'American journalism is in desparate need of a spine transplant'

Dan Rather on the state of American media

Last night on the UC Berkeley campus, CBS News icon Dan Rather discussed the state of American media with Orville Schell, dean of the Journalism school. Rather discussed his lifelong love for journalism and his career, which was upended in 2005 due to the dust up over President Bush's service record. Rather praised the past icons of journalism, such as CBS's Edward R. Murrow and Eric Severeid, and lamented the current state of journalism. He pointed to the focus on cost cutting, ratings and demographics (preferably the 18-to-35 year old slice to maximize revenue) as reasons why important stories, especially those dealing with international issues, don't get produced and aired. "The flame of public service [as a goal of journalists] is flickering and burning very low," Rather said.

I like Dan Rather. I think he was one of the last real news people to show up on Americans' television sets regularly. In the article linked above, he voices some of the same concerns people like Bill Moyers has been talking about for years.

Even more importantly, Rather isn't afraid to admit that he had his weak moments where he didn't live up to his own standards.

Now if only the American People would realize how important good journalism is and rise up and actually demand it of the plethora of corporate and political shills out there today. Journalism isn't about the bottom line, profits and not making waves. It is about the truth. It is about civic responsibility. It is about the synthesis of information.

Most importantly, it is about doing all of that and then making it accessible to the man on the street. The journalist is the educator, the filter, the secondary source for all those without direct access themselves.

There are few jobs that, if done correctly, can have more impact and more importance for any free society.