The Newspaper Guild/CWA Creates 'Committee on the Future of Journalism'

In its first public report, The Newspaper Guild/CWA's newly formed Committee on the Future of Journalism asserts that, "American journalism is going through a period of self-analysis and conscience-searching that is comparable only to the period of the 1950's when Senator Joseph R. McCarthy was able to manipulate the press in a fashion that brought shame and shock to the entire country."

The report, "Journalism on the Couch," summarizes the current discussion of journalistic values, puts that discussion in historical perspective and includes suggestions for reforms.

The TNG/CWA committee was organized earlier this year "to give working journalists a voice in the national dialogue over the performance of the news media," said Guild President Linda Foley. "The various media forums have been dominated by publishers and academic experts up until now. It's time for the grassroots news professionals to get off the sidelines and join the discussion," she stated.

Foley reported that the union has taken part in recent discussions organized by the Committee of Concerned Journalists, a unit of the Project on Excellence in Journalism supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts, and seeks other opportunities to meet with groups concerned over the same issues.

TNG, representing some 35,000 workers in print, broadcast and on-line journalism in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, is an affiliate of the 630,000-member Communications Workers of America.

CWA President Morton Bahr hailed the creation of the committee, and stated: "With the explosion of Internet communications and the recent mega-deals in the mass media, the packaging and flow of information raises some of the most complex and important questions we face. CWA members are at the forefront of the converging information industry, and we will be active in addressing these issues."

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TNG merged with CWA last year. Earlier, the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, the Dow Jones editorial employees, and International Typographical Union also joined CWA, bringing the major print and broadcast employee groups under one union banner.

The Committee on the Future of Journalism's report declares: "While we jealously guard our rights under the First Amendment, we understand that those who shelter under the title `journalist' must always act in a responsible fashion or we will all lose that constitutional protection. That rubric requires us to make a thorough examination of our industry to make sure it lives up to its mandate as an irreplaceable agent in the functioning of our representative democracy."

In the coming months, the committee expects to examine specific issues in the debate on media performance and make proposals for improving journalistic practice. TNG/CWA head Foley is chair of the committee and Murray Seeger, a veteran journalist and longtime Guild member, is its executive director. Other members include:

Alan Abrams, Journal of Commerce; Jeff Buttle, Canadian Broadcast Corp.; Dick Carelli, Associated Press Washington, D.C. Bureau; Kate DeSmet, Detroit News; Tom Ferrick, Philadelphia Inquirer; David Hanners, The Pioneer Press; Larry D. Hatfield, San Francisco Examiner; Martha Hodel, Associated Press Huntington, W.Va. Bureau; Jeanne Lang Jones, Eastside Journal; Bob Jordan, Boston Globe; Bernie Lunzer, TNG/CWA secretary-treasurer; Beverlyann Morris, Toledo Blade; Ann O'Neill, Denver Post; Jim Price, Milwaukee Journal; Nicholas Reiher, Herald News; Kathy Sawyer, Washington Post; Holly Silbiger, Cleveland Plain Dealer; Peter Szekely, Reuters Washington, D.C. Bureau.