Does The News Media Have A Moral Responsibility?
Much has been said in recent years about the increasingly irresponsible news media. For those of us who remember Walter Cronkite, we are amazed by the sleazy depths to which our news media can go nowadays. Their present fascination with Anna Nichole Smith’s death perfectly illustrates those depths. It is commonly speculated that the drive for increasing profits by the corporate owners of the news outlets, along with fierce and unanticipated competition from the cable channels and Internet blogs have motivated a new focus upon the lurid. I might add the media consultants who insist that appealing to the lowest common denominator, not hard news, brings and keeps viewers or readers. In spite of ourselves, we are especially fascinated by the downfalls and humiliations of our anointed celebrities. But my concern is not over this sleaziness. After all, we can still find, if we search, a few outlets that do focus upon the important world and local news. A deeper and more insidious issue is th
