I AM GRATEFUL AND HONORED TO BE HERE AS THE PARK LECTURER.

I RETURN TO THE SOUTH, ALWAYS, TO REVEL IN MY SOUTHERNNESS AND ITS IMPRINT ON EVERYTHING ABOUT ME.

WILLIE MORRIS, ANOTHER CHILD OF THE SOUTH, SPOKE MY HEART WHEN HE WROTE "I GO BACK TO THE SOUTH TO REMIND MYSELF WHO I AM, FOR THE SOUTH KEEPS ME GOING, IT IS A FEELING IN THE BLOOD WHICH PERVADES MY AWARENESS OF MY COUNTRY AND MY CIVILIZATION."

THIS IS MY 30TH YEAR WORKING IN DAILY NEWSPAPERS. MY FIRST FULL-TIME NEWSPAPER JOB WAS AS AN EDITORIAL ASSISTANT TYPING THE TV LISTINGS. NINE YEARS LATER, AT AGE 31, I WAS NAMED MANAGING EDITOR OF THE THEN LEDGER-STAR, A 100,000 CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER IN NORFOLK, VA.

MY PUBLISHER AT THE TIME, PERRY MORGAN, WAS A SOUTHERN JOURNALIST WHO COULD GIVE WORDS WINGS AND WAS ALSO A CONSUMMATE U.N.C. FAN. LIKE ALL GOOD CHAPEL HILL LOYALISTS HE LOOKED DOWN ON MY ALMA MATER, EAST CAROLINA, AS ACADEMICALLY CHALLENGED AND CULTURALLY BEREFT.

THE DAY OF MY PROMOTION HE CONGRATULATED ME BY SAYING DAMNED IF HE EVER THOUGHT HE WOULD LIVE TO SEE THE DAY HIS NEWSPAPER WAS EDITED BY AN E.C.T.C. GRADUATE. THE MEMORY OF THAT PUTDOWN CERTAINLY KEPT ME HUMBLE IN WHAT I THOUGHT WAS MY HOUR OF SHINING GLORY AND HAS HELPED ME KEEP GROUNDED IN THE CAROLINA CLAY IN THE YEARS SINCE.

I THINK PERRY -- MY MENTOR, CONSTANT CHEERLEADER AND LOVING FRIEND -- LATER THOUGHT I ROSE TO THE CHALLENGE. AS IS THE CASE WITH MOST PEOPLE WHEN CHALLENGED BY CIRCUMSTANCES OR FATE.

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE. THOSE ARE WORDS WE'VE HEARD AND THOUGHT ABOUT A LOT IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS. FOLKS SAY THAT'S WHAT THE PRESIDENT HAS DONE. INDEED, THE WHOLE U.S. GOVERNMENT SEEMS TO HAVE ITS ACT TOGETHER MORE THAN PERHAPS ANY OF US BELIEVED IT COULD MUSTER IN SUCH A SHORT TIME.

AND WHAT OF THE PRESS? WE HAVE BEEN PRONOUNCED AS 'RISING TO THE CHALLENGE.' WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE PRESS IN GENERAL AND NEWSPAPERS IN PARTICULAR?

I BELIEVE THE JOURNALISTIC LANDSCAPE IS CHANGED, AND WE ARE THE BETTER FOR IT. WE HAVE TURNED FROM TITILLATION AND THE TRIVIAL TOWARD MATTERS OF CONSEQUENCE AND SUBSTANCE. NEWS THAT CAPTURED HEADLINES AND THE PUBLIC'S ATTENTION IN AUGUST IS NOT EVEN A BLIP IN THE PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS TODAY.

WHAT OF GARY CONDIT'S SEX LIFE? BILL CLINTON'S SEX LIFE? HOW ABOUT THE LENGTH OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S TEXAS SUMMER VACATION? REMEMBER THE SPARRING OVER THE LOCKBOX? OR AL GORE'S BEARD? OH, HOW IRRELEVANT, EVEN ABSURD, IT ALL SEEMS NOW.

NEWSPAPERS ARE ON OUR GOOD DAYS MIRRORS REFLECTING BACK TO THE PUBLIC AN ACCURATE, AUTHENTIC PICTURE OF LIFE IN OUR TIMES AND INFORMING THEM ON MATTERS OF CONSEQUENCE.

IN THIS TRAGEDY, WE HAVE REDISCOVERED OUR SERIOUS PURPOSE, WHAT HISTORIAN DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN CALLS 'OUR LARGER PUBLIC SELVES.' IN THIS DEEPLY TROUBLING TIME THE PRESS HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECAPTURE RESPECT AND RECONNECT WITH OUR READERS.

WE HAD BETTER SEIZE THIS HISTORIC MOMENT. IT MAY NOT COME OUR WAY AGAIN.

THE LANDSCAPE HAS CHANGED IN WAYS WE NEVER COULD HAVE IMAGINED IN THE LAZY DAYS OF LATE SUMMER.

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT GETTING THE MAIL EVERY DAY WOULD CAUSE DEEPLY ANXIOUS MOMENTS FOR SO MANY, THAT IN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF OFFICES AND HOMES, ORDINARY FOLKS WOULD WEAR RUBBER GLOVES AND MASKS TO OPEN MAIL DELIVERED BY OUR OWN U.S. POSTAL SERVICE?

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT ALL AIRPORTS IN THE COUNTRY WOULD BE SHUTTERED AND RETAIL ACTIVITY WOULD GRIND TO A COMPLETE HALT FOR THE BETTER PART OF A WEEK?

