This blog shares the title of an article by writer and political analyst for THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, Dick Polman, subtitled Too many reporters today shed their ethics and become complicit in sources' spin. (30 september 2012 edition of the Press Enterprise, PERSPECTIVE section -p.A24)
Centering around an article done for Vanity Fair by journalist Michael Lewis where he "hung out" with President Obama for 6 months and wrote about it.
Mr. Lewis was allowed to do this only after agreeing to submit all his quotes to the White House for approval before publication.
Mr. Polman's point seems to be that there is this move from journalism toward propagandism - a shift he calls "Orwellian" and he starts the article with a quote from YouGeorge Orwell, "Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: every thing else is public relations."
I was sorry to be unable to find a link to the article online, so I snapped a couple of photos of the article in the paper to post along with this blog.
Though I am unfamiliar with Mr. Polman's writings, I sense that I differ vastly in most of our political views, I absolutely agree with what he is illustrating in this article and couldn't have painted a better picture myself!
Freedom of speech and the press are of the utmost importance, but journalistic integrity is paramount. Bias is understandable, but fabrication or omission to present a reality that is untrue is unacceptable where a journalist has a duty to report factually to his/her audience. It's especially dubious when government or politicians are allowed to dictate what truth is. (Talk about abridging a constitutional right!)
Mr. Polman points out that some candor remains citing the example of cameras recording Romney's "dismissive contempt" for us commoners. (while my viewpoint is probably closer to that of Romney than Obama's, these comments stir-up my suspicions that political elites are out of touch with the overwhelming majority of everyday Americans and causes me to question whether they really represent me or anybody else in most of the U.S. populace! .... Guess I'll just have to "throw-away" my vote on a "third party" candidate our something!)
Mr. Polman also pointed out that the Romney Campaign is also guilty of employing the censorship policy of requiring "quote approval" before journalists are allowed access.
One last thing: I love what Mr. Polman says about gettimg reporters to "just say no" rather than exchanging independence for access; "... Journalists are tougher to herd than cats in a rainstorm!"
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