When the World Trade Center towers were atttacked on Sept. 11, one of the first things that most Americans did was flip on the television or radio. Thanks to those mediums, Americans were able to be informed as the events were happening and they recieved accurate information about the terrorist attacks.
In the ensuing weeks after the attacks, American journalists have begun to come under fire from the public. Some Americans are sick to death of watching the coverage of the Afghanistan bombings or the rescue efforts. Others are tired of listening to the humane stories of other heroes and survivors of the Sept. 11 monstrosities.
While wanting to return to normalcy is understood and healthy, the attack on journalists is not. Long known for being nosy, opinionated and sometimes downright annoying, journalists are getting an unfair backlash of negativity.
If not for the journalists that we see every day on TV and whose words we read every morning in the paper, much if not most of the information about the war on terrorism would not reach the public. Who else would do it? Not the military, they are too busy. Ditto on the government.
Yes, the media has created a bit of hysteria concerning anthrax, but it has also controlled hysteria by relaying valuable information about the Taliban’s weak (and now weaker) arsenal of weapons. While many at first feared of nuclear war, reporting revealed this was unlikely.
Thanks to the media, the American public was able to see George W. Bush address the nation and people from as far away as California, Alaska and Hawaii were able to share the pain of the Northeast.
It’s a double edged sword that the American journalists have to carry these days. It’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t type of situation. If they continue to bring their viewers, readers and listeners accurate and pertinent information they will continue to recieve negativity about doing their jobs.
If the journalists stop reporting about the war on terrorism and fail to bring each and every detail to the public, they will be labled unpatriotic and incompetant.
So give the journalists a break. They are only doing their job, they are doing excellent.