"Fair and Balanced" in the press may be a slogan for a slanted-to-the-right cable news channel, while the competitor claims to be the most respected in news. Too bad neither of these cable news outlets takes those slogans seriously. In the press those of us who have positions in editing and publishing should be sure to go through our papers and make sure that they are fair and give both sides to a story. I admit there are times when someone is found guilty of horrific crimes like terrorism, child molestation and others, that we don’t really care about the excuse. But I recently received an email from a wonderful lady in Walnut, California and an excerpt from her letter is as follows: “You march toward unity and peace, provide entertainment and clear information, so many love you for that, including me. Count me as one grateful fan.” I am the one who is grateful. I take my position as editor seriously. There are times when we debate running a headline that is salacious and exciting, but thankfully we choose the side of fairness.

I also learned that there are those in the media who seek out others’ fame and success to sell papers. That used to be limited to what we consider “tabloid journalism,” but today it’s typical. It is rampant and it is on the rise. Now newspapers have become caught up in the wave of cable news on television. Why must we do this? We owe our readers and viewers the truth — that simply means the story, without our personal slants and beliefs. And that is why there are so many jaded, interested youth today. Not that they don’t hold some responsibility. Jefferson always said we should be well informed. By the way, that’s Thomas Jefferson. But turning the public off is our responsibility as journalists. With politicians lying and shaving off truth to fit what the public wants and needs to hear, parents allowing kids to rule the home instead of forcing them to respect the elders in the house, and now an epidemic of teachers, mainly young women, chasing after young boys in their classrooms. We cannot expect our nation’s youth to be interested in what we need to teach them through the media to become informed citizens.

Many have fault in this and no one is more mindful of the problems with our media than I am. Editorial after editorial, I learn that people really do want to read our papers and watch our television shows, but feel that the truth is skewed or even omitted for the ratings or the sales figures in the print media. Not to toot my own horn, but that is why I love working for "Canyon News." My publishers will call me up and tell me to redo the story because it’s not fair and you didn’t get both sides of the story. Thank you for making me do my job and not trying to sell papers by printing headlines and stories that are not factual or which are plainly unfair.

"In the press those of us who have positions in editing and publishing should be sure to go through our papers and make sure that they are fair and give both sides to a story." Photo courtesy of istockphoto.