Have the Media Lost Their Way

How do you feel about the level of objectivity in today’s news reporting? Do you think the media have morphed into PR people? However you want to coin the phrase – media bias or journalism advocacy – if this is something that interests you, take a break from studying for final exams and stop by Bozorth Hall auditorium at 5 p.m. for some free refreshments and fun!

A panel of media professionals will go head-to-head with others in the media field in a Crossfire debate titled, “Watchdog or lapdog: Have the media lost their way?”

Presented by students of the senior seminar Case Studies in Public Relations and Rowan’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapter, the annual Crossfire Debate focuses on a controversial topic each year and includes both experts from the field and Rowan students and professors as panelists.

This year’s topic is fueled by recent reports that the media has become increasingly slanted in their reporting in many aspects, particularly the past presidential election.

The panel that will argue the bias of the media includes Dr. Joseph Basso, a lawyer and public relations and advertising professor at Rowan, and Laura Casey, senior public relations major at Rowan.

Panelists will argue that the media are objective include George Anastasia, an investigative reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and author of three books and Kate Gamble, a senior student at Rowan studying journalism, public relations and English.

At the conclusion of the debate the floor will be opened to questions from the audience.

If finals have you locked in the library and can’t make it to tonight’s debate, I’m still interested on how you feel about the issue. What are your thoughts on the current state of the media? Do you think the media will ever come back to being the fair and balanced source of news it once was?