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT A RECORDING OF THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER WOULD ONE WEEK IN OCTOBER BE THE TOP SELLING CD IN AMERICA, AND THAT THOUSANDS OF STORES AROUND THE COUNTRY WOULD SELL OUT OF AMERICAN FLAGS?

NONE OF US COULD HAVE FORESEEN OUR NEW REALITY, OUR 'NEW NORMAL' AS OUR LEADERS CALL IT.

SO, TOO, THE PRESS HAS A NEW REALITY. WHAT WAS CONVENTIONAL WISDOM JUST TWO MONTHS AGO IS NO LONGER EASILY ACCEPTED. THE OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM IS GIVING WAY TO THE NEW. AND NOT A MOMENT TOO SOON.

1. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: CYNICISM COMES WITH THE JOURNALISTIC TERRITORY.

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: CYNICISM IS DEAD.

DECLARING THE AGE OF CYNICISM OVER IS FAIRLY TYPICAL OF THE GRANDIOSE STATEMENTS AND SWEEPING GENERALITIES THE CHATTERING CLASS FLOATED IN THE FIRST FEW DAYS AFTER THE ATTACK. DREAM ON. BUT THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT JOURNALISTIC CYNICISM HAS BEEN TAMED AND TEMPERED BY THE ACTS OF SAVAGE ZEALOTRY WE WITNESSED SEPT.11. IT'S A GOOD THING. WE HAD RAISED CYNICISM TO AN ART FORM, TO THE DETRIMENT OF OUR CREDIBILITY.

NOW IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE MOST EVIL, MURDEROUS ACTS IMAGINABLE THE WORLD LOOKS AS DIFFERENT TO JOURNALISTS AS IT DOES TO REAL PEOPLE. MORE FRIGHTENING, CERTAINLY, BUT PERHAPS MORE IMPORTANTLY WE ARE AWARE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL GOODNESS, AND THE POTENTIAL FOR SELFLESS ACTS OF HEROISM FROM ORDINARY CITIZENS AND HIGH OFFICIALS ALIKE. JOURNALISTS, TOO, ARE DEEPLY AFFECTED BY THAT.

CYNICISM, LONG EXCUSED AS SKEPTICISM ON STEROIDS, AS INTELLECTUAL TOUGHNESS, HAS NEVER BEEN A LEGITIMATE JOURNALISTIC TOOL. IT HAS GIVEN RISE TO OUR OWN WORST ELITIST TENDENCIES. CYNICISM IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE ENEMY OF BOTH RIGOR AND FAIRNESS, WHICH ARE THE TOUCHSTONES OF EXCELLENCE.

CYNICISM HAS CAUSED THE PRESS TO FAIL TO SEE CLEARLY THAT FOLKS MOSTLY STRIVE TO DO RIGHT, THAT PUBLIC OFFICIALS ARE NOT FUNDAMENTALLY CORRUPT. CYNICISM HAS ENCOURAGED US TO ASSUME MOTIVE WHERE NONE CAN BE PROVED; TO SEE INEPTNESS AS MALFEASANCE. CYNICISM HAS KEPT US FROM ACTING ON OUR OBLIGATION TO CELEBRATE STRUGGLE AND SUCCESS AND HUMANITY AS VIGROUSLY AS WE POINT OUT FLAWS -- AND THERE IS PLENTY OF HUMANITY TO CELEBRATE, IT TURNS OUT.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE ONE TRAGIC DAY MAKES.

BEFORE SEPTEMBER 11 POLICE IN NEW YORK CITY WERE THOUGHT OF BY MANY AS RACIST THUGS WITH BADGES; THE MAYOR OF NEW YORK AS A HARD-HEARTED BULLY WITH A PENCHANT FOR SAYING THE WRONG THING AT THE WRONG TIME, A MAYOR DAVID LETTERMAN ONCE VILIFIED AND NOW CALLS THE PERSONIFICATION OF COURAGE. WE ARE AS ONE WITH LETTERMAN. THE GOATS ARE NOW THE HEROES. COULD THEY HAVE CHANGED THAT MUCH THAT FAST? OF COURSE NOT. IT IS, IN PART, THE PRISM THROUGH WHICH WE VIEW THEM THAT HAS CHANGED.

CYNICISM, IT TURNS OUT, CANNOT SURVIVE THE WARM EMBRACE OF KINSHIP AND SHARED EMOTIONS. AND MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT; JOURNALISTS HAVE FELT – AND SHOWN – THE SAME EMOTIONS AS OTHER CITIZENS DURING THE PAST 60 DAYS. IMAGINE THAT. JUST LIKE 'REAL PEOPLE,' AS WE ARE FOND OF REFERRING TO THOSE OUTSIDE OF NEWSROOMS.

2. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: THESE ARE THE WORST OF TIMES FOR THE PRESS.

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: THE PRESS RULES.

AS WE CLOSED OUT THE 20TH CENTURY, MANY OF THE BEST MINDS IN JOURNALISM SAW US AS A PROFESSION IN TROUBLE, AN INSTITUTION VITAL TO DEMOCRACY AND COMMERCE AND COMMUNITY WITH A GROWING FAULT LINE BETWEEN ITS HIGHEST IDEALS, ITS DAY-TO-DAY PRACTICES AND THE PUBLIC'S VIEW OF ITS PERFORMANCE.

BECAUSE OF CONSOLIDATION OF THE INDUSTRY, THE RELENTLESS PUSH FOR EVER-INCREASING PROFITS FROM WALL STREET AND THE SUPREMACY OF ENTERTAINMENT VALUES IN MEDIA, PEOPLE SAW BUSINESS IMPERATIVES IN CONFLICT WITH OUR PUBLIC PURPOSE.

