Where Have You Gone, Edward R. Murrow?
If you’ve seen the movie The Insider, you may remember this phrase uttered by Christopher Plummer, playing Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes: “They accused us of betraying the legacy of Edward R. Murrow.” Strong words indeed. However, I think they are truer than ever. Journalism, in it’s truest sense, has been abandoned by the journalists of our time.
The easy illustration of this is Fox News. They are unashamedly biased toward the right, and their “Fair and Balanced” tagline is, to put it mildly, misleading. The recent revelation that News Corp., parent company of Fox News, donated $1 Million to the Republican Governors Association further raised eyebrows about Fox’s ability to fairly report the news. Other media outlets also struggle to uphold their journalistic integrity. The New York Times, once the bastion of this country’s newspapers, has committed a series of gaffes in recent years. One startling example was how their editorial department handled the 2006 Duke Lacrosse case. The young men were assumed guilty, and their side of the story was ignored.
In many ways, it feels like the media has returned to the days of yellow journalism in the early 20th century. They allow themselves to be manipulated by politicians, celebrities and dozens of PR firms. I just wonder whether there are any journalists that have the guts to go for the truth. We sure do need it.