Walter Cronkite On The Media
Jay Fenello
http://www.mediachannel.org/originals/cronkite.shtml
Walter Cronkite On The Media
Good evening, I'm Walter Cronkite. I really wanted to be with you in person
tonight for Globalvision New Media's launch of the new Internet site the
Media Channel, but unfortunately I was called out of the country. Yet the
issues that led to the creation of this unique global resource, and the
crisis that's facing all of us who work in and care about journalism and
the media, are so profound that I simply felt compelled to tape this
message so that you would know that I am with you in spirit at least.
As you know, I've been increasingly and publicly critical of the direction
that journalism has taken of late, and of the impact on democratic
discourse and principles. Like you, I'm deeply concerned about the merger
mania that has swept our industry, diluting standards, dumbing down the
news, and making the bottom line sometimes seem like the only line. It
isn't and it shouldn't be.
At the same time, I'm impressed that so many other serious and concerned
people around the world are also becoming interested in holding media
companies accountable and upholding the highest standards of journalism.
The Media Channel will undoubtedly be worth watching and taking part in. I
am intrigued by its potential, and its global reach. The idea that so many
leading groups and individuals around the whole world have come together to
share resources and information about a wide range of media concerns is
very promising, and I urge you to make the Media Channel your media
'bookmark' and your portal to the Internet.
I'm particularly excited about one aspect of the Media's Channel's work:
its encouragement to people inside the media to speak up葉o speak out about
their own experiences. Corporate censorship is just as dangerous as
government censorship, you know, and self-censorship can be the most
insidious form of pulling punches. Pressures to go along, to get along, or
to place the needs of advertisers or companies above the public's need for
reliable information distort a free press and threaten democracy itself.
I'm pleased that the Media Channel opens an immediately available resource
for media whistle-blowers. Anonymity will be protected, of course擁f their
stories check out, of course. And, of course, are backed up with the facts.
We have all been supportive for years of dissidents around the world who
take great risks to stand up for what they believe in. But here at home, in
our own industry, we need to make it possible for people to speak out when
they feel they've been wronged, even if it means shaming newsrooms to do
the right thing. Journalists shouldn't have to check their consciences at
the door when they go to work for a media company. It ought to be just the
reverse.
As I've said on other occasions, the strength of the American system is
possible and can be nurtured only if there is lively and provocative
dissent. In a healthy environment dissent is encouraged and considered
essential to feed a cross-fertilization of ideas and thwart the incestuous
growth of stultifying uniformity.
We need to encourage and support those among us who face either overt or
covert threats熔r even a more subtle absence of encouragement to search out
the truth. We all know that economic pressures and insecurities within news
organizations have reduced the scope and range of investigative reporting.
Sometimes projects are spiked with just a simple phrase: "It's not for us."
We're always ready to speak out when journalists are at risk. But today we
must speak out because journalism itself is at risk. That's why I'm
speaking out and reaching out to you tonight, to tell you that I like the
idea of the Media Channel and want to encourage your participation. And
that's the way it is.
Respectfully,
Jay Fenello,
New Media Relations
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Aligning with Purpose(sm) ... for a Better World
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