MOST DEEPLY TROUBLING WAS OUR OWN FRUSTRATION AND DISAPPOINTMENT WITH THE PROFESSION. WHEN A PROFESSION IS ITSELF DISHEARTENED, UNSURE OF ITS STANDARDS OR ITS WORTH, IT IS DANGEROUS GOING INDEED. SADDEST OF ALL WASN'T THAT THE PUBLIC HAD LOW EXPECTATIONS OF US, WHICH WE STILL SOMETIMES FAILED TO MEET, BUT THAT WE WERE NOT MEETING OUR OWN EXPECTATIONS.

WE HAVE HAD A ROUGH PATCH, NO DOUBT. I THINK THERE IS HOPE THAT THE LOW OPINION OF US HAS BOTTOMED OUT. BECAUSE OF THE TRAGIC EVENTS OF SEPT 11, WE HAVE A CHANCE TO FIND OUR WAY, CLIMB OUT OF THE MUCK, TURN AWAY FROM THE CELEBRATION AND ELEVATION OF THE INCONSEQUENTIAL, REDIRECT OUR GAZE AWAY FROM CELEBRITY CHITCHAT AND THE SCANDAL DU JOUR TO WHAT REALLY MATTERS.

IT IS ONLY BY DOING SO THAT WE CAN HONOR OUR HOPES AND FADED IDEALS AND FULFILL OUR LARGER PUBLIC PURPOSE.

THE HIGH ROAD IS THERE IF WE WILL JUST TAKE IT. IF NEWSPAPER JOURNALISM AND JOURNALISTS LONG FOR GREATER RESPECT, THEN NEWSPAPER EDITORS HAVE ONLY TO PLAY DOWN – NOT PLAY UP – THE TRIVIAL, THE PERVERSE, THE BIZARRE.

THE TRAGIC EVENTS OF SEPT. 11 HAVE GIVEN US A CHANCE TO RECLAIM AND REASSERT THE BEST THAT JOURNALISM HAS TO OFFER A WARY PUBLIC.

3. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: OBJECTIVITY REQUIRES A BLOODLESS DETACHMENT FROM NEWS AND PEOPLE AT THE CORE OF IT.

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: IT'S A SMALL WORLD AND WE'RE ALL IN IT TOGETHER.

HOW SAD THAT WE HAVE SUCCEEDED SO WELL IN SETTING OURSELVES APART FROM THE REST OF THE COUNTRY. WE DID THIS BY APPROACHING ALMOST ALL STORIES – EVEN STORIES OVERFLOWING WITH PATHOS AND HEARTBREAK -- FROM THE OUTSIDE.

WE HAD RAMPED UP PROFESSIONAL DETACHMENT TO THE POINT OF CALLOUSNESS AND MISTAKEN BAD MANNERS FOR LEGITIMATE INQUIRY.

WE WORE OUR DETACHMENT AS A BADGE. WE ACTED AS IF WE COULD MAINTAIN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS ONLY BY BEING DETACHED – SEPARATE FROM OTHER PEOPLE AND THEIR CONCERNS. WE WERE WRONG. BEING MEMBERS OF AN ELITIST CLASS COST US DEARLY IN TRUST AND CREDIBILITY.

POST SEPT. 11 AN UNNATURAL DETACHMENT FROM EVENTS IS MORE JARRING TO NORMAL FOLKS THAN EVER. TAKE THE CASE OF DAVID WESTIN, ABC NEWS PRESIDENT. LAST WEEK WESTIN WAS SKEWERED BY MATT DRUDGE, OF ALL PEOPLE, FOR SAYING HE HAD NO OPINION WHEN ASKED AT A COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FORUM WHETHER THE PENTAGON WAS AN APPROPRIATE MILITARY TARGET. ACTUALLY HE DID WORSE THAN JUST SAYING HE HAD NO OPINION. HE LECTURED THE AUDIENCE ON THE IMPORTANCE TO A FREE PRESS OF HIM NOT HAVING AN OPINION.

C'MON. NO OPINION OF WHETHER THE PENTAGON WAS AN APPROPRIATE TARGET? IS THE PUBLIC REALLY SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THAT AND BUY IT? AND, EVEN IF THEY DID, DOESN'T THAT MAKE THE PRESS SO DETACHED AS TO BE WITHOUT NORMAL MORALS OR EMOTIONS?

WE CAN, AND MOSTLY ARE DOING BETTER THAN THIS KNEE-JERK OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM OF EXPRESSING DETACHMENT, WHICH IS AT ODDS WITH COMMON SENSE.
 
 

4. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: PEOPLE STORIES AREN'T REAL NEWS AND, BESIDES, WE HAVE TOLD THEM ALL ALREADY.

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE PERSONAL STORY.

EVERY EDITOR IN AMERICA KNOWS THAT THE BEST EXECUTED STORIES OF HUMANITY RECEIVE THE STRONGEST REACTION. YET I KNOW OF NO EDITOR WHO BELIEVES SHE PAYS ENOUGH ATTENTION TO THAT IN HER NEWSROOM OR DOES THEM WELL ENOUGH. THEY ARE KISSED OFF, DISMISSED AS NEWS LITE AND TOO OFTEN GHETTOIZED IN FEATURE SECTIONS. WORSE, THE SAME RIGOR THAT IS BROUGHT TO THE MOST AMBITIOUS WORK IS NOT OFTEN APPLIED TO THESE STORIES OF HUMANITY.

WE HAVE CONSISTENTLY UNDERESTIMATED READERS' LONGING FOR THE REAL AND THE HUMAN.

