Keeping the Facts Straight

With an increase in technology, modern journalism has lost some of its ethical standards, said John Merrill, professor emeritus at the University of Missouri and Louisiana State University.
"It's sort of an entertainment drug for the people," he said, during an interview with CM LIFE. "It's a nice sleeping pill for the people rather than an energizer."
Since television became popular, the public's view of journalism has changed, Merrill said.
"Journalists are trying to become celebrities themselves," he said. "It seems to me that before television the media had more credibility. Today they're down with lawyers. That's not very good."
The Internet has also changed the meaning of journalism because those who write and distribute information on the Internet are sometimes considered journalists, Merrill said.
"If everyone is a journalist, why have journalism courses?" he said. "I remember when journalism meant newspapers."
Journalists can solve this problem by writing stories that are meaningful to readers.
"One-eighth of the content of a newspaper is news," he said. "They shouldn't be called newspapers. They should be called entertainment journals."
The journalist's job is to inform the people and make them better citizens and voters, Merrill said.
"Media should make people more aware of their ability to have an impact on society."
Modern journalism needs leaders to regain the credibility of journalism, Merrill said.
"News is sort of drifting away," he said. "It can only be fixed by leadership in re-emphasizing the serious aspects of news."
The increase of minorities in the media has been a positive outcome over the years.
"There are a whole lot more women now. Now there are more women than men. There are more minorities, it seems to be more representative of society."
A problem with young journalists is that they are not educated well enough, Merrill said.
"One of the main things they need is history," he said. "They don't even know journalism history. If you don't understand history you're in a bad way."
Poor English skills are another problem Merrill sees in aspiring journalists.
"They don't know how to write well," he said. "I'm worried about that. Even on the screen you see grammatical errors. Writing standards are low."
Other subjects that journalists educate themselves on include politics, philosophy and science, Merrill said.
"In this day of science, most journalists don't know anything," he said.
Objectivity is a challenge for all journalists, Merrill said.
"The biggest challenge is to stay neutral and as objective as possible. The greatest temptation is to propagandize."
The only way to remain neutral is to make an effort, Merrill said.
"Just by constantly being aware of it," he said. "It's a matter of trying."
Journalists need to remember to be individualistic, he said.
"Do something," he said. "Don't just sit there like a rock in the field. Be your own person, have faith in yourself."
Merrill said the biggest inspiration to him was reading 18th-century philosophers such as John Locke, Voltaire, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
The philosophers taught rationalism, individualism and freedom.
"They helped me to understand what was going on in the world and why it's going on," he said. "It would help out journalists if they would realize the depth and complexity of these ideas."
If journalists read more, their writing would show less feeling and more ideas, substance and history, Merrill said.
"Journalists would have something to say other than the obvious," he said. "Journalism is supposed to be a catalyst for democracy, it's supposed to inform the people."
Journalism is very different in other countries, especially those that are still developing, Merrill said.
"Our press is a good press compared with others," he said. "One reason for that is money."
Some developing countries also have low education and authoritarian governments.
"Another thing is the low level of education of the journalists and citizens," he said.
Merrill said he is not sure where the future of journalism, especially on the Internet, is headed.
"We don't know yet. We have to wait for a few years. I don't know what's going to happen."
Merrill has taught journalism for 50 years. He has degrees in English, journalism and philosophy. He received a doctorate in mass communications from the University of Iowa. He has taught in 85 countries, and written and edited 33 books.

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