My opinion is that, if the NNA wants to maintain its image as the most influential newspaper group in Washington, then it would behoove this organization to quit accepting money from Philip Morris and find sponsors with less to lose in Washington. The writer, a freelance, writes for The Evening Star in Angola, Indiana. However, I don't want my many newspaper friends to infer from that partial quote that I've gone bonkers and joined the lunatic fringe that sees only error in what newspapers and other media do. My 351-page book is much more balanced than those six words imply. Newspapers and magazines generally are far superior to those of yesteryear.
Some broadcast journalism is outstanding.
New, exciting means of electronic communication are just beyond the technological horizon. In the commercial marketplace, many public relations and advertising firms can be lauded for principled handling of ethically sensitive issues. Yet, everywhere are signs of ethical deterioration. Individual print and broadcast journalists are accused of unreasonable invasion of privacy, insensitive treatment of victims of rape and other crimes, and a host of other ethical lapses. Opinion polls show much of the public views media performance negatively.