The Role of the Press

"The press is the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man, and improving him as a rational, moral and social being." Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence and worked along side the other founding fathers of our country to build a society of, by, and for the people, which he led as the third president. This statement of his eloquently examines the role of the Press in a democratic society. Ignorance my be blissful for the ignorant person however, it is usually detrimental to them, and many times others suffer needlessly do only to ignorance . Most would agree that they would want to know things that they could change to make their life or the lives of others better. The Press, encompassing newspapers, television news, and now online news has a responsibility to be the eyes, ears, and voice of the people. In order to function as a real democracy, or even as a moral, rational and socially responsible country all people need to have their voices heard, all people need to be informed about the actions and plans of their government, and the information should be clear and truthful. Our press is failing us, and we are silent.

In January of 2006 a conference in Chicago brought together some members of today's press to discuss what the role of news media is, and whether or not our news is doing the job. John Nichols, a Washington D.C. correspondent for The Nation paper, said that the Press is the core of democracy. And that citizens must know as much as possible about their government in order to be effective members of society in a country where we self-govern. We choose our leaders, we should know not only what they say they plan to do, but what they actually do and why.

There is battle going on within the even the most responsible people in the information business. How much information is too much. There must obviously be a place for secrecy when it comes to national security. It wouldn't be in the people's interest to divulge information about legal activities going on behind closed doors, that would bring harm to the United States. Today's Press is told by the executive branch of our government that a handful of people at the top, all of whom have conflict of interest are the only ones who can decide what the people are allowed to know, and the very entity that is supposed to fight for us and ask the hard questions and investigate to get the truthful answers, just stamps the White House statements Copy, and it's a good day's work. This gives a passive and ignorant society the impression that everything is as it should be, if it wasn't it would be on the news, right?

In situations as we face today where illegal activities are going on in our name, its time to demand that our Press stand up for us, and if they won't we need to let all the media outlets know that if they won't do the job we entrust to them effectively, won't be watching, or reading, or logging on, we won't be buying the products that advertise with those outlets, and we won't until they start reporting on the real issues affecting us today and doing it with integrity and conviction.

There is also a problem today with the blurring of the lines between Press and Media. The original idea of Press refers to the people dedicated to informing the public of the actions of the people they put in charge, and helping those people find a voice when something needs the attention of those in charge, whereas Media includes all types of information and entertainment on any and all subjects. Free speech is a very important part of being a free people, and opinion columns in papers and radio show rants to left or right and even the flood of pundants on television are a needed and welcomed part of free sharing of ideas and giving citizens a voice that is heard, even if it seems polarized or one-sided overall. However we seem to have completely forgotten to expect a watchdog press. A press that efficiently keeps an eye on the government and lets us know when something is wrong, lets us know what to do about it, and back us up with encouragement not condemnation when we fight back against the imperialistic and power hungry people at the top of government.

A complete overhaul of the current news corporations is needed, but in the mean time independent media and news outlets are growing with community support and there are alternatives to the misinformation widely available. Free Speech and Link TV offer a wide variety of programing from movies, documentaries, to keynote speeches, and news broadcasts such as the award winning Democracy Now, and INN with international news. These stations that also broadcast on radio, satellite, and online, are accountable only to the people of the united state and world as a whole, each individual, not corporations. They don't get the money to run from advertisements, they get it from concerned citizens who want to help them make a difference.

The Press has failed to do its job many times in our country's history, but the problem we face today is a total loss of perspective on the part of the Press as a whole. It is time we demand change from those that make millions off of our time spent reading and watching. It is time we show support for free and open exchange of ideas. It is time we educate ourselves on the real current affairs, so that we may become the moral, and enlightened citizens that Thomas Jefferson and so many others dreamed of.