LAST YEAR THE OREGONIAN WON THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FEATURE WRITING WITH A FOUR-PART SERIES ON A 14-YEAR-OLD BOY WITH A SEVERE FACIAL DEFORMITY WHO RISKED LIFE-THREATENING SURGERY TO APPEAR MORE NORMAL. THE STORY REMINDED US THAT WE ALL NEED TO BE ACCEPTED AND PAINTED A POWERFUL PORTRAIT OF WHAT WE WILL DO TO GAIN THAT ACCEPTANCE. MORE THAN 3,500 READERS WROTE OR CALLED THE NEWSPAPER TO THANK US FOR THE STORY. MORE THAN A YEAR LATER READERS STILL STOP THE REPORTER ON THE STREET TO ASK HOW SAM, THE BOY, IS DOING.
 
 
 
 
 
 

SIMILARLY, THE NYT'S MINI PROFILES OF THE VICTIMS OF SEPT. 11 HAVE STRUCK A STRONGER CHORD WITH READERS THAN ANY OTHER COVERAGE THEY HAVE DONE. THEY HAVE BEEN RUNNING A FULL PAGE – EACH ONE CONTAINING STORIES OF ABOUT 15 VICTIMS – EVERY DAY. THESE STORIES – NO MORE THAN FOUR OR FIVE PARAGRAPHS EACH, TELL YOU NOT THE FACTS – BUT THE LIVES OF THE INDIVIDUALS. YOU START TO KNOW WHO DREAMED OF GOING BACK TO SCHOOL, WHO SPENT WEEKENDS AT THEIR CHILDREN'S SOCCER GAMES, WHO HAD JUST CELEBRATED AN ANNIVERSARY OR VOLUNTEERED IN SOUP KITCHENS OR SIMPLY EXCELLED IN BEING A FRIEND. REAL LIFE, IN OTHER WORDS. IN ALL ITS GLORY.

READERS DEVOUR THEM. THIS PAGE IS THE ONE NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS SAY THEY SEE PEOPLE READING ON SUBWAYS.

THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS NYT RESPECTED THESE 5,000 ORDINARY FOLKS ENOUGH TO PRESENT AN HONEST SNAPSHOT OF THEIR LIVES. THAT'S A POWERFUL STATEMENT. NO WONDER READERS RESPONDED. READ THESE NUGGETS AND WE SEE OURSELVES, WE SEE OUR OWN DREAMS AND LIVES. THE TIMES HAS DECIDED TO KEEP PUBLISHING THESE UNTIL THEY ARE DONE, 15 OR SO A DAY, A FULL PAGE, EVERY DAY FOR WHAT WILL LIKELY BE ALMOST A YEAR.

MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT. THESE SIMPLE STORIES ARE AS IMPORTANT TO JOURNALISM AS THEY ARE TO LOVED ONES LEFT BEHIND. THE FACT THAT THE NYT, THE GOLD STANDARD IN OUR BUSINESS, IS DEVOTING SEVERAL DOZEN REPORTERS AND A FULL PAGE OF SPACE A DAY TO DO THIS, SPEAKS VOLUMES. IT HAS CHANGED THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE NYT WITH SOME OF ITS READERS AND I PREDICT WILL BE DISCUSSED IN JOURNALISM SCHOOLS LONG AFTER THE VICTIMS HAVE ALL BEEN PROFILED.

WHY? BECAUSE WE ARE NOT USED TO THE NYT SHOWING SO MUCH HUMANITY. AND BY DOING SO, AND DOING SO IN SUCH A VISIBLE, SUSTAINED WAY IT INFLUENCES THE REST OF THE CRAFT.

REGARDING THAT, NO ONE UNDERSTOOD BETTER THE ROLE OF HUMANITY IN DEMONSTRATING JOURNALISM'S RELEVANCE TO THE PUBLIC OR RAISED CRAFT TO A HIGHER LEVEL THAN YOUR ALUMNUS, CHARLES KURALT.

KURALT WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT PEOPLE AND WHAT THEY DID; HIS LOVE WAS LANGUAGE AND HIS ART – STORYTELLING. HE CELEBRATED A WORLD OF JOY, LOSS, TRIAL AND ACHIEVEMENT. HE TRAVELED THE COUNTRY HONORING LIVES OF ALL SORT.

IN A SPEECH ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO, KURALT PLEADED WITH US TO TURN AT LEAST PART OF OUR ATTENTION AWAY FROM PURSUIT OF THE ENTERTAINER, THE POLITICIAN AND THE CRIMINAL AND TOWARD "THE DECENT AND HONEST AND SOMETIMES NOBLE LIVES OF OUR FELLOW CITIZENS."

WE COULD DO WORSE.

5. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: WHAT IS RELEVANT IS CLOSE-TO-HOME INFORMATION WE CAN ACT ON.

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: RELEVANCE IS RELATIVE – AND MAY BE FARTHER AWAY THAN THE NEXT COUNTY.

IN A SEARCH FOR RELEVANCE AS THE KEY TO READERSHIP, TOO MANY EDITORS ACTED AS IF RELEVANCE DEMANDED A MYOPIC FOCUS ON THE MUNDANE, THE MINUTAE THAT OCCUPIES MUCH OF DAILY LIFE. SO, IF A NEWSPAPER GAVE YOU INFORMATION YOU COULD APPLY DIRECTLY TO DECISIONS YOU MADE IN PREPARING THAT NIGHT'S DINNER, PROVIDED YOU HELPFUL HINTS ON SHOPPING FOR PILLOWS, OR TOLD YOU HOW TO LOSE 20 POUNDS BEFORE THE END OF THE WEEK, IT WAS SEEN AS RELEVANT.

