Media experts appear on Spanier radio show

The media is one of those topics that everyone has an opinion on, as University President Graham Spanier found out last night.

David Jones, former national editor of The New York Times; Charles Bierbauer, senior Washington correspondent for CNN; and Robert Richards, head of the journalism department; joined Spanier in fielding questions on the impact of the media on his monthly radio show, "To the Best of My Knowledge" aired on WPSU-FM (90.1, 91.5 and 106.7) at 7 p.m.

"My definition of news . . . is what people don't know but want to know," Jones said.

What is presented in newspapers and on the evening broadcast is affected by what else is happening that day and the age of the news, Bierbauer said. With the introduction of 24-hour news stations, the public is constantly updated on the news, he added.

"Time was when we waited until 6 o'clock and Walter Cronkite gave us the news," Bierbauer said.

Some call-in listeners also expressed concern about the bias of reporters.

"I have no opinion on that," Bierbauer quipped.

This is a problem that many journalists are accused of, he said. But for the most part journalists try to present the facts as clearly as possible without inserting their opinions, he added.

The line between objectivity and opinion becomes more blurred when people swing through the "revolving door" between journalism and politics, he said. The career changes of people such as former U.S. Reps. Susan Molinari and Dan Rostenkowski to the respective positions of anchor and analyst have further blurred the line.

"So many journalists are put on talk shows to give their opinion," Richards said.

While some callers said they had stopped listening to or reading types of media, Spanier noted the success of the newspaper readership program at the University, which has increased the number of students who said they read newspapers.