The Department of Homeland Security is now conducting an investigation. But this investigation isn't focused upon CNN for inaccurate reporting, nor upon the FAA or the FBI for not verifying the information. This investigation is of the Coast Guard, which did what it is supposed to do "conduct drills and protect America's shores.
The government can't investigate the media for inaccurate reporting. Nor can it demand that any news outlet do the most basic fact checking before rushing a story into print or onto the air. As viewers watch "the most trusted name in network news" or the network that proclaims not only is it "fair and balanced" but it's "America's News HQ," perhaps they should demand that the networks begin each of their stories with "Did you hear the one about . . .?"
Nevertheless, if these were the only two instances of a vacuum in media credibility, it might be shoveled aside. But what happened in one day is just a part of the problem, and one reason why Americans, sometimes unfairly, believe there is a significant problem with media credibility.
Joseph Pulitzer, one of America's most respected and powerful publishers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, once said there are three rules of journalism--"Accuracy! Accuracy!! Accuracy!!!" The media's failure to verify the truth violates not only Pulitzer's three rules for journalists, but also a basic lesson of Newswriting 101, now forgotten in the 24/7 ratings-obsessed news media--it's more important to get it right than to be the first.
[Rosemary and Walter Brasch are award-winning columnists. Rosemary is also a former Red Cross national disaster family services specialist, secretary, and labor issues college instructor. Walter Brasch is a former newspaper and magazine reporter/editor. He is a professor of journalism and author of 17 books, including Sex and the Single Beer Can; Probing the Media and American Culture. You may contact the Brasches at brasch@bloomu.edu]
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