait until the documents could be verified, Hale said that Rather disregarded the ethical implications of releasing such information in an apparent attempt to influence the outcome of the presidential election.

Hale gave this and other examples to demonstrate that the news media has become increasingly biased. "We have been arguing for a generation - two generations - about the question of objectivity [in the news media]," said Hale. "Some [news media sources] have now moved beyond this problem of objectivity and have become fully partisan."

According to Hale, when Americans must make decisions about issues, there are few places they can trust to adequately inform them. Rather than viewing major news networks, Hale suggested that one can find a more diverse and inclusive view of the news if one uses independent web sites, which compile stories from various news sources.

Hale said most major newspapers cater to a more Democratic viewpoint, and thus lack balanced coverage. "There is no hope that there will be an affirmative action for Republican reporters," said Hale.

Wolfe had a decidedly different take on the situation of the news media than his colleagues. He attributed the problems in the news media to new developments in its own system, which Wolfe said had become much more competitive and intense in recent years.

Although Wolfe believes that the news media generally tries to be objective, he said that due to the demands of the public, it also has to entertain us and be more commercial, more engaging, and sexier.

"[The news media] recognizes that people have a lot of other things to do other than watch the news and are not really interested in politics in anyway, and so it must then try to grab their attention," said Wolfe.

Remembering a time before cable television and the Internet when there were only three news stations, Wolfe said he preferred the older, more direct way of delivering the news to the present news media. "I know [the old news media] was far less democratic- it doesn't give people what they want," said Wolfe. "Nevertheless, I don't think that the delivery of the news ought to be democratic."

According to Wolfe, this competition within the news media may leave the public with more choices, but these may not necessarily be better choices. "People may get entertained by the news but they are not as informed by it," said Wolfe.

Wolfe said this competition also leads to poor reporting, as journalists vie for stories instead of searching for the truth. He described cases where he felt reporters were not intentionally biased but were instead irresponsible in their reporting by accepting lies from the government and other sources as fact.

The news media should be a guardian of the public, according to Wolfe. He said problems arise when the media sees itself as imbedded in the government, listening to what the politicians have to say instead of primarily focusing on reporting factual information to the public.

Wolfe said that the role of the media is to challenge government claims. "Our democracy is better improved when the media plays the role of advocate for the truth," said Wolfe.