Wicker's thoughts, written only seven years ago, demonstrate how quickly the Communications Revolution has indeed changed the state of journalism. While much reporting lately has focused on the bankruptcy or closing of both major and minor daily newspapers, less has been focused on what these changes mean for journalism itself, it's role in a democratic society and it's role as recorder for future scholars and historians. Objectivity aside, journalism's function is so large, it's easy to take for granted.
The Nation's recently published article, "The Death and Life of Great American Newspapers," by John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney, delves into the mess surrounding newspapers' struggle to survive in the digital age, speculating about what will be left in the wake of journalism's collapse. From the article:
So this is where we stand: much of local and state government, whole federal departments and agencies, American activities around the world, the world itself--vast areas of great public concern--are either neglected or on the verge of neglect. Politicians and administrators will work increasingly without independent scrutiny and without public accountability. We are entering historically uncharted territory in America, a country that from its founding has valued the press not merely as a watchdog but as the essential nurturer of an informed citizenry. The collapse of journalism and the democratic infrastructure it sustains is not a development that anyone, except perhaps corrupt politicians and the interests they serve, looks forward to. Such a crisis demands solutions equal to the task. So what are they?Read the entire article here.