"Journalistic integrity, you know, fact-based reporting, serious investigative reporting, how to retain those ethics in all these different new media and how to make sure that it's paid for, is really a challenge," Mr. Obama said. "But it's something that I think is absolutely critical to the health of our democracy." Source
From The Daily Stat (Harvard Business Publishing):
"The American public's assessment of the accuracy of the news media has reached a new low. 63% of American adults say that news stories are often inaccurate, compared to 53% in 2007 and 34% in 1985. 70% say that the news media tries to cover up its mistakes, and 27% describe the press as "not professional.""
Recognize that the Obama quote came from a newspaper, which perhaps makes it suspect. The thought that President Obama views newspapers as serious investigative reporting is a bit outdated. Some bloggers have speculated that Obama is going to do a bailout of the certain prominent newspapers. This has to be a joke given Obama's previous experience as a constitutional law professor.
If newspapers want to succeed they need to re-establish their position as trusted news and information sources and stop trying to compete with breaking news sources such as CNN or MSNBC. However, re-establishing trust is a daunting challenge. Google did not call for consulting advice on the Facebook/FriendFeed acquisition, so I still have some time free to save the New York Times :).
Miami, FL