BEFORE, NOT MANY OF US – EDITORS OR READERS – SAW AS EQUALLY RELEVANT THE ARCANE ACTIVITIES OF A FANATICAL SECT BASED IN AFGHANISTAN. NOT MANY EDITORS, THIS ONE INCLUDED, SAW OSAMA BIN LADEN AS RELEVANT ENOUGH TO PUBLISH EVEN A FRACTION OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF WORDS WE HAVE PUBLISHED SINCE SEPT. 11.

BUT IF SOMETHING HAPPENED WITHIN 20 MILES OF THE NEWSPAPER OFFICE (THE CLOSER THE BETTER) WE SAW ITS RELEVANCE AS BEING OFF THE CHARTS. AND AFGHANISTAN, MY LORD, THAT WAS SO FAR AWAY IT WAS OUR METAPHOR FOR TOTAL IRRELEVANCE TO OUR READERS' LIVES.

WE ALLOWED OUR FOCUS AND OUR STRENGTH -- OUR LOCALNESS -- TO LIMIT OUR AMBITIONS. SUDDENLY WE HAVE FOUND WE CAN BE DEFINED BY LOCAL WITHOUT BEING LIMITED BY IT. WHAT IS LOCAL IS NOT NECESSARILY GEOGRAPHICALLY LIMITING ANY MORE THAN IT IS JOURNALISTICALLY LIMITING.

RELEVANCE IS RELATIVE, AND IT IS ON TODAY'S RELEVANCE THAT WE HAVE A CHANCE TO RECONSTRUCT OUR IMAGE AND REHABILITATE RELATIONS WITH OUR READERS.
 
 

6. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: FOREIGN NEWS IS BORING AND DIFFICULT.

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE READERS' WILLINGNESS TO DEVOUR DIFFICULT SUBJECTS.

THE LONG DECLINE OF FOREIGN NEWS COVERAGE IS WELL ESTABLISHED IN ALL MEDIA, REFLECTING -- OR POSSIBLY CONTRIBUTING TO -- A DECREASED APPETITE FOR FOREIGN NEWS AMONG THE PUBLIC. THE EVIDENCE ABOUNDS.

WELL, WE'RE BACK IN THE WORLD. AND NOW WE'RE SEEING THAT FOREIGN NEWS ISN'T JUST HEADLINES; IT'S REALLY A CULTURAL STORY. PREVIOUSLY, WE'VE PRESENTED THE MID-EAST AS INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES LOCKED IN A DEATH STRUGGLE, AS REQUIRING OCCASIONAL REPORTING ON A NEVER-ENDING CONFLICT.

WHAT WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING AND WHAT WE ARE NOW, BELATEDLY, ATTEMPTING IS TO COVER THE MIDEAST NOT JUST AS CONFLICT, BUT AS CULTURE, AS A PLACE WITH A DIFFICULT HISTORY AND DIFFERENT VALUES. IN OTHER WORDS, TO GIVE IT CONTEXT.

WE COVERED CONFLICT, BECAUSE WE KNOW HOW TO COVER CONFLICT. THAT IS HOW WE HAVE DEFINED NEWS. WHAT WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERING BETTER ALL ALONG IS THE MORE COMPLEX CULTURAL STORY. THAT'S WHAT PROVIDES INSIGHT AND UNDERSTANDING BEYOND THE BREAKING NEWS HEADLINES. THE COVERING OF CULTURE IS, AND WILL REMAIN, CENTRAL TO THE NEW EXPANDED DEFINITION OF FOREIGN NEWS.
 
 

7. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: GENERAL KNOWLEDGE IS OK FOR JOURNALISTS. YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE TO KNOW MUCH, JUST BE CURIOUS AND ASK GOOD QUESTIONS.

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: THE PUBLIC EXPECTS – AND DESERVES – A PRESS THAT KNOWS MORE THAN HOW TO USE A ROLODEX.

WE'RE SURFACE FOLKS AND GENERALISTS. WE KNOW HOW TO DIG, WE HAVE THE BEST RESEARCH IN THE WORLD AVAILABLE TO US. BUT WE HAVE TOO OFTEN TRIED TO PASS OFF FACT-GATHERING AS UNDERSTANDING, OR WORSE YET, AS KNOWLEDGE.

JOURNALISTS MUST BE KNOWLEDGEABLE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO REPORT ON COMPLEX SUBJECTS WITH AUTHORITY, AUTHENTICITY AND INSIGHT.
 
 

THE ROLE OF THE PRESS, SECOND ONLY TO THAT OF THE ACADEMY, IS TO EDUCATE. BECAUSE WE HAVE UNDERESTIMATED THE NEED FOR HISTORICAL, LITERARY, SOCIOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXT AND FOR EXPLORING STORIES OF GREAT COMPLEXITY, WE WERE OURSELVES ILL-PREPARED.

THE PROBLEM HAS NEVER BEEN THAT WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS. THE REAL DANGER IS IF WE ARE NOT SMART ENOUGH TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.

BUT ONE THING JOURNALISTS DO WELL IS TO REACT TO THE MOMENT AT HAND. AND REACT WE HAVE. VERY WELL, EXTRAORDINARILY WELL FOR THE MOST PART. IN OUR NEWSPAPERS WE HAVE HAD DOZENS OF PAGES OF BACKGROUND ON ISLAM AND THE TALIBAN AND GERM WARFARE AND ANTHRAX . WE HAVE PUBLISHED GRAPHICS AND TIMELINES AND MAPS AND HAVE RESURRECTED THE TOO OFTEN IGNORED Q & A.

