Fake news, real problems

Have you heard this one before?\nA reporter for a small news Web site comes under suspicion after he repeatedly asks President Bush a series of fawning, softball questions during White House press briefings. Investigating the situation, a group of leftist bloggers discover that this man, reporting under the name of "Jeff Gannon," reports for the "news" division of a conservative Web site, www.GOPUSA.com. Gannon's "news stories" turn out to be mostly republished White House press releases, with little or no editing. \nFurther investigation reveals that "Jeff Gannon" is an alias and has no journalistic credentials who has somehow managed to get around the White House background checks and is allowed daily within feet of the President. The real topper is this: Not only is this unqualified man working for a heavily pro-Bush Web site, but according to the Feb. 16 Washington Post, he also owns the Internet domains for several military-themed gay prostitute Web sites. His naked picture is posted on them. \nNow, doesn't this incident reflect incredibly well on the field of journalism? The "Jeff Gannon" situation is just one of many recent incidents that reflect incredibly poorly on the very concept of journalism. Examining the so-called "gatekeepers" of public opinion, it's sad for this journalist-in-training to admit that not many people really believe what comes out in the news. Once upon a time, the public held reporters on lofty pedestals based on the strength of their craft. Now, we're lucky if we're trusted enough to be pre-approved for a credit card.\nIt's not hard to imagine why people don't trust the media anymore. According to The New York Times, in the first four years of Bush's presidency, the White House spent approximately $254 million on public relations and marketing, much more than the Clinton White House did in eight years. This P.R. blitz resulted in, amongst other things, numerous pre-made video "news" packages that were sent to network affiliates disguised as unbiased reports. These video packages consisted of "reporters" on the Bush payroll showing a "Gee, Bush's policies are great!" face on current events. Many television stations ran the propaganda as-is. \nAnd this distortion of the news isn't only a game Republicans play. Dan Rather's 30-plus years of reporting may be completed tarnished by last year's "Memogate" scandal.\nThe news media, whether in print, television or the Internet, is based on capitalism. Whether we (as news reporters) or we (as people who expect a lot from the news) would like to admit it, the low-grade stuff sells. Because more people turn to sports, weather and infotainment news, news organizations do not feel the need to supply us with hard news. The Bush administration propaganda pieces worked because neither news organizations nor viewers put enough effort into researching the news. It's all about immediate ratings.\nLast weekend, all three major cable news stations focused almost 100 percent of their newsgathering efforts on the fallout of the Atlanta courthouse shooting. Was what happened there a tragedy? Yes, it was. Did it require the coverage it got? Absolutely not. The less we, as Americans, focus on what's really important, the less the news will give it to us. It's supply and trash TV demand.\nFor journalists, it's a catch-22 situation. They aren't respected because they give people the sleaze and gossip the public demands. If they deliver the public with what it needs to know, they lose ratings and face a financial crush. Until the public truly stands up and demands better accountability from its media, journalism will be a dying art.