VIEWPOINTS
EDITORIALS OPINIONS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
‘Good television’ used as
excuse for bad journalism
■ OUR OPINION KVAL and
KMTR made a poo
decision m collaboration
wdh Eugene police
journalism ha* Imuim
America's favorite fall guy
for ail of the country'* ill*.
!»'• no wonder When the
line between Hard Copy and
Thr CBS Bmninfi Newt
wim to grow fainter by the
week, media consumers
begin to question if profits
sternal communicator* know
the meaning of the word
"ethics."
Television journalists
receive the moat intense
scrutiny because they are
seen by more people and
presumably have a greater
impact on public percep
tion. limy are also most
likely to cm** the line* of
journalistic integrity and
good taste because they
compete for ratings with
Rosanne reruns.
Local TV news is not
exempt from that pressure.
Poring the police sting
operation in the Whit (taker
neighborhood this month,
the city's Rapid Deployment
Unit set out to make dozens
of drug-dealing and prosti
totion arrests In an attempt
to "raise public awareness”
and garner public support,
the department offered
Eugene's media vehicles the
opportunity to participate:
us tier ovs
Mark Miller of KVAl. TV
and Kathy Randall of
KMTR-TV posed as a drug
buyer and a prostitute
respectively, while the RDU
caught their interactions
with would-be lavs* breakers
on film — Rim that found
Its way to the tup story on
both news programs
journalists maintain their
integrity by being impartial
observers of. rather than
actons in the news In addi
tion. it is generally consid*
ered unethical fur any
media professional to mis
represent him or herself to
new* sources
On both counts. KVAI,
and KMTR disregarded
these standards They
defended their decision by
saying that they were acting
in the best interest of the
community and that it was
"good television."
They're right It was good
television; it was just bad
journalism.
The story would have
been equally compelling if
the stations would have
filmed undercover officers
nailing drug dealers and
johns. Miller and Randall
didn't need to be on the
street doing the officers'
jobs. It was gratuitous.
Any city’s media outlets
"serve the public" test as
watchdogs of every public
occurrence within that envi
ronment. They “serve the
public*' by providing it with
coverage of the day's events
without intentional or per
ceived bias
Thus, even if KVAI. and
KMTK (or Randall and
Miller) say they will be
impartial when covering
negative stories about the
polite department, whether
they tan or not is Irrelevant
The public perceives that
ihe city's media and public
safety department are in
cahoots, and they wonder if
the news they're getting
from these two stations is
accurate and truthful
in the end. this I# a minor
infraction. And as an isolat
ed incident, it's not that big
of a deal.
Hut tl seems that the more
these little lines get crossed,
the easier it becomes to step
over big ones Bit by bit. TV
news starts to look more like
Cop*, until one day all we ll
have is "good television "
And no news
O'* WWBWt Mm** fMP *«****•>«* «* «*«« p*» Mt ’miMt «M
tawkMt «»«•»• warn* *» *» »«*» On* I*m ***B»»«*<® ** •Dto-.nwMttfikttw
I<*" -**»» * nwM» « •» «m«M a«* ** IWW am.»m rmtmrnam * M m« «w>
«*M» * i*#> WC *» #* # * ttMtww '<M*e
»«jmM »«*» IW» a*™*** hwWHH I WKMKWMMWMI
•** i *»»» * »****» »«*»* w» mwof •rnmaa m*m&mm » pmmamm *» a*
IM» «• «*» “<«*» »«w»
■VMMMr 'M iMa
tMa >t»iaw «■» Cow «M> wa **» «/««» «*•. (a^nai
(•Mi •••<■* %m -«• «w> at* mmmmm
(hk <M* XMfftttl CSMBK (
Mtvw SDNMilMtipMkMnMiiiWM mMo»a unCom*#**
rmmuj * mam umt» mm *m **mm*mt, iam Vmmm
e**»#w» *4.- . «r •«**«* .«* <*•» on* *»»* *wpM* **•*«*• m »«**■*< tew
n«a*.Wa ***» **•» »«*«* n»*i <» <*• oh* <*»«% .a**. •*•»*«■>
--..^a--. JJ,,,. A. . ■- -*- Uut'-tMMt T -irlU MI'lTIni' - * —— l* * < ‘ ftilUll Iii> 1 . M fw
tmttaam **•auww*^#***■*» ><ut<*pf *u*mbcm* ;*%tiMH*1^****
***** !***«# **W*»»n It**** •«*>«
>||»H «*»»tawm wnw jm* t»ni<» CWWW intut* <*** «>»*■
^*(***H*®A <** *l*0a**. JB** i B*Bji ******
M»4MJ
A. Campaign Theme is Born
Mtl! f»M*
z o*o** r
eo Awy o*
OK WO«K
L
tlTTCnS
Don’t vote; un-vote
I cannot vote (or either Dwno
am Ron Wyden or Republican
Gordon Smith in the upcoming
U S Senate election
Sadly lor Oregonian*. both
Senate candidates I* k qualities
immaary to carry tit# cut# and
the < uuntrv into the nett mil
lennlum — qualities such a*
courage, integrity. world vision
and independent.# (ram tp#
cia! interact group*
The U S Senate is «onttitu
• tonally empowered to ratify
treaties with other countries
and confirm precidential
appu.nteet metw,n Yet we
have no knowledge of the can
didates positions cm important
issues sue h as proliferation of
nuclear weapons. the pohiual
economic struggles in the Mid
die h**i and how they confront
American interest* tn the
region.
