The State of Journalism

Well it’s very nice to know how optimistic Chris Hedges is about our country’s future.

In all seriousness, the idea that newspapers are a dying breed is a scary one indeed. I’d personally be very troubled if newspapers were to die, unfortunately it seems impossible to know exactly where the truth lies on the state of journalism in America. Chris Hedges believes that newspapers and democracy itself are dying. Andrew Sullivan, however, believes that we are in a “golden age of journalism.”

What I’m personally afraid of is the thought that Hedges may be right. If newspapers ceased to exist, citizens would get their news from either cable television or the internet. Both cable tv and the internet have some quality news sources, unfortunately they are the minority who are constantly drowned out by the partisan rancor from everyone else. There are obviously quality bloggers, such as Sullivan, however I’d agree with Hedges that the vast majority of political bloggers are people who are extremely partisan and consider fact and their personal opinion to be synonymous. Hedges states, “Those who rely on the Internet gravitate to sites that reinforce their beliefs.” He is absolutely correct with this, but this is not a characteristic unique to the internet, it is also true about cable news. I seriously doubt that there exists a well-informed liberal who watches Fox News as his or her primary news source, just as I don’t think that any well-informed conservatives watch MSNBC primarily either. Essentially, if everyone just watched The Daily Show with Jon Stewart then we will be the most literate, thoughtful, and introspective country in the world. (And I’m being serious, mostly.)

In his article, Hedges never once mentions the idea that the newspapers companies themselves might be responsible for a very small part of their decline. Nothing can really compete with the speed and accessibility of the internet. Watching newspapers compete heads-up with the internet in terms of convenience is heartbreaking because they simply cannot win. It’s almost reminiscent of mom-and-pop stores competing with WalMart. What newspapers must do is offer a product that is different than the internet blogosphere. Hedges mentioned in “America the Illiterate” how newspapers are shortening their articles to simulate the internet, and what newspaper companies must realize is that people will generally choose the internet over a simulation of the internet.

Are we living in, as Sullivan describes, a “golden age of journalism?” Probably not; however I don’t necessarily subscribe to Hedges doom and gloom beliefs either. Maybe, and I base this convoluted theory on nothing substantial, but maybe newspapers are just in a downswing. As news becomes less and less newslike there might rise a demand for more traditional, unbiased and responsible journalism. Perhaps the path of journalism is less linear and instead resembles that of a pendulum. Possibly we’re just several years away from a newspaper comeback, where responsibility and credibility will become sought after traits once again.

Or maybe Hedges is right and our country is headed to Hell.