A Lesson in Modern Journalism

Recently I wrote my column for RenewAmerica.com on "Barack Obama and the Racism Charge." Often my column gets picked up by other publications, which I am always delighted to see happen. The more sites it is found, the bigger the reach. With that, I should be thrilled about how well this most recent article was received in light of the many sites it was found. This time I was on the Discovery Channel, USA Today, the Boston Globe, and even the Wall Street Journal. The quotes they chose to highlight, on the other hand, has weakened my enthusiasm. The article was several hundred hundred words, but the syndicate only showcased three quotes:

"Moderation, contemplation, reasoned discourse and a bipartisanship spirit have been banished from the GOP. The birthers, tea baggers, Palin nuts and demented pundits like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Beck are now in control of the Republican Party."

"Beck's claims are so crazy that I feel silly refuting them. Obama with his multi-cultural background, and his inclusive and open administration, is the very symbol of racial harmony."

"Glenn Beck's inability to hide the fact that he is an utter moron explodes into the open once more on Fox News when he, without bringing forward a single example, decides that Barack Obama is a racist."

To read these above quotes, the only ones out of the entire article that were displayed in large print, you would have to conclude I hate Beck and love Obama. If you read the article in its entirety, something that the page does, at least, encourages you to do, you will see a different picture:

• I am critical of these quotes above and those of other left wing bloggers.



• I actually cite evidence that supports Beck's claims, including Obama's appointment of Sotomayor, his treatment of the white side of his family in his biography and other sources, and the President's rush to judgement when it came to the incident with his friend Professor Gates in Boston.

The distribution of this article demonstrates one of the many problems going on in journalism today. The quotes from were likely pulled by a writer who doesn't know what journalistic integrity means. On the one hand, I'm delighted to get exposure on several major news websites. On the other hand, being projected as a liberal extremist is more than a little disconcerting.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

Traditional Media Continues to Shrink

Recently I was at one of my son's college football games visiting with him and his friends. In spite of our continued yelling for our side, they lost by a pretty significant margin and I had that sense that the game was over by the third quarter. So I focused more on conversation and talked to a bright and polite young man about his career future. "So, what are you planning on doing after graduation?" "A journalist," he said, quite innocently. Whenever people tell me this, I instantly want to laugh because I assume they are joking. Unfortunately, this was a very nice kid and he was ever so serious.

Being in radio and involved in a media news website, I meet young people virtually every day who are interested in journalism and are getting degrees in such. Where are their parents when they need them? Getting a degree in journalism today is like getting a degree in computer science when I went to college in the early 1980s. The only difference is that journalism majors should know better and so should their parents.

From the information I received in a recent Revolving Door Newsletter, it appears the traffic is going in one direction when it comes to media, and that is the exit door. The newsletter reports that "the axe fell at NBC Universal with 500 layoffs underway, including 30 from its sales staff. Elsewhere, CNBC laid off as many as 55 staffers and "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch on hiatus." We also learn that "long-anticipated cuts finally came to Viacom, with 850 losing their jobs. Some 300 of those were from MTV, and top managers won't receive salary increases... Veteran CNN correspondent Miles O'Brien will leave the network, which is shuttering its science, space, and tech unit..."

In the book publishing world, Revolving Door reports numerous senior staffers at leading publications have left and "Simon & Schuster let go 35 people, including Rick Richter, president of the publishing company's children's book division... Thomas Nelson, the world's largest Christian publisher, laid off 10 percent of its workforce. "

From the magazine sector we learn that "Time Inc. is having trouble finding volunteers to take buyouts at its New York-based magazines. People completed its layoffs, while Sports Illustrated needs to hand out 20 pink slips. Elsewhere, seven staffers at Coastal Living, part of the company's hard-hit Southern Progress Group, will be let go. Time Out New York's investors put the magazine up for auction, hoping to get $40 million. Giving the timing -- terribly economy, advertising slumping, etc. -- you have to wonder just how bad things have gotten at New York's listings bible.

The list goes on. Traditional media is in huge trouble and is not only the victim of the Internet, but of its own inherent weaknesses. Solid journalism based on information and not opinion is hard to fine. If you want someone to tell you how they think about something, ask your next door neighbor. That is exactly what millions of people are doing by reviewing the 133 million blogs available on the Internet which operate on virtually no overhead. Another challenge of the journalism profession is that those who cover the stories of the day in every genre often have no idea what they are writing about. Journalism should be a double major accompanied with something of something so that they know how to cover that issue.

Unfortunately I don't see the industry changing. Instead, I see it continuously seeking scapegoats for its demise. Instead of being a worthy profession, I am afraid it is going to continue to slide down the track of being the butt of a bad joke.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Do Blogs Hurt Journalism?

I'm not much of a fan of the editorial bent of PBS, but I do love how thorough it is in its coverage. Tonight I saw a documentary on its program Frontline, where it discussed the impact that the Internet was having on journalism (it is significant and the network actually did a fine job demonstrating such). Over all, the future is very dim for paper and ink of newspapers in particular, according to the first episode in a series.

You would think that liberals would be thrilled because of all the ink that won't go into polluting the environment and all the trees that would be spared. Furthermore, since the blog is the new force that seems to be replacing traditional media (according to the program) and it is dominated by liberals, you would think PBS would be dancing in the streets! PBS seems to have a very different view.

Frontline argues that the only serious journalism is in traditional media and in newspapers in particular. For years the front page of the New York Times has provided the lead stories of the nightly news programs at CBS, NBC, and ABC. If newspapers keep getting smaller and editorial staffs keep getting leaner, who will write the truly "serious" stories?

Yet, the program pointed out that some of the most serious stories of the last year became that way because of blogs. In particular they mentioned the incredible story of former Rep. Mark Foley and his potential inappropriate relationships with young pages that many believe contributed to the huge problems Republicans faced in last November elections. There is also the story that CBS News' anchor Dan Rather had a deceptive and politically motivated source on his broadcast about the military service record of President George Bush that was driven by a blog. That story was so damaging that the veteran newsman was forced to resign after four decades at the network. These stories were powered largely by "unprofessional" bloggers and not the major media.

I'm not convinced that traditional journalism is any where close to dying at the hands of blogs. However, if they do die, I am actually very optimistic about the ability of the bloggers to find the stories that were covered by traditional journalism. Real people who live where the stories happen, not typical academicians who are often politically motivated and unschooled in the real world. Sure, the vast majority of the bloggers are ideologues. But at least their readers know it since I have seen very few who hide behind the mask of a so-called "objective media standards."

As a strong believer in the free market, I'm not at all surprised by the decline of the press at the hands of the Web. Newspapers had been taking a beating for years with the rise of Conservative talk radio in the 1980s. Before most had ever even heard of the "World Wide Web" newspapers were being sold and merged, left and right. When I was growing up it was common for their to be a morning and evening edition every day. We haven't seen those for years. The market provides what the people want. And, although disheartening to the liberals out there who really believe they know what is "best" for us, I believe that the market will also provide what we need. A largely unpaid and volunteer army of journalists that is committed to the truth as they see it; yet honest enough to admit when it is merely their opinion. If "professional" journalists had done that, they may not be on the brink of extinction today.