Last Saturday, Oct. 26, a panel of reporters, staff, and alumni addressed DU students and alumni in a forum called “Access to the Media,” which discussed the censorship developing in current media.
The panel, drawn from a wide variety of professions, discussed the problems media has had due to willingness on behalf of the public and members of the media, in light of technological developments and attitude change Sept. 11 has only marked. Six speakers spoke for an hour and a half during what Dr. Michael Wirth, Director of the School of Communications, called a “provocative and informational session.”
One of the topics discussed was how journalists gain access. Debbie Frazier, journalist at the Rocky Mountain News, attributed access to four factors: the person who may or may not want to give information, the professional relationship between the journalist and the source, the need for the source to communicate, and the source’s policy regarding communication with the media.
“Not much has changed,” Bill Clarke consumer and general assignment reporter for Channel 9 News, said. “Sources have an agenda. They want you to release it.”
The wide spread use of the Internet has made background information easier to find. However, it hasn’t made good reporting less essential. “You have to be willing to ask hard questions and pursue it,” Frazier said.
Media has suffered because many current reporters are not prepared and have not done research, according to Frazier.
Dan Hopkins, special assistant to Colorado Gov. Owens, said reporters have become lazy. “There’s not a whole lot of investigative work,” he said. “They’re not willing to listen to a longer explanation. They have [no] interest in any of these complexities.”
On the flip side, Clarke said, “I think there are some limitations on what you do,” referring to journalism conduct.
Frazier raised the question “do [reporters] really deserve access? It’s an equal opportunity failure,” she said.
Hopkins said, “Accessibility to reporters is critical.” Hopkins prided himself on having given his home number to the media. “I think that’s important,” he said. Up until now, his number has never been abused.
Ania Savage, advisor to the DU Clarion, said that stonewalling is the most effective barrier people use to shut out the media. “The worst thing is the silence. If that persists, information doesn’t get out.”
Another of the media’s biggest problems is the media-hostile culture. Hopkins said of the popular attitude, “You do not talk to reporters.”
Editor in Chief at the Clarion, Alberto Mares agreed. “You have to be persistent,” he said.
Alumni Jerry Hagstrom’s tactics in verifying his source’s information is the prospect that inaccurate information may be published.
At the end of the forum, alumni and students had a chance to ask the speakers questions. One of the questions was whether the public has the right to know everything.
Ania Savage said yes. “You have to know everything there is to know to make the society a democratic society,” she said. “You are on a slippery slope towards censorship.”
Dan Hopkins disagreed. He said that in some cases it would be better that the
public not know. Bill Clarke agreed, with which he provided the example of the creation of the nuclear missile.
According to Hagstrom, American journalism has had many setbacks. Nevertheless, “You can go up to anyone and they will respond,” he said. “They are articulate. They are not afraid. Eventually somebody will talk.”
