Professional journalists have various responsibilities. They must keep the public updated on current events. Their news reports must remain unbiased and without error. Above all, journalists must adopt a watchdog role and ensure that individuals in positions of authority act ethically and don’t abuse their power. Muckraking, or investigative journalism as it is known today, is vital to American democracy. Muckrakers disseminate information that the public may find unpleasant or disagreeable, but regardless of public outcry, their work is pivotal. Because publicly exposing the truth positively impacts society, it’s an honor to be called a muckraker. Muckraking once had a negative connotation. Today, that is no longer the case. The term …show more content…
Consider the downfall of Richard Nixon. After a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the 1970s, president Nixon attempted to cover up his administration’s involvement with the burglars. After Nixon destroyed evidence and resisted congressional jurisdiction, his actions were uncovered by muckrakers in the greatest political scandal in White House history. The Watergate scandal shocked the American people, and Nixon resigned from the presidency after his role in the conspiracy came to light. By cracking the president’s deceit wide open, the journalists who brought down Nixon shaped history. Nixon was held accountable for his actions, which, in turn, left his administration’s faults uncovered. Muckrakers fostered the removal of a corrupt president and stifled future political misconduct. Without muckrakers monitoring the conduct of public officials, governmental malfeasance is allowed to thrive. Ultimately, muckraking is crucial to checking political …show more content…
Muckraking provides a two-way channel between policy makers and the citizenry, a key part of the democratic decision-making process. Muckrakers bring transparency to society and are at the heart of how the masses hold public officials accountable. Disseminating information about the real or apparent misconduct of government authorities allows the public to monitor the sources of power that shape their lives. Without muckraking, individuals in power could manipulate ideas and distort the truth in their favor if n. Muckrakers guarantee trustworthy news, which strengthens American
At the start of the 20th century, journalists had begun to play an important role in exposing wrongdoings within politics and society. These journalists, often called muckrakers, used their journalism to focus on political flaws and corruption in city governments. Several popular publishers adopted this form of journalism, which became widely popular
Clare Boothe Luce, an American journalist and politician, delivered a speech in 1960 to the Women’s National Press Club in front of the American press to criticize journalists for the misinformation they publish in order to challenge them to start publishing the truth rather than writing what the public wants to hear. Luce appeals to the audience of journalists using her role as a politician, comparison, and emphasis to persuade journalists to start writing the truth, no matter how dull, in order for American citizens to truly understand what is going on in today’s society. Throughout the speech, Luce speaks to the audience of journalists about how the information they release shouldn’t be falsified for a myriad of buyers or views. Although
At their start, muckrakers were effective, as they targeted the white, middle class population; a population capable of enacting changes. Yet, as multimedia news has arisen, individuals all of socioeconomic backgrounds have access to news, and due to bias broadcasting people are becoming jaded to the news. Hence, the reputation and credibility of modern muckrakers is growing increasingly weak. At the beginning of the 20th century, the country started to go through a political and economic change.
President Richard M. Nixon and his involvement in the Watergate scandal were broadcast nightly on the 6 o’clock news in the early 1970’s. Americans were engrossed with the scandal and each person held his or her own view of situation. Each broadcast or newspaper article created a mistrust of political and governmental leaders. In response to this mistrust, the Freedom to Information Act was strengthened by the United States Congress in 1973 (Chamberlain). Although this act was first placed into law in the late 1960’s, the Watergate scandal provided the incentive make this law stronger.
Muckraking was a powerful journalistic force, whose supporters made it become so. Muckraking was the practice of writers and critics exposing corrupt politicians and business practices. President Theodore Roosevelt made the term "muck-raker" popular. He once said
Muckrakers, journalists who exposed social, economic and political evils, controlled media and therefore had profound influence over the th...
The movie “All the President's Men” (1976), is based on the work of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein two Washington Post newspaper writers, who uncovered the cover-up of the White House's involvement in the Democratic Party National headquarters, Watergate, break-in. At first, Bob Woodward discovers what seems to be a minor break-in but is surprised to find that top lawyers were already on the defense case. He also discovers that names and addresses of Republican fund organizers were being accused, which further aroused his suspicions. When he brings this to the attention of the head of the Washington Post, he is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. Their findings of this break-in paved a path that lead to the White House, where it was soon learned that President Richard M. Nixon of the USA, was involved and resigned after Woodward and Bernstein’s findings. Conversely, my two significant instances are, Woodward and Bernstein’s actions on their process of contacting the sources that were involved because they worked for the re-election committee. The other instance I chose is that of both Woodward and Bernstein intruding into the house of Mr. Sloan very late at night, a man well interacted with the political figures they were researching on. Woodward and Bernstein didn’t abide by many of the values and ethics theories we’ve learned from our book and in class. It also seemed as if the unethical actions they to...
