Freedom Of The Press, Is It Worth It
Ken Hughes
October 23, 2005
Are the press allowed to write anything they chose or should there be limits placed on the speculation they offer in advance of a given situation. Who will the media be held accountable? Many countries have limits on what the press can report without facts backing them up. The Media?s calling for a shield law protecting them from incarceration when they refuse to comply with a court orders to revel information necessary to reach the truth. The media would like to be exempt from all laws liabel or other wise. Should this be the case what will hold the media in check? Who will protect the individual from a media with no restraints?
There was a time when the media took pride in their fair and balanced reporting. The great reporters like Edward R. Murrow,would rather die than misreport a fact. They were quick to challenge those they felt were abusing the system. The cornerstone of all the old news sources was their integrity. The current attitude of the media is ?If is isn?t true it should have been? They have no regrets for manufactured stories. They no longer attempt to cover their bias or their mistakes.
The media?s gone out of its way to create stories of the guilt of Tom DeLay, Karl Rove, and Louis Libby. Judith Miller was given an award for going to jail protecting a source that didn?t need protecting, isn?t that an oxymoron? The entire Rove, Libby investigation is media manufactured. Someone who isn?t in can?t be outed, Ms. Valerie Plame was never a secret agent of the CIA, in the context of secret agents, she was little more than a clerk. The entire affaire is Liberal Democratic Politics at its worst.
The media?s become the fifth wheel of the Democratic Party, You know the one they bring out when one of the other four tires goes flat as they often do. As long as the Democratic Party has the media to do their bidding, they?ll continue to fabricate story after story in an attempt to discredit this administration and President Bush personally. The purpose of a free press is to inform the public not be a tool for the Liberal Democratic Party. The media has become like little children caught in a lie, the more a lie is reveled the more the cover-up. The media like the little children have a problem telling the truth when challenged.
The over reporting by some media sources of Hurricane Katrina?s destruction may very well have cost lives. It certainly curtailed evacuation efforts of the Super Dome and the Convention Center. The media ran and reran a few selected shots of victims wading through waist deep water with out explanation, They reported rapes, homicides and terror attacks that didn?t exists, leaving a false impression to those on the edge waiting to go in and relieve the situation. It took the Texas Air National Guard to step forward and take charge. Perhaps it?s time to reconsider the ?Posse Comitatus Act of 1878? at least alter it to fit the times we live in. At the same time, the first amendment needs reinterpreting to fit the times. Reporters are citizens first and reporters second, something many in the media have lost sight of.
If the media won?t clean up their acts, perhaps its time for some government rules to bring them into accountability. The first amendment needn?t be altered. Reconfiguring Liable Laws could accomplish more restraint in reporter?s stories. It would have the effect Edward R Murrow?s integrity did in day gone by. Integrity is somehow lost in the new 24 / 7 need to fill the airways.
What do I think the chances of the media cleaning up their acts? To put is simply, ?FAT CHANCE.?
There was a time when the media took pride in their fair and balanced reporting. The great reporters like Edward R. Murrow,would rather die than misreport a fact. They were quick to challenge those they felt were abusing the system. The cornerstone of all the old news sources was their integrity. The current attitude of the media is ?If is isn?t true it should have been? They have no regrets for manufactured stories. They no longer attempt to cover their bias or their mistakes.
The media?s gone out of its way to create stories of the guilt of Tom DeLay, Karl Rove, and Louis Libby. Judith Miller was given an award for going to jail protecting a source that didn?t need protecting, isn?t that an oxymoron? The entire Rove, Libby investigation is media manufactured. Someone who isn?t in can?t be outed, Ms. Valerie Plame was never a secret agent of the CIA, in the context of secret agents, she was little more than a clerk. The entire affaire is Liberal Democratic Politics at its worst.
The media?s become the fifth wheel of the Democratic Party, You know the one they bring out when one of the other four tires goes flat as they often do. As long as the Democratic Party has the media to do their bidding, they?ll continue to fabricate story after story in an attempt to discredit this administration and President Bush personally. The purpose of a free press is to inform the public not be a tool for the Liberal Democratic Party. The media has become like little children caught in a lie, the more a lie is reveled the more the cover-up. The media like the little children have a problem telling the truth when challenged.
The over reporting by some media sources of Hurricane Katrina?s destruction may very well have cost lives. It certainly curtailed evacuation efforts of the Super Dome and the Convention Center. The media ran and reran a few selected shots of victims wading through waist deep water with out explanation, They reported rapes, homicides and terror attacks that didn?t exists, leaving a false impression to those on the edge waiting to go in and relieve the situation. It took the Texas Air National Guard to step forward and take charge. Perhaps it?s time to reconsider the ?Posse Comitatus Act of 1878? at least alter it to fit the times we live in. At the same time, the first amendment needs reinterpreting to fit the times. Reporters are citizens first and reporters second, something many in the media have lost sight of.
If the media won?t clean up their acts, perhaps its time for some government rules to bring them into accountability. The first amendment needn?t be altered. Reconfiguring Liable Laws could accomplish more restraint in reporter?s stories. It would have the effect Edward R Murrow?s integrity did in day gone by. Integrity is somehow lost in the new 24 / 7 need to fill the airways.
What do I think the chances of the media cleaning up their acts? To put is simply, ?FAT CHANCE.?
Print
Email
