Ray and list, What’s disturbing to me is a general pattern that is emerging, as exemplified in the DP series on the hotel. I’ve been reading serious reports about civics education not being part of school curriculum, law students without an understanding of basic ethics; and as DP readers know, a loss of basic principles in journalism.
Young folks today are immersed in a web of marketing. Newspapers have traditional ads, news stories as ads, editorials as ads, and now opinion columns as ads. The Praxis methods and ethics are systematically being taught to the young at an alarming rate. “Everyone is doing it” seems to be the ethical justification for people being heavily trained, but without a grasp on principles developed over the history of mankind. Most things in the DP, and the PW piece written by Penn Real Estate, Andrew Zitcer, stick out as examples. I know Andrew and I met this former DP editor. These are not bad people at all. Of course they understand the methods and tactics that they are using, but I increasingly believe that they see nothing wrong with cloaking press releases and marketing as ethical journalism. Because of the hotel, our neighbors have studied the DP failures, but it is a much larger problem in the values systematically being passed to a generation. While some neighbors think it is a big crisis if other neighbors discover the time, date, and location of an FOCP/SHCA meeting; I think the pathetic demise of integrity at the DP is the sign of a genuine crisis across country. Concerned, Glenn ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
