Reporters fail to take advantage of their right of access when doors of public meetings are closed to them. Journalists fail to file Freedom of Information requests when government documents are denied to them. When attacks on the press are really attempts to restrict news-gathering, news organizations should not back down. As for the absence of accountability by the press, Simpson forgets about the marketplace. Consumers are free to cancel their subscriptions or change television channels as they please.
Politicians are accountable to the voters at election time.
The media are accountable not just to editors and publishers, but to the people they report on, to readers and to viewers. The media also are accountable on the legal front. Libel, defamation and privacy laws are on the books as a restraining influence. In his critique, Simpson discussed the responsibility of the press, complaining that the media always seek stories about confrontation in Congress while downplaying any meaningful reporting on important legislation. That is a valid type of criticism.