In 1989 Time magazine’s senior editor Charles Alexander was quoted as having said of environmental reporting that “we have crossed the boundary from news reporting to advocacy.” Despite the outrageousness of this statement no one flinched. Now along comes a latter-day Alexander in the form of NBC’s Campbell Brown. Brown, who is a co-anchor of the Weekend Today show recently gave a talk to the Baker College Lakeshore Economic Forum in Muskegon, MI.
As she talked about the effects of 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina she said that as a result of these events the media is now more willing to challenge authority and to take an “activist” approach. It’s one thing to ask tough questions and to do true investigative journalism, but to take an “activist” approach? The media is supposed to report the news as it truly happens, not to interpret it through their viewpoint. I guess Brown doesn’t think that activist judges are a bad idea either.
What’s interesting about this is that she even quoted from a University of Connecticut study showing that six out of 10 Americans believe the media is biased. Hey Campbell, did it ever occur to you that maybe the public doesn’t want activist reporters and their brand of news, but just the facts so they can decide for themselves
Don Irvine is the Chairman of Accuracy in Media, AIA’s sister organization.