READERS HAVE REWARDED OUR SCRAMBLE FOR NEWS AND KNOWLEDGE BY DEVOURING IT. THEY HAVE DEMONSTRATED THEY HAVE A REASON AND A DESIRE TO LEARN AND LOOK TO NEWSPAPERS AS CRUCIAL TO THAT UNDERSTANDING.
 
 

8. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: SEXY HEADLINES SELL.

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: DO NOT SENSATIONALIZE, DO NOT SENSATIONALIZE, DO NOT SENSATIONALIZE.

WE HAVE NOT BROUGHT HONOR TO OURSELVES WITH THE COARSENESS OF THE MEDIA AND THE DRIFT INTO CELEBRITY AND SLEAZE. IT'S NOT JUST BAD TASTE BUT DESTRUCTIVE AND IRRESPONSIBLE. IT IS AN ABUSE OF GIFTS FROM THE AGES AND THE FOUNDING FATHERS.

CITIZENS WANT AND DESERVE BETTER THAN THE TRASHY ENTERTAINMENT POPULAR CULTURE HAS SERVED UP. THE NOTION THAT READERS HAVE CREATED THIS DEMAND FOR MUCK IS FALSE. YOU'VE HEARD OF BLAMING THE MESSENGER. SISELA BOK, PHILOSOPHER AND ETHICIST, CALLS THIS FLIMSY EXCUSE OF OURS SHOOTING THE RECIPIENT.

SENSATIONALIZING NOW HAS A PARTICULARLY HIGH COST. IF CABLE NEWS SENSATIONALIZES QUESTIONS ABOUT GARY CONDIT AND CHANDRA LEVY – WHICH THEY SHAMELESSLY DID ALL SUMMER – IT REALLY IS OF NO CONSEQUENCE EXCEPT TO THEIR OWN REPUTATION. THE SAME IS NOT TRUE WHEN THEY SENSATIONALIZE AND PLAY TO PEOPLE'S WORST FEARS ABOUT ANTHRAX, REPORTING IN AN ENDLESS LOOP OLD NEWS AND THE MOST MINUTE INCREMENTAL DEVELOPMENTS WITH BREATHLESS URGENCY.

IN THE RAUCOUS, ROWDY MEDIA WORLD OF THE GO-GO '90S NEWSPAPERS, TOO, HAVE PANDERED AND BEEN PULLED DOWN TO THE LEVEL OF OTHER MEDIA. WE ARE NOT TELEVISION. NEWSPAPERS NEVER SHOULD HAVE SUCCUMBED TO THE ENTERTAINMENT AND SENSATIONALISTIC VALUES OF TELEVISION NEWS, WHICH GROSSLY UNDERESTIMATES PEOPLE'S INTELLIGENCE AND ATTENTION.

IN THE DAYS SINCE SEPT. 11, MILLIONS OF AMERICANS HAVE BOUGHT NEWSPAPERS, DEVOURED THEM, PUT THEM AWAY IN FAMILY TRUNKS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. THEY HAVE DONE THIS BECAUSE THEY RECOGNIZE THE HISTORICAL NATURE OF EVENTS. THEY ALSO HAVE DONE THIS BECAUSE THEY RECOGNIZE NEWSPAPERS AS AUTHENTIC RECORDERS OF THAT HISTORY.

IT IS REMINISCENT OF THE ASSASSINATION OF JFK. I WAS THEN A 15-YEAR-OLD, THE DAUGHTER OF A SMALL TOWN NEWSPAPER EDITOR. I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE A REGULAR PAPER ROUTE BECAUSE GIRLS DIDN'T DO THAT BACK THEN. BUT ON THE AFTERNOON OF NOV. 22, 1963, I WAS DRAFTED, ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE IN THE LARGER NEWSPAPER FAMILY, TO HAWK EXTRAS. I WAS SENT TO THE LOCAL COLLEGE CAMPUS, WHERE NORMALLY UNINTERESTED COLLEGE STUDENTS NEARLY GRABBED THEM OUT OF OUR HANDS.

NEWSPAPERS WERE THAT DAY, AS THEY HAVE BEEN THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY, THE TOWN CRIERS. TODAY, DESPITE THE SPEED OF THE INTERNET, DESPITE THE VIDEO RAZZLE DAZZLE AND HYPNOTIC EFFECT OF TELEVISION, DESPITE THE DRUMBEAT OF TALK RADIO, NEWSPAPERS CONTINUE TO HOLD THEIR PLACE AS A RESPECTED COMMUNITY VOICE.

AT OUR BEST, PRAISE GOD, NEWSPAPERS ARE STILL RECOGNIZED AS OFFERING DEPTH AND UNDERSTANDING AND INSIGHT WHEN IT MOST MATTERS. AT OUR BEST, WE CAN TACKLE 'WHY' AND 'HOW'. AT OUR BEST, WE CAN CALMLY AND AUTHORITATIVELY EXPLAIN THE SEEMINGLY INEXPLICABLE.

JAMES CAREY, JOURNALISTIC SCHOLAR AND PROFESSOR AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TELLS US THAT WHEN MATTERS OF FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE SURFACE IN NEWS, THEY CANNOT BE TREATED AS SECULAR MYSTERIES AND LEFT UNEXPLAINED. THEY MUST BE ACCOUNTED FOR, MUST BE RENDERED SENSIBLE. "THE ECONOMY AND THE POLITICAL SYSTEM FORM THE SACRED CENTER OF MODERN SOCIETY," CAREY SAYS. "WE INSIST (THEY) BE EXPLICABLE."

DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH WAITING FOR COMMERCIAL TV TO DECONSTRUCT COMPLEXITY. IT IS UP TO NEWSPAPERS AND INDIVIDUAL NEWSPAPER EDITORS TO SEE THAT THIS HAPPENS.

SO THE OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM IS GIVING WAY TO THE NEW. BUT NOW, TWO MONTHS INTO THIS "NEW NORMAL," NEWSPAPERS MUST DETERMINE WHETHER THEY WILL CONTINUE TO APPEAL TO OUR LARGER PUBLIC SELVES RATHER THAN REVERT TO THE TRIVIAL.

WE WILL BE CHALLENGED IN KEEPING TO THE HIGH ROAD BY OUR OWN LIMITED ATTENTION SPAN.

THE PRESS -- AND THE PUBLIC -- GONE SOFT FROM A PERIOD OF UNPARALLELED AFFLUENCE AND LACK OF THREAT, DISPLAYS THE ATTENTION SPAN AND THE NEED FOR IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION OF THE AVERAGE 4 YEAR OLD. OUR FOCUS, LIKE THE PUBLIC'S, HAS BEEN DEFINED BY OUR ABILITY TO REDUCE THE SIGNIFICANT TO THE SOUND BITE, BY THE BRIEF MOMENT BETWEEN TV COMMERCIALS, BY THE DIZZYING SPEED OF OUR OWN LIVES.

EVEN AT OUR BEST, MEDIA HAVE EPISODIC TENDENCIES. YOU CAN SEE IT ALREADY IN THE EMPHASIS SHIFT FROM RESCUE, TO AIRPORT SECURITY, TO WAR, TO ALL ANTHRAX ALL THE TIME. WE MUST HAVE SUSTAINED COVERAGE ON ALL THESE MATTERS TO BE TRULY INFORMED.

THESE ARE SUDDENLY SERIOUS TIMES, WITH THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF OUR FREEDOM HANGING IN THE BALANCE. WE CAN ILL AFFORD A PRESS THAT LIVES MOMENT TO MOMENT AND ILLUMINATES NOT AT ALL.

WE WILL BE CHALLENGED IN KEEPING TO THE HIGH ROAD BY OWNERS AND SHAREHOLDERS WHO PLACE MORE VALUE ON SHORT TERM RESULTS THAN ON CREATION OF ENDURING VALUE. OUR SUCCESS ULTIMATELY MUST BE TIED TO THE PUBLIC TRUST MORE THAN TO NEXT QUARTER'S PROFITS.

AND MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT; IT IS EXPENSIVE AND DIFFICULT. MANY DOUBT WHETHER MEDIA CONGLOMERATES, EVEN TODAY, WILL MAKE THE INVESTMENT NECESSARY FOR TRUE PUBLIC SERVICE JOURNALISM. OUR SURVIVAL MAY DEPEND ON IT. CERTAINLY OUR REPUTATION DOES.
 
 

WE WILL BE CHALLENGED IN KEEPING TO THE HIGH ROAD BY PEOPLE WHO DO NOT WANT TO HEAR VOICES OF DISSENT.

PEOPLE TODAY WANT OUR GOVERNMENT AND ITS LEADERS TO SUCCEED. WE WANT THIS ON A GUT, EMOTIONAL LEVEL WHETHER OR NOT WE AGREE WITH THEIR POLITICS. THEREFORE, VOICES OF DISSENT FEEL PARTICULARLY DISCORDANT.

I LIVE ON WHAT WE FONDLY (AND YOU DERISIVELY) CALL THE LEFT COAST, WHICH HAS A PROUD HISTORY OF DISSENT. THE OREGONIAN'S READERS REMIND US EVERY DAY OF THE IMPORTANCE OF DISSENT. WE HAVE BEEN AVERAGING MORE THAN 500 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR A WEEK SINCE SEPTEMBER 11, BY FAR THE VAST MAJORITY OPPOSING THE WAR OR TAKING ISSUE WITH SOME ASPECT OF ITS CONDUCT.

I REMEMBER THE EARLY DAYS OF PROTEST AGAINST THE VIETNAM WAR. I WAS A STUDENT AT EAST CAROLINA, NOT EXACTLY A HOTBED OF ANTI-WAR PROTESTS, SO AT FIRST WE TREATED PROTESTORS AS A BREED APART. FRINGE THINKERS, TO BE SURE, COMMUNISTS MAYBE. WE WERE SURE THEY WERE WRONG. BUT THINGS WERE NOT WHAT THEY SEEMED.

THE SEEDS SOWN IN THOSE PROTESTS GREW INTO AN ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT THAT DESTROYED LYNDON JOHNSON'S PRESIDENCY AND CONTRIBUTED TO THE ENDING OF THE WAR. THEN, THIRTY YEARS LATER, ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL ARCHITECTS OF THAT WAR, ROBERT MCNAMARA, APOLOGIZED FOR LYING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. THAT WAS POWERFUL CONFIRMATION THAT THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM. LET THE VOICES OF DISSENT RING LOUD AS A BELL OF FREEDOM.

WE WILL BE CHALLENGED IN KEEPING TO THE HIGH ROAD BY A GOVERNMENT THAT IN TIMES OF THREAT HUNKERS DOWN AND KEEPS INFORMATION HIDDEN EVEN MORE THAN NORMAL.

THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IT IS INAPPROPRIATE FOR THE PRESS TO ASK TOO MANY QUESTIONS WHEN WE ARE AT WAR.

