“[W]ere it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
–Thomas Jefferson
Recently, the press has done so little to actually inform the public that I’m not sure I’d still endorse Jefferson’s view. Much ink has been spilled over Sarah Palin’s clothing budget, but we know too little about the man who will very likely be our next President.
Jefferson’s idea was that the press was essential in providing the information voters need in a democracy. But what about a press that doesn’t provide the information required for properly forming opinions? I think that is our current situation.
Michael Malone, a technology writer, has a piece on ABC’s website noting that we’re on the verge of electing a stranger to the highest office in the land-and that this is because the press refused to do its job. Only mainstream media outlets are equipped to do the kind of digging necessary. But they won’t do it.