Political leaders of the United States were, at one time, thought of as crucial members of our society. Ideally, their main goal was to represent and satisfy the needs of the American people. Unfortunately, over the last fifty years, our trust in our administrative representatives has drastically declined. Beginning with the great conspiracy theory that President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 was actually planned by political leaders, America had, for the first time in history, begun to question its faith in its very own government. Consequently, the American people became extremely hesitant when it came to electing officials into office. Despite his loss to JFK in the 1960 presidential election, in 1968, Richard M. Nixon was elected as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. He was praised by many for his comeback after previously losing an election and seemed to be an admirable man. While in office, Nixon made many achievements and followed through with all of his promises made during his campaign. For the first time in what seemed like forever, the American people had finally elected a leader who seemed unquestionably trustworthy – or so they thought. Unfortunately, shortly after Nixon was elected to his second term of presidency in 1972, the Watergate Scandal changed America forever by creating a sense of mistrust toward the government for the American people because of The Nixon Administration’s actions.
People are fascinated by the appeal of drama and scandalous behavior. If you look at any form of media today, it is engulfed by rumors, gossip, and questionable reports. We as Americans are so entertained by the wrong- doings of others, there is now even a popular TV show, Scandal, written about fictional impropriety taking place in the White House. One of the most well-known political disgraces in the history of the United States is the Watergate Scandal, which took place under President Richard Nixon in the summer of 1972. The scandal completely changed an entire generation of Americans’ view of the government and politicians.
Government secrecy can include personal files of government employees, tax records of citizens, sensitive records, operations to limit crime, or acts to advance democracy or secure national integrity – such information should never be available to the media or the public. However, when the same government masks extensive police powers, the generation of mass surveillance systems, control the mass media, increase security that limits freedom and information and official accountability wither the government becomes guilty of deception of the public. Therefore, total transparency in a democracy is not suitable, governments need confidentiality from the public. In a post-Snowden age, broad regulations permitting governments to collect data – “The NSA is forbidden to 'target' American citizens, green-card holders or companies for surveillance without an individual warrant from a judge.” – without public knowledge and held in check by the same power that controls the program is unjustifiable. Secrecy is embedded in the partnerships of trust and respect within the public; power is also held on the basis of secrecy. It is more about the set the rules and has the power within that knowledge rather than the information itself. The truth behind the collection of data is unknown to many and may remain that way for some
Newspapers and nightly news shows have become a business. They no longer go by the public services values they once stood by (Sensationalism, 2005). Instead of being the fourth branch of government, they are just like any other money making business. It is no longer a race to put out the truth; it is more a race for dollars and control. Sensationalism is purely fueled by money and popularity. If a news outlet garners a large amount of popularity, they can swing votes, and influence voters. Sensationalism has already affected many political situations. Sensationalism has proven to spread like a virus. If sensationalism is not controlled, there is no way the news outlets can be the advocate for the people.
First, the role of the media is to represent the public and intervene between the public and the government. The media is a mirror, which re...
They also focused on their own reporting skills and often work to expose political corruption. Some muckrakers were members of the press that expose the abuses of business which they had to investigate the corruption in order to expose the problems in the American life. The muckrakers had to recall some efforts of early reformers who had caused corruption in printing. Muckrakers had many different problems expose to them that they notice very quick which were; the lack of education, the rise in crimes and effects on alcohol abuse, rights of women and the right for Women’s Suffrage, and the rights of workers and their living conditions.
"Watergate generated an attitude of cynicism and mistrust that remains with us today," said Watergate historian Stanley I. Kutler.” Fred Wertheimer, president of Common Cause, a citizens lobby that flourished because of Watergate, said that "Watergate was the greatest political scandal of our time." “ In the years since Nixon's downfall, Watergate has provided the prevailing metaphor for scandal in Washington. Not only are the terms cover-up and stonewall now permanent parts of the political lexicon, but every new flurry of allegations of political wrongdoing usually gets a shorthand name ending in gate. As a benchmark for scandal, Watergate has never been exceeded. Even the Iran-Contra affair, which crippled the presidency of Ronald Reagan, was viewed as much less serious than Watergate because it did not lead to impeachment of the President… And, while Watergate brought about many changes in government ethics laws, some experts believe it also institutionalized what author Suzanne Garment terms "the politics of scandal," a widely held presumption that our politicians are corrupt.” “[Nixon’s] abuse of presidential power
In trying to attract new audiences, news media have begun to transition from reporting to becoming a form of entertainment. With the meteoric rise of social media’s role as a news source, the fight for an increase of diversity in the media, and the ever-growing desire of immediate content, the future of responsible journalism is more important than ever. Ask yourself, why do I think the way I do? Where do my political views originate? How do I prove them? Most likely, it is due to the biased portrayal of issues in the media and the politicization that accompanies what we consume. Now, compare your views to your preferred news reporting entity. More than likely, they are the same.