Editorial: The Decay of the Iron Core: How media sources in the 21st century have fallen far, and how they might climb back up

The Decay of the Iron Core: How media sources in the 21^st century have fallen far, and how they might climb back up

            by Zachary Chin

November 28th, 2011

            Accurate, relevant news in the United States is slowly disappearing, and it seems almost impossible to stop. The news the country is losing is not the tabloid journalism you might see in magazines in the grocery line or the partisan advocacy that you would catch on the O’Reilly Factor or Bill Maher, but what Alex Jones* calls “The Iron Core” of uncompromising, unbiased journalism. Employees in the newsroom often work tirelessly to check facts, follow up on political events, and explain the nature of things like Obamacare or the SOPA bill, only to be largely eclipsed by the sports section, classifieds, or paper sponsorships.

Over time, people have become satisfied with watching their local news on the television, which often chronicles events like a local fire or a missing child. As compelling or interesting as these stories may be, they are not a part of “The Iron Core” because they do not change or allow the viewer to consider his/her view of the world. Over the years, what more and more people consider news is falling under this category of events that may be important, but are not necessarily relevant to the national or global spheres. National news on the television often presents stories that are part of the iron core, but the length of time and follow-up for the headline is usually shockingly sparse in comparison to the opinionated information viewers will take from it instead. While many would be wise enough to not consider the following sources to be news, a huge portion of the nation has replaced their absorption of true, traditional journalism with entertaining segments by Rush Limbaugh or Chris Matthews. While the depictions of the events these men use to prove their point may be correct, the fact that they use news to advocate for a certain person or party forces the news to take a backseat to political views.

Newspapers are the  remaining traditional media source, and they have been slowly dying since the other sources have been born. While they fill their front pages mostly with iron core news and certainly have more of it than the other media sources, budget cuts by chief editors and publishers have hindered the papers’ ability to dispense important information. Yet, the budget cuts are necessary, for people are buying fewer newspapers every year. Print media that costs even a miniscule amount of money would lose customers because those that buy the paper for tools like the classifieds can now visit websites like craigslist or ebay to find exactly what they want faster, and probably for cheaper. Additionally, it is far easier to watch or listen to the news, whether local or national, than it is to deal with the hassle of a newspaper. What scares those involved in bolstering the iron core is that even if newspapers were the predominant source of media in the modern age, only a fraction of the newspaper is actually a part of the iron core. The Independent Chronicle explored the contents of an issue from The New York Times, The LA Times, The Chicago Tribune, and The Boston Globe to discover how much of the newspaper could be considered accurate and relevant. The New York Times, The LA Times, and The Chicago Tribune had an average iron core percentage of 20%. The Boston Globe boasted a slightly higher number at 32%. It is frightening to imagine when this dying source of media that contains what Alex Jones estimates to be around 95% of iron core news falls even further to the hands of economic disadvantage.
            What remains is the power of new media sources and the desire to print real, significant news. The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast function a lot like today’s newspapers with a front page, business, and sports section, but unlike the dangers of economic disadvantaged papers, there is no cost to print, and so the editors of the online blog can post whatever they see fit. While the iron core may still twinkle in the 30% range, there is no risk in this number decreasing, for there are only costs to pay journalists and staff writers, but the cost to print is a comforting $0. The online blog style of dispensing information is undoubtedly the future in allowing followers and occasional readers to absorb important information about the country and the world. At The Independent Chronicle, we strive to push forth over 50% iron core journalism, the other parts reserved for an occasional movie review for groundbreaking material or an editorial piece like this one. Regardless of the percentage, it is clear that the elimination of the cost of printing and the quickness afforded by online posting have allowed blogs to emerge as a critical source of media.

The only disadvantage seen thus far is the government’s reaction to such power and widespread influence that an online blog can possess. Consider Wikileaks, an online source of articles about corporate and government secrets. This sort of exposing of secrets in the world of journalism is considered the highest, most revered form of iron core news: investigative reporting. James Callender exposed Thomas Jefferson’s hypocritical affair with his mullato slave Sally Hemmings, and Robert McNamara released the Pentagon Papers, both showing important information to the public about their leaders’ actions. The release of the Pentagon Papers, for instance, radically changed how people viewed the Vietnam War, and its mass publication allowed the country to consider the dangers of engaging in full-scale ideological warfare.

Yet, it is horrifying to see how our society in this age has branded Julian Asange, the leader of Wikileaks as a traitor and enemy of the state. Citizens who have absorbed countless stories about a stubborn cat stuck in a tree on their local news station have to consider where their interest really lies. Do we want to be educated in global politics and learn what the world’s governments and largest corporations are doing behind our backs? Or will we choose to shrug off investigative reporting and crush the iron core news that already seems to dwindle?

*Alex Jones is the Director of Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The New York Times.