Assessing the Media

Michelle Malkin is compiling reaction to the tragedy -- and, in particular, the news coverage -- from many sources.

Jeff Jarvis says: "...it has always taken time to see whether stories pan out, to get all the facts, to find out the truth. But now, in our age of instant news and ubiquitous communication, the public sees this process as it occurs. It’s not the news that’s live; it’s the process of figuring out what to believe that’s live." Jarvis adds: "...the public is learning, as reporters learned, that they need to find their ways through the fog of news."

I would note, though, that part of the problem is that the media hasn't made clear to its public -- whether in the case of the mining rescue or with so much Katrina news -- that they are in the process of figuring out the truth themselves; they give us the "truth," and then it changes hour by hour and day by day. It's left to the public to figure out what to believe as time goes on.

As I noted below, I think the media needs to look at this reporting issue and institute some changes in how they report what they are seeing and hearing.

Rush Limbaugh on his show this morning: "It's time for a serious debate in this country about the role of the news media." He said that the news today, in so many cases, isn't what happens, it's what the media wants to happen.