Journalists Must Join the Fight for Better Media
Posted November 8th, 2007 by Craig Aaron
UNITY: Journalists of Color, which represents more than 10,000 journalists, recently sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin calling for the creation of an independent minority ownership task force.
UNITY is a coalition of the Asian American Journalists Association, Native American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists. They should be commended for taking such a principled stand.
But the simple truth is that too few journalists are speaking out against the harmful affects of media consolidation on their newsrooms and on news coverage.
Working journalists have been a major causality of media consolidation, as thousands have lost their jobs in recent years while their bosses continue to show more loyalty to Wall Street than their own newsroom employees or the American public who they claim to serve.
Journalists are on the front lines trying to make sure the public is kept informed about the world around them. But too many journalists are receiving their pink slips or are being forced to cover Britney and OJ — as lobbyists for their corporate owners quietly canvass the halls of Congress.
It is critical for journalists to fight to make sure the issue of media consolidation is being covered. You’re fighting for more than your job. You are fighting for our democracy.
