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The Struggle to Regain Credibility |
| Section: CURRENT ISSUES / MEDIA IN REVIEW |
| Author: Robert H. Giles |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 2/1/1999 |
| Size: 2,064 Words, 13,532 Characters |
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A public opinion survey by the Media Studies Center in New York City was released to the editors during a panel examining a series of stories this year in which news organizations had to acknowledge questionable reporting practices. While the panel itself reflected the editors' deepening concern about journalistic practices, they were unprepared for the depth of public skepticism that was reflected in the survey.
Nearly 9 in 10 (88 percent) of Americans said they believe that reporters "often" or "sometimes" use "unethical or illegal tactics to investigate a story."
Nearly three-quarters (76 percent) of the respondents said that journalists often or sometimes "copy the words and ideas of others in a story and pass them off as their own."
Two-thirds of the country (66 percent) think that journalists often or sometimes "make up stories and pass them off as real."
Five in six Americans (85 percent) said that journalists often or sometimes "write real stories that contain factual errors."
The findings were based on telephone interviews with a random national sample of 1,016 adults conducted for the Media Studies Center by the Center for Survey Research and Analysis at the University of Connecticut. They were part of a sample testing public awareness of four journalistic incidents involving CNN, the Boston Globe, the New ...
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...for the responsibility of individual citizens. The people are not that dumb. They can separate what is important from what is relevant.
"Those of us who always know better sometimes forget that in this form of government, the core value is that we trust the people. The public insight is as powerful as the public interest. For the professional reporters and editors, the lesson is to listen."
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
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