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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2005)
Nicole Barker | Photographer Jay Harris speaks about "Ethical Stewardship in the News” at the 2005 Ruhl Lecture on Thursday afternoon in the EMU Ballroom The lecture caps off a week of events sponsored by the School of Journalism and Communication. Public must demand media accountability, speaker says Jay Harris spoke at the 29th-annual Ruhl Lecture, hosted by the School of Journalism and Communication BYAYISHAYAHYA NEWS EDITOR The public has a responsibility to demand accountable media that serve the citizenry’s interests, a media schol ar Jay Harris said Thursday. Harris, di rector of The Center for the Study of Journalism and Democracy at Univer sity of Southern California and former publisher of the San Jose Mercury News, delivered the 29th-annual Ruhl Lecture hosted by the School of Jour nalism and Communication. “Who better to judge the perform ance of the institution of democracy than the audience citizens,” Harris said during his lecture, titled “Ethical Stewardship in Media.” Journalists must realize their role as stewards of an institution created for the public good, he said. “The press at its best, a press com mitted to public interest,... is an insti tution of democracy, and it is in fact our democracy,” he said. “We in some way share responsibility of what is happening in the press. ” Harris said the nation’s founding fa thers had recognized freedom of speech as vital to the democratic re public and viewed free press as the “bulwark of liberty. ” But in contemporary times, gov ernment leaders, corporate impera tives and skilled propagandists with various interests undermined the media, he said. Journalists also despair about the increasing challenges newspapers face from corporatization to declin ing readership and Internet compe tition, he added. “I worry most about the growing despair among journalists, because if journalists cease to believe tfre higher purposes of journalism, the central role of journalism in our democracy, then the noble flame at the heart of the journalistic enter prise just might go out,” he said. Those in the media must not lose faith in journalism, Harris said. “Journalism still makes a differ ence,” he said. “It makes differences large and small, in ways seen and un seen, in the lives of millions.” Harris said he still believes there is a future for what he called the “journal ism of consequence” but said journal ism for public interest will not survive if important ethical decisions are discussed only within a corporate agenda. Instead, to be ethical stewards of the institution of journalism, jour nalists have to defend and raise the standards of excellence in their field. The public must take an active stance in holding the media account able, because citizens must be capable of judging those who are stewards of the public trust, he said. “If a community can benefit from lo cal good-government and community watchdog groups, certainly a commu nity could benefit from local good-jour nalism groups,” Harris said. Senior Hillary Manton said she ap preciated Harris’ insight on the need for community involvement in ad dressing media problems. “If you don’t have the interest, you need to create the interest,” she said. Journalism Professor Tom Bivins also agreed with Harris’ charge to the public to help change journalism. “It’s up to us,” Bivins said. “If we want change, we have to make it. ” Tirfi Gleason, the dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, said the focus to make changes often falls on the journalists themselves but that Harris is extending that responsi bility to the public. “This is a shared responsibility, and we have an obligation to demand good journalism,” Gleason said. ayishayahya@dailyemerald.com DINNER LIGHT PLATES DESSERTS COCKTAILS MICROBREWS WINE BAR 541.485.6268 OPEN DAILY 5P TRIOMPHE MIDTOWN 1591 WILLAMETTE EUGENE Learn • Grow • Explore Together as Ducks ISO International Student Orientation Leadership Building Opportunity! Help New Ducks and : Bo dll ISO • Gain Valuable Experience! leader! Make Friends! / Earn University Credits! MANDATORY TRAINING SESSION @ Many Nations Longhouse (food and drinks provided) May 14th (Sat) 10 am to 4 pm Sign up today! http://oip.uoregon.edu/iss/orientation/volunteer.php Office of International Programs • 330 Oregon Hall GOT A STORY IDEA? give us a call at 346-5511 .£<1 _Q2Z — poppl/ — ^/4n&4olt& Lunch Monday through Saturday Dinner 7 Nights a Week 992 Willamette Eugene, Or 97401 343-9661 Packaging and Shipping INC. 1733 Pearl Street • Eugene, Oregon 97401 • 541-345-8200 • 1-877-341-8200 We can solve all your packaging and shipping needs Small Parcel - Motor Freight Free pick-up for freight shipments
