Letters to the Editor
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acceptance of corporate media
One of the things Glen's post points out is the acceptance of corporate media versus the type of journalism that Halberstam was known for, by many in influential positions. I was watching a local St. Louis show called Donneybrook, on PBS just hours ago. This show is a round table of local media: radio hosts, newspaper columnists and editors.The subject was a local controversy over the leader of St. Louis University taking away the editoral rights of the University's student newspaper, produced out of it's school of journalism. He did not like the fact that the paper had produced some peices that embarassed the University, i.e. a piece on the number of rapes on campus. One of the radio hosts thought it was perfectly alright," after all ", he said, "these students have to learn that when they get out into the world that they will be representing the interests of their employers" He was rebutted thankfully by the editor of the local African American Newspaper who said, "if he does that he should just close down the school of journalism because that is not what they are teaching their students." I was struck by the easy acceptance of the radio guy that this was the way things were.