O.J. knows about Murrow?

Interesting story in the Washington Post on Sunday: Media Smackdown provided some material very relevant to the chapters we were reading in The Elements of Journalism text.

According to Post columnist, Howard Kurtz:

“Journalists are getting whacked from every side, poked in the eye by public figures disgusted with what passes for news these days,”

Doesn’t that sound like some sort of overview of the chapters we just read – Engagement and Relevance, as well as Make The News Comprehensive and Proportional?

For O.J. Simpson, of all people, to bash the press for its coverage of Paris Hilton instead of the space shuttle launch…well, as Kurtz says,

“O.J. invoking Murrow -- take a moment to digest that.”

However, Kurtz goes on to point out that there is some element of truth in the criticisms of today’s journalism, as does the text.

I think it lead us to the question posed by Kovach and Rosenstiel,

“Should journalists give people what they want or what they need?”

I’m afraid the answer might be “whatever sells” which right now seems to be Paris instead of the space shuttle.