John Nichols and Robert McChesney discussed the book they recently wrote together. They stressed that the United States have never lost so many journalists at such a rapid pace, which is frightening because a democracy cannot exist without journalism. Over 140 newspapers closed last year and on average 1000 newspaper employees have been laid off each month for the last two years. Thomas Jefferson once said that each generation has its own revolution and Nichols and McChesney believe that we’re losing a generation to journalism. Not only are we losing a generation to journalism, but they argue that there is an immense lack of content in journalism. For instance, the local news consists of weather, which is free and fills up time. They also focus on crime stories, which they claim is not a ‘real’ form of journalism. Consequently, McChesney and Nichols believe our country has a very dysfunctional source of journalism.
Nichols and McChesney believe there are solutions to this growing issue. They discussed how James Madison and Thomas Jefferson believed journalism to be one of the most important aspects of democracy. Thus, they incorporated journalism into their policies and allocated money toward the industry. Consequently, Nichols and McChesney believe the government should help subsidize journalism organizations. They also believe that this matter is as serious as a military attack on the United States.
No comments:
Post a Comment