from 1/18/00:

True journalism is about the truth, not bandwagon crusades

Dear Editor:

This letter is in response to Rachel Malone's column which appeared Wednesday, Jan. 12 edition of The Daily Mississippian. Ms. Malone reaffirmed her zeal to continue her young career as a crusading journalist, regardless of the negative feedback she receives. In addition, Ms. Malone quoted a New England editorial writer who told her that the job of a journalist is to "afflict the comforted and comfort the afflicted."

I totally disagree. I contend that the primary job of a journalist should be to undertake an unbiased search for the truth, regardless of whether that truth comforts or afflicts, or who at the time is considered the afflicted or comforted. In short, tell it like it is.

Sadly, today, many young journalists feel as if their true journalistic duty is to shake things up more than truthfully inform, to crusade rather than report. A prime example of this occurred last year when The Daily Mississippian launched an all-out campaign for John Joseph to be elected Student Body President.

As a law student, I am not into undergraduate politics and knew nothing of any of the candidates, but could clearly see how The DM continually used its pages to push Joseph with all its might into the position he now holds. Sure, The DM had a right to pick one candidate in an editorial, but its daily pro-Joseph stance was overboard and unfair. And I couldn't have cared less about who won.

On a national level, it is interesting to see how "hate crimes" are reported with an almost missionary zeal when they occur against certain groups, but when the two Columbine shooters launched into an anti-Christian tirade while killing students, the term "hate crime" was never mentioned. I guess since Christians are considered "comforted" rather than "afflicted," they don't qualify.

I wish Ms. Malone the best of luck in her journalistic career, but hope she sees that a journalist's greatest crusade is not to fight perceived oppressions or jump on bandwagons, but to responsibly report the truth.

Kevin Cavender,
law student,
B.A. Journalism, 1993