Spring Break
The Daily OrangeAlan Alda discusses politics in journalism with the screening of his new movie "Nothing But The Truth"
Abstract:
The movie faded to black. The credits rolled. Ben Asher, a television, radio and film junior, whirled around in his seat. He and two other students, Stephanie Levine and Jillian Liese, jumped into conversation.
The three Syracuse television, radio and film majors, plus a packed Hergenhan Auditorium, watched an advance screening Thursday night of "Nothing but the Truth....
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Rich'79
posted 11/03/08 @ 5:22 PM EST
Can't agree George. If this election cycle has taught us anything, it is that the MSM outlets do have an agenda and are no longer afraid to overtly pursue it. The Fourth Estate, not so long ago, lost its mantle of objectivity. Today when a reporter pronounces something fact based upon input from an unnamed source, it is not only the right of the public to have that source identified, it is imperative that it be so. How else would one gauge the authenthicity of the claim? The claim alone is no longer sufficient. I will agree that is a shame but one can't time and again withhold relevant information or present only self-serving content and expect to maintain any semblence of real credibility. The Fourth Estate has forfeited any entitlement to special treatment - in the courts or any other forum. The days of Cronkite are, sadly, over. As America's population has grown, it has necessarily become more and more dependent on the MSM to objectively and reliably report. The MSM has failed to deliver and, unfortunately, today commerical advertising is held to a higher standard of truth. Journalists, fix it. A free society absolutely needs an objective and responsible news media.
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George Patsourakos
posted 11/02/08 @ 5:01 PM EST
Following a screening of his new movie titled "Nothing But The Truth," Alan Alda held a discussion of politics in journalism with a packed audience at a Syracuse University auditorium last week. In the film, a reporter is sent to jail for more than three years in order to protect the identity of a source. The reporter hires a lawyer -- played by Alan Alda -- to represent her in keeping her source confidential. I see a major question resulting from this film: Should a reporter have the right to protect his or her source during a court trial, and not be sent to jail? One would think that a reporter would have the right to decline to answer a question as allowed by the Constitution. Unfortunately, this is not the case, since judges have sent many reporters to jail in the past for refusing to answer a question which would identify their source. The bottom line: The time is long overdue for Congress to add an amendment to the Constitution which clearly delineates the right of the press to protect its sources -- even in courts of law!