PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A couple weeks past Election Day, it's a good time to assess the role of the news media, which has been a target of Republicans and Democrats. The message from politicians that the news media is presenting "fake news" has become a real challenge.
Part of the problem is that they have said it loudly and long enough that people believe it. Another part of the problem: Some media outlets are grossly one-sided. When people hear false accusations over and over again, they begin to believe them as the truth and paint the media with a broad brush.
Years ago, my own dad, as he was in failing health, would remind me that I, as a media person, was responsible for the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
He did, at least, offer a smile when he said it.
Later this week, the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, a powerful industry organization, will hold a gala event to honor nine Philadelphia-area broadcast legends — including former KYW journalist Steve Nikazy.
Some of the attendies will be broadcast students from Temple University and Philadelphia Community College, who will hear a message from me that local journalism may be the last home of news that tells both sides of a story.
And that reality is backed up by market research. A recent survey of 50,000 Americans found that, in a shrinking environment of balanced news, local all-news radio stations are favored by most Americans as a reliable source of news.
I can say without doubt that all the television stations in our media market, the fourth-largest in the country, have done a fanastic job of staying neutral in their coverage of local and national elections.
Elsewhere, the nation was in part dominated by some cable news networks that had a single point of view, and this partisanship bled into the so-called mainstream media. At least newspapers mostly labeled opinion as opinion, and that’s the way it should be.
Our business has changed, and the challenges to our freedoms are really a challenge to yours. And some of those students coming to honor some respected broadcasters will be the future leaders.
I remember when I was a young man growing up in Miami, where a legendary anchor, Ralph Renick, ended the news each night by saying, “Good night, and may the good news be yours."