What hath become of journalism?

By: Mohammad Al-Kassim

Posted: 2/26/07

I remember when I was a young boy how I used to gather my brothers in our bedroom and make them sit quietly through my make-believe newscasts.

I used to hold a wooden spatula as if it were a microphone. On many occasions I got my father in trouble after interviewing him and asking him about mother's cooking, then reporting it to her as "breaking news."

Journalism is a sacred profession, and those who enter this field are not in it for money. Freedom of the press is essential to the survival of a nation and its democratic values; it promotes greater accountability and contributes to the growth and prosperity of economic development.

Journalists are the watchdogs over government officials and those who may take advantage of the people's trust to gain personal benefits.

Journalists are the soldiers the poor and helpless recruit to fight on their behalf. They are also the early warning system that should alert the public about what is happening in the hallways of government buildings.

The great Helen Thomas said in her book "Watchdogs of Democracy?": "It is the job of reporters and editors to ask the tough questions of those in power and to act on the answers with trust, integrity, and honesty guiding their judgment."

President Thomas Jefferson told Thomas Cooper in 1802, "The press [is] the only tocsin of a nation. [When it] is completely silenced ... all means of a general effort [are] taken away."

The state of journalism and media has fallen to a new low in the last couple of weeks. Just when you thought the lowest level had been attained with the coverage of the Jennifer and Brad breakup and the Michael Jackson debacle, now we have to live every second of the aftermath of Anna Nicole Smith's death.

Now we must hear endless details about what is going to happen to her daughter's inheritance. Everyone is preoccupied with who is the father of little Dannielynn. The mainstream cable news networks spent more than two days on this subject alone.

CNN stayed on the air for 90 minutes without a commercial break. Wolf Blitzer was foaming at the mouth over the opportunity, jumping from one interview with a so-called "expert" to another. This is the channel whose motto is "The most trusted name in news."

Fox News would not be outfoxed, no pun intended, so they had their own Anna Nicole Smith marathon, spending hours on court hearings about who will get her body. This is from the channel that prides itself on bringing you news that matters and is "fair and balanced."

Just as the news begins to cool down a bit about Anna, we get bombarded with the "bold and the ugly," Britney Spears.

How is it important to the majority to report if she shaved her head or not? What kind of logic do these news outlets use to justify reporting on these stories?

The news is becoming scandal driven, and it feeds on sensationalism. The local channels aren't any better. I don't like to generalize, but I will. They are all going after stories that have nothing to do with news, or journalism, or the public good.

Where is the news in a car accident anywhere in Kansas City?

Is a liquor-store robbery anywhere in the city that entails a chopper flying over the area important?

Or, what about a standard police car chase?

Is this the late-breaking and investigative news on which news channels pride themselves?

I'm not saying these stories shouldn't be reported. There are specific outlets that deal with these issues. However, when it comes to news that is not newsworthy, I don't think it belongs in the newscast.

Does anyone know we have a mayoral election coming up? Did any of the local channels sponsor a debate or a town-hall meeting to talk about the issues facing Kansas City?

Shame on these media outlets for claiming to be news channels and journalists.

Our country is at war for the wrong reasons, our soldiers are killed on a daily basis, and billions of dollars are wasted on this war. The drum cry of a new war is sounding off, and yet the press chooses to be busy with other stories. The press dropped the ball on the pre-Iraq invasion. They are acting more like lapdogs, not watchdogs.

What about New Orleans, Anderson Cooper? Have you forgotten the victims of Hurricane Katrina? Is it that the photo ops are over with and now one must move on to the next one?

CNN and Fox have succeeded in pushing the legendry journalist Helen Thomas, who for almost 47 years asked presidents and their spokespersons tough questions, to the back of the room, so they can get the two new seats in the front row of the White House Press room. It's not about where you sit, it's about what questions you ask.

All my life I have wanted to be a journalist. All my life I have wanted to speak up on behalf of the oppressed and helpless. I used to think journalism was about the truth.

I have had the utmost respect for this profession called journalism. It is journalists like Edward Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Peter Jennings and Helen Thomas who keep me wanting to be part of this profession.

I just hope I live up to the task.

mal-kassim@unews.com