Two journalism insiders criticized their field for shrinking news space, decreasing real news and increasing corporate ownership Monday night.
The discussion, led by Washington Post editors Leonard Downie and Robert Kaiser, was part of a nationwide college tour promoting their new book, The News About the News: American Journalism in Peril. The two focused on the criticisms outlined in the book during the hour-plus speech at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy.
Downie emphasized the dichotomy between what journalism is and what it can be.
"American journalism produced perhaps its finest hour ever in covering the events and aftermath of Sept. 11," said Downie, the Post's executive editor. "But this is not typical of news coverage in recent years. We saw during and after Sept. 11 that the news media can and should do much better than it has been doing."
Kaiser outlined specific causes of the negative trend that Downie said news coverage has taken. He labeled corporate ownership the root of the problem, as it often prioritizes profits over better journalism. Kaiser said this attitude is detrimental not only to journalism but also to companies.
"Quality journalism pays--no distinguished news organization is in financial straits," said Kaiser, the Post's associate editor. "I hope and believe the squeezers and the trimmers and the cutters will actually fail in the marketplace over time."
One of the manifestations of corporate ownership, he said, is that news organizations cover "the happenings," like trials and wrecks, which are easy, inexpensive, "rock no boats and often pass for enough" rather than "revelatory journalism." He said most newspapers never publish a serious piece of investigative reporting.
However, they commended The News & Observer of Raleigh for having such stories and for improving over the last few years. The two editors also praised National Public Radio, which is publicly funded.
One of the major problems addressed was the lack of sufficient staff. The two editors said television journalism suffers even more than print journalism from this epidemic. Television stations have just a fraction of the staff that newspapers have, they noted.
The two agreed that journalism is at a crucial point. "I believe the American news media is at a crossroads," Downie said. "I hope reporters become enlightened news consumers and demand the best from the media."
Kaiser said he did not see the future of journalism as dismally as he had during the last few years. "Optimism is still warranted," he said. "This, after all, is the information age."
After completing their initial remarks, the editors opened the floor to audience questions, which addressed foreign affairs coverage, wire coverage and advice to future journalists.
The two journalists have worked together at the Post since 1964.
Downie started as an investigative reporter for the Post, where he wrote a series exposing problems in Washington, D.C.'s police courts, which led then-President Lyndon Johnson to recognize the court system.
Before becoming associate editor, Kaiser acted as a reporter for the Post for 20 years, during which he covered ongoing stories including the Vietnam War and the Cold War. He also wrote a best-selling book in 1976.
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