After nearly two decades during which Americans turned away from serious news and immersed themselves in a world of advertising and entertainment, they have suddenly rediscovered reliable, verified information. One of the things that occurred Sept. 11 was that timely, accurate and abundant information became important again.
That is the message Bill Kovach, chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, told delegates attending the Organization of News Ombudsmen (ONO) conference last week in Salt Lake City. He explained that even in a world of unlimited forms of communication, what the American people wanted and expected after Sept. 11 was information that is verified and put in meaningful context.
“Journalism in the public interest is the kind of news we often reach for when confronted with a challenge — whether the challenge is a natural disaster, an economic disaster or a war,” he said. “But as the galvanizing moments of agony and destruction of 9/11 recede and we organize as a nation to respond to the challenge, the government and much of the public is anxious to curb our appetite for independent information.
“At a time when our basic institutions are under threat and we most need accurate, independent information, journalists are told to stop asking questions, stop challenging authority. We are asked: ‘Are you an American first, or a journalist?’ We need to make it clear to the public that the journalist best expresses her citizenship by functioning as a committed observer, monitoring events in the community by examining the behavior of people and institutions of power, especially when the community is under stress or undergoing rapid, disorienting change.”
Kovach’s message concerning journalism and patriotism was not lost on individuals attending last week’s conference. As ombudsmen, reader advocates and public editors for newspapers, public radio and television stations, it is our role to listen to public concerns about news coverage.
What we are hearing from some readers and listeners, especially now that America is waging a war against terrorism in Afghanistan, the less the American people know during times of national crisis, the better off “we the people” and the nation are as a whole. These folks want journalists, first and foremost, to be patriots.
For example, as of late, whenever a story, headline or photo shows destruction, the wounded or loss of life among Afghanistan’s civilian population, I receive numerous criticisms from Salt Lake Tribune readers, saying “this or that” should not be in the newspaper.
“We are at war” is usually the refrain to support their position that the paper is not being a good citizen at a time when Americans should be standing shoulder to shoulder, behind the president and the flag. They seem not to care that one of the reasons that Sept. 11 caught us by surprise was that we did not know or care about anti-American sentiments festering inside and outside our borders. From what I am hearing, there is a disconnect between some readers and the constitutional right to information this nation’s founders believed was necessary for a free and informed citizenry.
In a panel discussion on censorship moderated by Edward “Ted” Pease, professor of journalism and department head at Utah State University, the consensus among panelists Michael S. Sweeney, author and associate professor of journalism; Jeannie Johnson, former CIA and State Department official; and Maj. Shawn Mecham, spokesman for Hill Air Force Base: The U.S. government does indeed keep the news media in the dark on certain issues.
In today’s world, censorship does not involve the government or military official simply cutting words or paragraphs from a reporter’s news report. It now consists of denying access to specific areas and delaying the release of critical information. And as one panelist concluded, unless the American public begins asking for more information, it is going to stay that way.
That concern reverberated in Kovach’s message as well. Even though the speed, techniques and character of news delivery have changed, the role of good journalism has not, he said. “The primary purpose of journalism remains to provide citizens with credible and accurate accounts of events in society so they can be free and self-governing — so they can make informed decisions.”
