argumentation political science essay

Foreclosing On the Fourth Estate

According to a recent study by The Pew Center of Charitable Trusts titled The State of the Media 2008 , the traditional perception of the perpetually hectic news press room which was so brilliantly brought to life in the 1971 Billy Wilder film adaptation of the 1928 hit Broadway comedy The Front Page , is soon to be no more (State of , 2008 It seems as if in the environment of today the Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau characters might easily find themselves on the unemployment line . Of the

hundreds of thousands of jobs that we have seen hemorrhaging from out of the American economy over the last eight years newss have been amongst the hardest hit suddenly forced to drastically cut their staffs . This is more than just a symptom of the enormous economic downturn . It represents a seismic shift in the way that the news is delivered and by whom . No longer does General Electric (NBC ) Disney-Viacom (CBS ) Murdoch News Corporation (FOX ) Time Warner (CNN , or any number of other big name corporate MSM (Mainstream Media hold tyrannical sway over what is deemed newsworthy . The presidential campaign of 2008 has seen a vast insovertaking the traditional platforms of television and newss . We are quickly moving into a new era beckoning the arrival of the full democratization of what was once traditional MSM content . What is considered newsworthy , is in the hands of the public more today than ever before

Over just...