Journalism is important because it's the primary source of information for the public. That information is used to make important decisions on how we vote, invest our money and how we live our lives.
There was a time when a prerequisite to any news article was that it presented the facts and arguments that supported both sides of the issue. It is not uncommon today to read articles and view video that are presented like a press release put out by one side with no mention of opposing facts or thoughts. The situation has increased expotientally with Internet bloggers.
When done in the spirit of Walter Lippmann and Edward R. Murrow, journalism is a great benefit for the community but factless commentary creates disinformation and dissention. Journalism is a very honorable and valuable profession but we should be careful who we honor with the title, journalist.
Answered Feb 27, 2011
Edited Feb 27, 2011