But...Does Our Watchdog Still Bark: Media and the Government

In my last post  I talked about how the media can be seen as a “watchdog” over the government, This is an idea that has been around for more than 200 years and in one article I found by Sheila Coronel called The Media as Watchdog, she asserts “that publicity and openness provide the best protection from the excesses of power.” 

Americans today may question the idea of the media being the 4th estate still being a true.  Some even think that media being the watchdog is no longer viable because of financial and political ties that constrain and allow politicians to say whatever they please. I think the following clip is a pretty good example of how the mainstream media no longer puts a check on the government: 

In an article written by Bill Moyers he espouses that without a free press the future of democracy is not a good one. 

 “Across the media landscape, the health of our democracy is imperiled. Buffeted by gale force winds of technological, political and demographic forces, without a truly free and independent press, this 250-year-old experiment in self-government will not make it. As journalism goes, so goes democracy.” - Bill Moyers 

And just in case you were thinking that this is solely a topic of discussion and concern in the United States, take a look at this video:  

Besides Australia, other countries (especially in Europe) have raised similar concerns. You only have to type a few words into the google search bar to come up with a multitude of videos and news articles on the topic. 

We should all be concerned with the continuing convergence of media and politics, as it blur the lines between fact and fiction. While this is by no means a call to have government and organizations completely removed from media (I mean, someone has to keep an eye on them too right?), close cooperation between these groups will - and in some cases has - lead to...well I think it was said well by a fellow blogger named Jim Worth

"What we now have, instead of news, are corporate organizations posing as news providers, more interested in fluff and entertainment than the issues of vital importance to an informed citizenry." 

Hopefully media and government are not too involved with one another and we can have information that is based on transparency and credibility. 

Sources:

The Failure of the Fourth Estate. Jim Worth. http://02d30f6.netsolhost.com/blog1/?p=2849

Is the Fourth Estate a Fifth Column? Bill Moyers. http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3790/is_the_fourth_estate_a_fifth_column

The Media as Watchdog. Sheila S. Coronel. Harvard-World Bank Workship. 29-31^st May, 2008. JFK School of Government.
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/pnorris/Conference/Conference%20papers/Coronel%20Watchdog.pdf

Media Inquiry Calls for Single Watchdog. Kylie Simmons. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-02/media-inquiry-calls-for-single-watchdog/3865114