PEORIA – Some Peoria radio and television stations lack the resources to provide editorial comment, their representatives said at a Sept. 15 forum on "The Role of Media in a Democracy."
The event, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria, brought together seven area journalists:
DeWayne Bartels, reporter, Times-Observer newspapers
Terry Bibo, reporter/columnist, Peoria Journal Star
Laura Michels, reporter, WHOl-TV, Channel 19
Jody Davis, news director, WMBD-TV, Channel 31
Jim Garrett, WEEK-TV, Channel 25
Jonathan Ahl, news director, WCBU-FM Public Radio
C.J. Summers, peoriachronicle.com
They offered opening statements, then answered questions during the 90-minute session.
Bartels began by stating that the role of the media is to be a watchdog. But the business side of journalism also requires stories providing entertainment and information, he said.
A forthcoming story on a “baby massage class” will doubtless draw more readers than any story on government, he said.
Bibo said the newspaper is “one of the few places (offering) a variety of opinion,” where “everyone can meet.” As the media splinters, “those who care about governing are just another niche.”
Michels said the media must “hold the powerful accountable.” There’s never been a famine in a country with free media, she said.
Meanwhile, people are “watching Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton,” and want that coverage, she added.
Davis said television conveys “a sense of what someone is going through as a microcosm of the human situation.” The Web now allows TV stations to expand their stories and offer “interactivity,” he said.
Garrett said all news is actually “storytelling.” But “to really understand” issues, people must use all forms of media.
Ahl said media that tell people only what they want to hear are growing, and ultimately the public will decide what it values.
Summers said “blogs can’t replace mainstream media,” but can supplement it, and “fill in the gaps and details.” It can also “watch the watchdogs and hold them accountable,” and offer “diverse editorial views.”
Asked whether media owners influence coverage, the journalists said interference in news coverage is minimal. But as the discussion continued, several mentioned lack of resources that influence content and coverage indirectly.
Ahl said Bradley University, license holder for WCBU-FM, the National Public Radio affiliate, has only one demand, that the station cover Founders Day.
But that raised the issue of what happened to commentary on the station, especially that of local journalist Bill Knight, whose commentary was dropped several years ago after he mentioned issues involving Caterpillar, Inc., a Bradley U. donor.
Ahl said a station manager made that decision and was subsequently fired. But commentary has not resumed, he said, because the station lacks the staff to find and provide balanced points of view from outside commentators.
The station’s three reporters should not be providing editorial comment, he said, since they cover stories. “If I had the money to do (commentary), I would do it. This is what NPR does.”
Garrett said his station has the same problem, that of ensuring fairness. Managers once provided editorial comment, but the staff has been reduced and now lacks the resources for that, he said.
Newspapers have journalists whose job is to write opinion columns, so the credibility of reporters is not compromised, he said.
Davis said a backlash developed after local Fox stations began offering syndicated “right wing” commentary, as ordered by the corporation that owned them, Sinclair. The commentator then “went away.”
Bibo expressed concern that the Journal Star’s editorial board, now down to two people, may not have the resources to interview political candidates prior to endorsements, as it has always done. Yet people rely on those endorsements, she said.
Garrett warned the journalists that the public is suspicious. “The public perception of what we do is (lower) than attorneys.” He closed with a quotation from Edward R. Murrow: “technology makes communication quicker, not better.”
-- Elaine Hopkins
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