Boston University students and a panel of media experts criticized the quality of the news industry on Tuesday at the last of three media and politics sessions at the School of Management and said that, to maintain its widespread influence, the media must return to covering more traditional news.
The Changing Shape of Today’s Media, hosted by the Institute for Human Sciences, addressed several issues regarding the roles the press plays in politics.
University of California at Berkley School of Journalism Dean Orville Schell led the discussion.
Schell, who has written 14 books, began by pointing out what he called a worldwide problem in today’s media. He said while free press is one of the most important ideas of the American republic, hard news is often sacrificed today to provide more room for news that caters to entertainment value.
“Most people still get most of their information from TV,” he said.
Schell said at least 20 to 25 million people watch television news each night. As a result, he said American citizens are less informed than they should be, because television news is often condensed and entertainment oriented.
Teaching journalistic ethics in universities will not solve this problem, Schell said.
“If you, for a minute, think good journalistic ethics will save the day,” he said, “you’re dreaming.”
Following Schell’s presentation, Foreign Affairs Editor-in-Chief James Hoge focused on the increasing mix of entertainment and journalism in the news. He said print news has declined as a result of the growth of cable and the internet.
Hoge said there might be a need for an anti-trust movement against large news corporations to solve the problem of increasing entertainment news. This would create more competition and diversity in the media, which would lead to more informed citizens.
Sme Editor-in-Chief Martin Simecka, who spoke after Hoge, provided a different perspective on the changing American media. Simecka, who was visiting the United States from Slovakia for the first time in five years, said ethics is not even an issue in Slovakia, but instead, media outlets are primarily concerned with survival.
Institute for Human Sciences secretary Elizabeth Amrien said the lecture demonstrated the lack of different perspectives and diverse opinions in modern news.
“Tensions are often exacerbated by the media,” she said.
Hoge said the most interesting part of the session was the discussion about where the media is going in the future.
Schell concluded in his speech that unless the media begins to change, “We are in deep trouble.”
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