A Journalism Student's Call to Action

To many observers, especially those within the news community, journalism appears to be in a shambles right now. Sure, CNN may have posted huge numbers during the election, but from a journalistic perspective most of cable news is inconsequential name-calling. Local news is a cartoonish joke. Network news is largely ignored unless it's Charlie Gibson explaining to Sarah Palin what the Bush Doctrine is, or A-Rod telling Katie Couric he never ever ever used steroids not even for a minute I promise. Newspapers are bleeding money and slashing staff left and right. NPR is doing some of the best work out there, but unfortunately a lot people still think that it's only for latte-sipping hybrid owners. Talk radio is still lots of fun for people who have no interest in having their beliefs challenged. So who the hell is going to take up the mantle of interesting, informational journalism?

News was once the domain of Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, and Peter Jennings -- tough, serious news guys who always seemed like they knew what they were talking about because, well, they did. Now it's bunch of half-brained anchors doing whatever their earpiece tells them, inane talking heads, and genuinely intelligent analysts given half a breath to speak. And I swear to God, if Rick Sanchez spends one more segment on Twitter comments, or if CNN runs one more iReport of some nitwit flipping a coin to decide their vote in an election, I'm going to lose it! I understand that the media landscape has gone through some pretty seismic changes in the last few years, and it certainly isn't finished. But that doesn't mean that we suddenly have the license to stop acting like professionals.

Look, I realize I'm painting with a pretty broad brush here. There's incredible journalism being done all over the country, in a variety of outlets both expected and unexpected. I don't want to demean or belittle every current working journalist. Not by any stretch. I speak harshly because I fear for the future of quality reporting, and because I seek to encourage those interested in pursuing a career in news to do so. The next generation of reporters are being educated right now at J-schools big and small. In ten years, it's going to be up to them to set the tone of news in our country. What are they going to do? It's my sincere hope that a fresh wave of newsmen and women will help to reverse some of the current and disheartening trends in journalism: oversimplifaction, blatant political spin, pandering to the least thoughtful elements in our society. If one looks at journalism as a theoretical pendulum between serious and shitty, the pendulum has definitely been swinging ever-faster towards shitty for quite some time. I hope that we, the new generation of journalists, can swing the pendulum back to serious -- and keep it there.

I'm well aware that, to some, going into the news business right now seems about as foolhardy as becoming a pager salesman, or an American car manufacturer. But there will always be a desire and a need in this country for insightful and accurate reporting. Let's not let the shouters take over. Let's make sure that America's news remains something that Edward R. Murrow would be proud of; and, more importantly, that WE should be proud of.