Trying to control the media dates back centuries.* The question is whether a watchdog makes journalists more responsible, or just more timid. COMMUNITY NEWS COUNCILS: to be or not to be To Be or Not to Be can refer to:
See also: Grapple in his day. However, the often uneasy relationship between those who report the news and those who make the news probably dates back to at least the seventeenth century. From generation to generation, attempts to put controls on the media - especially opinion writers - have been tried in one form or another. In our own time, we've witnessed the outcry over two very different Washington Post reports: Woodward and Bernstein's gripping investigation into the Watergate affair Watergate affair, in U.S. history, series of scandals involving the administration of President Richard M. Nixon; more specifically, the burglarizing of the Democratic party national headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, D.C. , and Janet Cooke's embarrassing creation of "Jimmy's World." Also drawing attention was the legal battle following the controversial CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. 60 Minutes profile of General William Westmoreland William C. Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was an American General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak from 1964 to 1968 and who served as US Army Chief of Staff from 1968 to 1972. , and most recently the Food Lion journalistic fiasco on the ABC television program Primetime Live. More responsible or more timid? Would community news councils make us more responsible journalists, or just more timid? In his first-ever article for The Masthead mast·head n. 1. Nautical The top of a mast. 2. The listing in a newspaper or periodical of information about its staff, operation, and circulation. 3. John Lansing, a member of WXYZ-TV's editorial board, presents provocative thoughts on what may become a growing idea. (See page 7.) Lansing speaks from first-hand experience. He encountered the Minnesota News Council when he served as news director for WCCO-TV. He also worked as assistant news director for KARE-TV in Minneapolis. Lansing has held similar news management positions in Grand Rapids and Chicago, and currently serves as a visiting faculty representative at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. He is now vice president and station manager at WXYZ-TV in Detroit. Whether you agree or disagree with his position on community news councils, the issue deserves more ink from editorial writers. NCEW NCEW National Conference of Editorial Writers member Chuck Stokes is editorial and public affairs director for WXYZ-TV in Detroit. |
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