Constitution Day panel addresses media difficulties

Freedom of Information Act, bias among issues discussed

September 24, 2008
By Greta Myers
Staff Writer

A panel of media workers discussed blogs, bias, and the coverage of Britney Spears, in honor of Constitution Day, on Sept. 17 in the PAC lobby at UIS.

"There is nothing wrong with covering Britney Spears," sid panel member Dana Heupel, executive editor of Illinois Issues magazine, "But there is something wrong if you cover her instead of the government."

"both print and broadcast (journalism) have dropped the ball," said Don Craven, an attorney for the Illinois Press Association, to the lunch hour crowd attending the discussion.

"It's expensive. It takes an incredible amount of time and staff to do investigative work," Craven explained of how so tries of substance are hard to come by.

in addition, the panel said, reporters face resistance to the 1st amendment right of freedom of the press.

"Local school boards are notorious for withholding information," said Bill Wheelhouse, general manager of WUIS radio and a member of the panel.

"When you file a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request, a lot of government officials ignore you," said Craven. The legal log-jam involved in pursuing a case against obstruction of FOIA is questionably worth the effort, said Heupel.

"Even if you win a lawsuit, all you get is what was coming to you," Heupel said of plodding through the court system only to have the story of a win buried beneath the latest news.

Lawsuits can also strip resources needed for one of the press' primary aims. "It's up to reporters to present as many sides (to a story) as possible," said Heupel, "Get sides a and b and r and l."

"The role of the press is to report on the government," said Heupel, "and hopefully in an objective way."

The panel addressed the complaint of a bias in the media.

"Whatever group is around, if they don't like the question, the reporter is biased," said Wheelhouse. Viewers need to differentiate between news and commentaries, such as those given by Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, said Heupel, "People fail to make the distinctions. Commentators are supposed to have opinions."

The panel also discussed whether blogs deserved a place in the press, as well.

"Bloggers versus the press? I don't think there's a legal distinction," said Heupel, "Illinois Issues has the same rights of Newsweek. Bloggers have the same rights as Newsweek."

But, said Wheelhouse, "People need to be mindful that they are not doing as much fact checking."