Journalism's awards and challenges

I was watching some journalism awards on TV recently, and heard some really interesting stuff. There were awards for such ground-breaking reporting as Steve Henn and Rocky Kistner's exposure of congressional travel paid for by special interests.

Also recognized were journalists who were killed or wounded while reporting in Iraq. One reporter, 58 year-old Michael Weisskopf, tried to throw away a grenade that was thrown into his Humvee. He saved several lives (including his own) but lost a hand. (See Blood Brothers)

The awards show also highlighted some of the challenges facing modern journalists. There are fewer international correspondents, more immediate sources of news (like blogs), and fewer newspaper subscriptions to pay for it all. Some said the future lies in investigative reporting, pointing out, "news is more than just what happened yesterday."

Former New York Times publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger once said, "We journalists tell the public which way the cat is jumping. The public will take care of the cat."

I wonder if that is still true. Every day, the public seems bombarded with more and more audial "clutter," and it's hard not to tune out. With lobbyists' numbers skyrocketing over the past five years, special interests and public relations (called "thought control" by the more cynical) seem to more important than grass-roots democracy.

I would like to see the public taking greater care of the "cats" in our world.