In addition, ihe voter* have
little or no understanding of
how Smith or Myden might
approach «ritual domestic
issue* of itrtwi decay, drug vio
lence and affordable housing
Therefore. I ttrongiy urge my
fellow Oregontan* to return
their ballot* without voting lor
either candidate In doing so,
w e will every nut our franchise
without endorsing the choice*
Iteforw us I call this process
"un vote "
So. let * un vote and be really
counted
M Rtua Behnam, PhD.
Eugene
Corrupt burgers
Your health may suffer;
deserving student* may not fin
i*h college, grandparents' mod
teal coat* may push them into
poveri) rainforest* may disap
pear. and wildlife specie* may
vanish if you eat hamburgers
The cattle lobby help* elect
legislator* who trash program*
protecting the environment and
kill programs not benefiting the
wealthy By not helping finance
the cattle lobby, the "Hamburg
or Kebellio" (people not eating
hamburger) aids programs help
ing the fessfortunate. the envi
riimiumi and good health
The "Hamburger Rebellion"
opposes the "Sagebrush Rebel
lion" (a mnvcmiml iniliilvd by
Western ram h»r« lo block
rangeland reform and to blot it
a raise in grazing fees on our
public lands by gaining control
of the land.)
IfGangne* gives rant hers our
public lands by turning control
over to the state* and count rim
or passes laws to prevent fair
grazing fees and prevents rogu
tall on to protect the land from
overgrazing, the effect is the
same Rancher*, who control
most rural county governments
and many stale governments,
will control land that should
belong to all American*
In the Wild, predators prey on
the young, old and infirm —
not unlike wealthy congress
men selecting budget cut vic
tims In a civilized society,
shouldn't lawmaker* behave
differently?
In the courts (and ia iawmak
mg bodie*), wealth may cir
cumvent truth and justice but
enough people saying "no" to
hamburgers may counter
greed's triumph.
Greed has no conscience. l)o
you?
James Qriftin
FaMon. Nevada
Not just a career
The Oregon Commentator't
farrah Bostick felt slighted by
the OPT* Lori Bettmeski [ODE.
Jan JO) Bettmeski disrespected
the Commentator and the
V'oicr, she said they don't offer
the career potential found at the
Emerald {ODE. Dot,, a).
If we were attuned to the
huge investments of the right.
We d roalize the career potential
in the rightist campus publics
Upn* (see Dtnesh I) Souza. etc ).
Also, for business, a portfolio
might be as important as the
mention of some school paper
on one's resumd.
Both Bettmeski and Bostick
claim careerist credentials; nei
ther mentions the University's
leftist publication
Perhaps with The Student
Insurgent. It is obvious that
careerism is not the top priori
ty. But as media monopolies
merge and cut employee
expenses with the assistance of
new technologies, they narrow
the ioumalistir. career path.
Therefore, and among other
reasons, { schoolers as well as
the rest of us should lie con
turned with the creation of
inclusive socioeconomic: oppor
tunities
One guns a leftist publication
not just because of what it can
do for oneself, but for what it
can contribute to society as
well
As for« redentiab. editors at
Against the Current. Cnmtuad*
and Infusion magazines have
worked for The Student Imtir
gent
Our writers have appeared in
publications as diverse as the
The Monthly Review, an ti de
pendent socialist magazine
from New York, to fust Out. the
lesbian and gay newsmagazine
from Portland Their most sig
nificant credential of all. how
ever. is their commitment to
fundamental social change that
benefits ail people.
They who belittle this quest
support the status quo.
Chris Brady
The Student insurgent
LETTERS POLICY
The Oregon Oetfy Emerald
srnt attempt to print a» letters
containing comments on top
ee o» interest to the UnrversKy
comnxmity
letters to the edaor must be
brnaeo to no more than 2S0
words, legible, signed and the
tdanbfccahon o* the enter must
be verified when the letter i
submiBed,
The Emereia reserve* the
n?* to ad* any letter tor length
or style