DEAR NEWSPAPER EDITORS...The below story ran in the media a few weeks ago. It states that you know you have a problem with lack of objectivity, sensationalism, inaccurate reporting and too much emphasis on the bottom line. So, what are you going to do? No one would dispute that the group hardest hit by the above stated sins is smokers. Since the anti-smoking forces gained momentum in 1993 with the EPA's passive smoking report, the media has gone wild with all the above stated and left smokers out in the cold (literally). Any news from a even a remotely credible source that would injure anti-smoking propaganda has been censored while literally hundreds of sensationalistic, junk science laden pieces of garbage make the paper. Sometimes even the front page! Smokers are tired of and angry about the war that has been waged against them, WITH THE MEDIA MAKING THE RULES! The guardians of our freedom have defected to the other side. You may well serve the general public at large, but when it comes to smokers and related information that might help us obtain a of sense fairness, you are shameless whores that have profited off of our misery. DO SOMETHING!
Dave Pickrell-President and founder
One of the articles reporting the news
Media Faces Criticism From Its OwnBy DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press WriterIn results released Tuesday, a rising number of journalists agree with public opinion polls that say the media lack credibility. They also say reporters drive controversies with their coverage of personal and ethical behaviors of public figures' " said Bill Kovach, a 30-year newspaperman who is curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University and chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, which co-sponsored the Pew survey. The telephone survey was conducted between Nov. 20, 1998, and Feb. 11. When asked to cite top problems facing journalism, half the national news professionals mentioned such things as sensationalism, a lack of objectivity and inaccurate reporting. About 40 percent cited too much emphasis on the bottom line, competition and declining audience and readership. The news media's loss of credibility with the public was cited by about one- third of the respondents. But while it ranked third - behind quality and Standards and business pressures - concern about credibility has nearly doubled during the past decade. "This is up from 17 percent of respondents who cited credibility as the most important problem facing journalism. In a similar Pew survey of journalists in 1989," says Diane McFarlin, executive editor of the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune and chairman of the American Society of Newspaper Editors' ethics and values committee. The committee's credibility project has identified key problems, including accuracy, bias, sensationalism and a disconnect with readers, and is testing ways to regain the public's trust at eight newspapers across the nation. The eight test-site newspapers are: The Philadelphia Inquirer; The Oregonian, Portland; the Austin American Statesman, in Texas; the San Jose Mercury News, in California; the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, in Florida; The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.; the Daily Press, Newport News, Va.; and Florida Today, Melbourne. A Pew survey conducted in June 1998 showed that Americans' views about press credibility have declined since the mid-1980s. According to the survey, network news believability fell an average of 11 percentage points; local television news dropped 12 points; and daily newspapers tumbled 17 points since 1985. Some other survey findings:
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