Today's Quote 10.13.06

Elected officials, political parties, administrative and regulatory agencies, candidates, interest groups, and indeed, voters and the public at large—in short nearly all of us—must bear some responsibility for the political system’s problems. But so too must the news media. Local television news, in particular, has a special responsibility—due to its reach, influence and statutory obligations—to inform voters at election time about the backgrounds, experiences, qualifications, and policy views of candidates for public office. And between elections, local TV news has an obligation to help citizens make sense out of critically important and often complex governmental issues and decisions that will impact their lives and communities. No institution in our democracy is in a better position to do this job than television news. But regrettably, as the Midwest News Index findings dramatically reveal, it is not—by almost any standard of measurement—getting the job done. The failure of local television news to foster and encourage informed citizen participation in the political process is scandalous. That’s a harsh verdict—but also an inescapable verdict. Why? Because broadcasters accept certain obligations to serve the public interest in exchange for free access to the public airwaves. This obligation goes largely ignored and unfulfilled by stations—and unenforced by the Federal Communications Commission. And to make matters worse, these same stations are raking in millions of dollars from paid political ads—which are not and never will be a substitute for the kind of in-depth and balanced political news coverage our fellow citizens need and deserve. For many in the broadcast industry, elections are increasingly seen as little more than a profit center that never stops giving.