INDEED, EVEN THE PRESIDENT'S PRESS SECRETARY, USING THE SYMPATHETIC PUBLIC AS HIS SHIELD, SAID, "THE PRESS IS ASKING A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT I SUSPECT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WOULD PREFER NOT BE ASKED. REPORT THE NEWS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE,' ARI FLEISCHER SAID, 'BUT IF YOU REPORT IT IN ITS ENTIRETY THAT COULD RAISE CONCERNS.' TO WHICH THE PRESIDENT OF SIGMA DELTA CHI SAID, "LET THE WHITE HOUSE RUN THE WAR AND LET US REPORT THE NEWS." TO WHICH WE ALL SHOULD SAY, AMEN.

NO ONE IN THE MEDIA OR AMONG CITIZEN-CONSUMERS OF NEWS WANTS INFORMATION THAT COULD COMPROMISE NATIONAL SECURITY. BUT INFORMATION FROM THE MILITARY IS ALWAYS FILTERED. GOVERNMENT HAS A NEED, EVEN AN OBLIGATION, TO KEEP SOME THINGS SECRET. BUT THE PRESS HAS AN OBLIGATION TO ASK QUESTIONS AND TO BE SKEPTICAL OF PAT ANSWERS, EVASIVENESS OR INCONSISTENCIES.

WHEN INFORMATION IS MORE DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN AND VERIFY IS WHEN A VIGOROUS, RIGOROUS PRESS IS MOST NEEDED. INFORMATION IS NOT DANGEROUS, PERILOUS TO OUR HEALTH.

THE PENTAGON, WE HAVE LEARNED TO OUR NATION'S GREAT SORROW, IS CAPABLE OF WILLFUL DECEPTION ABOUT ITS OWN POLICIES. BUT THIS IS NOT VIETNAM; NOR IS IT THE GULF WAR, THE LET'S-HAVE-A-GLASS-OF-WINE-TURN-ON-THE-TV-AND-WATCH KIND OF WAR. THIS WAR IS, EVEN IN ITS EARLIEST STAGES, A GROUND WAR WITH A SHADOWY ENEMY IN A COUNTRY WITH ALMOST NO ACCESS FOR JOURNALISTS. WE ARE MORE DEPENDENT ON THE QUALITY OF OUR QUESTIONS THAN ON OBSERVABLE EVENTS AND VERIFIABLE FACTS. WE HAD BETTER ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.

WE WILL BE CHALLENGED IN KEEPING TO THE HIGH ROAD BY THOSE WHO ARE FEARFUL.

WHEN TERRORISTS ATTACK OUR SYMBOLS OF TRADE, OF PROSPERITY AND OF MILITARY MIGHT, WHEN THEY THREATEN OUR FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT AND OUR COMMUNICATIONS, IT IS NATURAL THAT WE ARE AFRAID.

BUT FACTS THEMSELVES DO NOT ADD FEAR; RATHER, THEY STEADY THE NERVES OF SENSIBLE PEOPLE. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IT LOOK AT THE STEADYING EFFECT OF RUDY GIULIANI'S STRAIGHT-TALKING MANNER IN THE CHAOTIC EARLY DAYS. INFORMATION, NO MATTER HOW UNSETTLING, IS NOT THE THREAT. IT IS MORE NEARLY THE SAFEGUARD OF OUR FREEDOM.

THE NEWS MEDIA CANNOT BE COWED BY THOSE WHO WILL WISH TO TELL US ONLY WHAT THEY THINK IS GOOD FOR US. THE PRESS MUST NOT SOFT-PEDAL THE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS. WE MUST NOT FORGET OUR DUTY TO SHINE LIGHT IN DARK CORNERS. DEMOCRACY DEMANDS THAT WE SERVE THIS FUNCTION, IN GOOD TIMES AND IN BAD.
 
 

THE HIGH ROAD IS, AS IT HAS BEEN, THERE FOR US.

WE CAN PROVIDE TRUE PUBLIC SERVICE AS CITIZENS STRUGGLE TO LEARN WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW TO GO ABOUT DAILY LIFE, WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW TO ENSURE THE PUBLIC SAFETY, WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW TO HELP PRESERVE OUR FREEDOMS.

THE COUNTRY'S STRENGTH, AND AS WE HAVE LEARNED, ITS VULNERABILITY, COME FROM OUR BEST QUALITIES – OUR INCREDIBLE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT, OUR RELATIVELY OPEN BORDERS, OUR PLURALISM AND INCREASING DIVERSITY.

IF OUR OPENNESS AND OUR STRENGTH AS A FREE SOCIETY MAKE US VULNERABLE AND ARE AT STAKE HERE, THEN THE PRESS COULD NOT POSSIBLY HAVE A MORE IMPORTANT ROLE AT THIS MOMENT IN OUR HISTORY. AND IF PURPOSE IS WHAT THE PRESS HAS NEEDED TO RE-ENGAGE WITH ITS OWN VALUES, THEN PURPOSE WE HAVE AND RE-ENGAGE WE MUST.

IT IS TODAY, AS IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN, A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO BE A JOURNALIST. JOURNALISM MATTERS MORE THAN IT HAS IN DECADES. DESPITE OUR SHORTCOMINGS WE HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE ABLE TO MEET THE CHALLENGE THAN WE ARE TODAY.

THE ATTACKERS, WE ARE TOLD, THOUGHT THEY WOULD UNDERMINE DEMOCRACY. INSTEAD, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHORE UP THE FOUNDATIONS OF DEMOCRACY BY VIGOROUSLY DEFENDING FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND HONORING THE IDEALS ON WHICH IT STANDS.

IT IS A WORTHY GOAL. THANK YOU.