Regardless of what many Americans think today, journalism matters.
Colonial newspapers are where most Americans learned about the pernicious Stamp Act of 1765 that really initiated the march toward the Revolutionary War. Colonial, and then Early National newspapers urged Americans to take up arms against the British and to support the Continental Army.
George Washington thought newspapers were important enough to the war effort that he arranged to provide a printing press and printing paper, as well as Congressional funding, for the New-Jersey Journal in 1778. That newspaper that served as his mouthpiece and led the propaganda battles against Tory newspapers.
At its best, journalism rights wrongs, sets the record straight and, on its best days, shines a light on what is best about our communities.
Real journalism doesn’t sway public opinion. It digs out truth and puts it before the public eye so citizens can make decisions about issues that affect all of us. When practiced in an unbiased and truthful manner, the media can be a powerful force for change.
Nationwide polls show that most Americans do not trust the media. According to a 2020 poll by the Pew Foundation, they believe the media harms our democracy, doesn’t stand up for America or care about the people they report on.
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Given that there really is no such thing as “the media,” only individual mediums staffed by individual people, yes, sometimes journalists mess up. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes by mistake. Those are the cases that get widespread attention and that are the foundations of the public’s mistrust of journalism. But those are the bad apples who get all the publicity – the Jayson Blairs, Brian Williams, even the famed Bob Woodward was caught in a lie in 2013 about being threatened by an Obama adviser.
Those kinds of bad apples show up in every profession, but they’re particularly harmful in the press because the effectiveness of journalists is founded on their integrity and credibility. Those who churn up nonsense that can only be called “infotainment,” are easy to spot – eventually, anyway.
Here locally, our colleague, The Augusta Chronicle, sponsored an embedded reporter for six weeks with an Augusta National Guard unit early in the Iraq War. Johnny Edwards’ stories kept the soldiers’ families abreast of what was happening with their loved ones so far away, and he was able to explore the question of racism in the military because of issues that came up in that unit.
Earlier this spring, the Chronicle joined The Augusta Press in an open records lawsuit against the city, which we won, proving that our colleagues across town remain committed to providing journalism to the citizens of Augusta.
On the radio, WGAC’s Mary Liz Nolan comes across as the bubbly sidekick to her co-host John Patrick, but behind the scenes, she is as dedicated a journalist as any working in our community.
Nolan has spent two decades telling commuters what they need to know as they travel to work and school every morning. People believe her; if Mary Liz Nolan said it happened, it happened.
A year ago, when creation of The Augusta Press was under discussion, those involved committed to developing this newspaper according to the journalistic norms of the late 20th century, that is, news should be a collection of documented facts in a search for truth.
The journalists who work at The Augusta Press understand that our avowed mission, “to tell the truth and raise hell,” is merely a slogan, and that maybe a more accurate slogan would be “we tell the truth and then the public raises hell.”
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Real journalism is Sylvia Cooper getting miffed at being told she couldn’t get a copies of bank statements from the mayor’s office and responding by stamping her feet and demanding copies of ALL of Hardie Davis’ credit card records through the Georgia Open Records Law.
Sylvia Cooper tells the truth, and politicians think it’s hell.
After the deluge of news stories, the public did not get the forensic audit they wanted, but records show that Davis is now obeying the law and not spending the people’s tax money with wild abandon.
Real journalism is Scott Hudson hearing claims that the Augusta Aquatics Center is poorly maintained and spending days verifying those claims and uncovering the much bigger story that the Parks and Recreation Department itself is so poorly run that only two swimming pools throughout the county are open this summer, and the water safety is iffy at best.
Thanks to Hudson’s methodical research and the public interest that followed that story, it appears the Parks and Recreation department’s employees are finally learning how be accountable to the public.
While we spotlight Cooper and Hudson, our entire staff of writers follow the same method of reporting. Each reporter is subject to a daily review of their work by not just one but, depending on the story, two to three editors. They’ve all had stories returned to them by editors who insist that anything even approaching opinion or undocumented facts be corrected before a story is approved to run.
There is a saying in Canada, “if you’re gonna come, you better come correct.”
Since the first issue of The Augusta Press back in January, subscriptions have soared, allowing our writing staff to triple and our coverage to expand.
We know that you support us by subscribing because you know we “come correct,” and if we ever don’t, we’ll admit it and get it fixed. That’s our pledge to you.
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