Literary License verses Journalistic Integrity
As recent events would seem to point out, there is a stark difference between an author's exercising of literary license and journalism and the integrity it demands; or used to.
As the decades have whizzed by within the scope of my lifetime on this planet, I have been witness to the slow motion train wreck the world of journalism has endured. World events reported by the integrity bearing talking heads of my more formative years, include things like the Bay of Pigs, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy, the Viet Nam conflict, the moon walks, and a host of other national and world changing events.
Men like Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather were there on the tube to report the results of the investigation conducted by a phalanx of accredited journalistic investigators; all of which hoped beyond hope, to one day obtain the level of trust and integrity wielded by the men who read their reports to the nation each and every single night.
News reports were slow back then in comparison to today's world, with the average news report being the result of days, weeks, and sometimes even years of brain numbing reviews and fact checking performed by these same investigative journalists during long strings of sleepless nights. And most of the time their conclusions were damn near spot on surrounding what transpired, who the major players were, and what the motivations for the incident encompassed.
Along the way some great, and not so great authors, penned some fairly decent books, some of them based upon true events, and the movie industry decided a number of them were so good that they just had to put them onto the big screen.
The movie industry and authors were the sole proprietors of this thing called literary license, (today called Artistic License), which provides the freedom to create an artwork, musical work, or piece of writing based on the artist's interpretation and mainly for effect. And while it caused the occasional offense to those parties that actually went through the events upon which the story / movie were based, the general masses within the nation could not get enough of it.
During my formative years the print media were the top dogs surrounding news reporting, with radio so close behind them that the newspaper industry could feel their hot breath on their necks. It resulted in a period of cut throat fact finding methods and created an overall push toward creating a conflict of interest within the media itself; a situation wherein those responsible for doing the reporting made no small effort to create and nurture personal relationships with the targets of those that were the subject of their investigations.
Once television entered into the homes of the average American citizen, and the "weekly series" became a big revenue generator for the venue, (A path recognized by radio long before and one television took to the next level), the reporting of the news naturally became a daily staple for families in this nation. And the people marveled at the speed within which they could achieve enlightenment surrounding the daily events, and the push for get it first began.
Still, when it came to the news in those days, journalistic integrity was first and foremost within the industries of print, radio, and televised newscasts, articles, and spots. Even the institutions of higher learning drove this point home within the courses of those majoring in the disciplines.
Enter the computer age and internet .
Once the computer made composition, fact-finding, and investigation of subject matter a quicker undertaking, the competition to "be first" began ratcheting up quickly. And along with the increased pressures it brought, came efforts to streamline the processes in order to be able to deliver the news quicker. ( Simultaneously, web sites listing speculation, conjecture, or outright lies, began infecting the internet and the introduction of accreditation and validation of information and data were slow in keeping up).
Along the way some media entities came to the realization that despite the fact that the timelines from event to reporting have shrunken considerably over the decades, this has occurred equally among all within the industries; and they longed for a competitive edge to differentiate themselves from their competition.
At first it was but a smaller percentage of them that began engaging in sensationalizing and embellishment of the facts in order to deliver a product that commanded the attention of the readers / viewers, and hopefully make them return for more. And return for more they did; in droves.
As those small few began to overcome the historic leaders within their respective venues, desperation served as the motivation for a marked change in approach toward the reporting of news, as well as the investigation methodologies used in producing it.
Today, instead of shoe leather and hours or days of lengthy efforts to obtain the facts and report them, we see increasing use of bandwidth and processors being used to arrive at conclusions that are in many cases 180 degrees from the truth. Embellishment for dramatic intent is not only used prolifically, but encouraged by those who hold the responsibility of maintaining the integrity of the venues; and all in the effort to drive the almighty dollar stream and achievement of continuous growth.
At some point journalistic integrity went out the window in an effort to "be first, drive growth, and achieve profitability". (The big three of basic business planning). Along the way quality went out the window with it. As the Eagles so aptly put it, ". . . Journalism is dead and gone. . .". Replaced by news casts and stories that are rift with "artistic license" and the use of individual editorialists who prolifically put forth their personal spin and agendas within each story they report upon. Creating the circus that is todays news media.
Who or what is to blame for such a wretched situation?. You ask. To arrive at that answer one only has to get up and gaze straight into the closest mirror, for it is us.
Each time we turn on our television, computers, laptops, smart device, phone, or other cable, dish, or internet enabled device, and point them at a news generating destination, we are complicit in the decline of journalism. Hits equate to dollars in today's world, for the bulk of the news generating sites around the world.
The news has become a global undertaking these days, and advertisers increasingly only want to purchase space / time with those media entities that consistently achieve the higher tier of hits within their various venues.
P.T. Barnum got it right when he stated, "He who is without a newspaper is cut off from his species", only today there is virtually no one that is without a news source. And we get that information within seconds of the instant something transpires. Right, wrong, or indifferent, we get it because we demand it.
We are responsible for the creation the circus journalism and news reporting have become. P.T. Barnum also said, "Clowns are the pegs upon which the circus is hung."
It appears we have already sent in the clowns!
*FOR THE RECORD- This piece of work is an original piece authored by PaleHorse, and represents the perspectives and opinions of only PaleHorse, and not those of the venue within which it is posted, its owners, members, or other business entities within the venue within which it exists. As an original piece of work, authored by PaleHorse, it holds only PaleHorse accountable for its content and accuracy, and not some huge media giant, (or small one for that matter).
:music1: Bring in the clowns. :music1: Where are the clowns? :music1: They are already here. :music1: Music for Republicans. :cry: :cry: :cry: