orville schell

On this morning's walk I caught the podcast of a David Brancaccio's interview of Orville Schell on NOW (mp3 here)

recommended if you missed the broadcast - very important stuff on the role of media in a democracy.

A transcript is available on the NOW site.

excerpt:

SCHELL: Well, I think that, you know, we've entered a very sort of dangerous and— and for me a troubling time when the press has come under great attack. And, I think it grows out of an interesting— set of different experiences and understandings of what the press and the media is all about.

On the one had I think the Bush Administration and to a certain degree— Republicans come out of a tradition more of public relations in which communications tries to attain a goal. But, in actuality we as reports, and the press, come out of an entirely different tradition, which is to follow things wherever they go and try to say things— explain things as we see them.

And, those are absolutely different traditions. So, I think sometimes when the current administration attacks the press, they're attacking it the way any corporation, any government, anybody with a good PR firm would attack anybody who is making them— look other than they wish to look. But— it's very— important I think for Americans to remember that the tradition of the press as an independent watchdog, somewhat feisty, somewhat iconoclastic, and always looking, looking, looking, prying, prying, prying.

This was the notion that our founding fathers laid out, spelled out with utter clarity. And, I think we've lost sight of it— with this new tradition of public relations, which had gotten all lumped together with the press as just, you know, the media, mass communications. But, they're two very different rivers flowing into that stream of mass communications.

Comments

[sara]

i heard this on my sunday morning run. you got me listening to the now podcast and i need to thank you for that.

it seems to me that the current group running the republican party believe reason and analysis are a sign of weakness. it is better to hold to some ideal no matter what the consequences occur. they are anti intellectual and have leveraged the public's mistrust of the learned.

the augmentation of a hollow ideology with fear and the invocation of having god on their side in a religious culture is very powerful. it isn't sustainable, but they are enjoying great wealth and power as a result.

it is too bad the press is not filling its function. the blogosphere allows some expression, but it is rarely great journalism and tends to live in echo chambers.

i worry about the future of this country.