A recent retirement column posted on businessweek.com/investing questioned the silence about Medicare and other retirement issues. The writer, Ellen Hoffman, scanned position papers, statements, and tried, sometimes without success, to get more information from campaign staffs. It’s a hopeful sign that she tried. Maybe other reporters will start delving in to the effects of government overpayments and rising health care costs on Medicare, and whether Medicare will continue to cover all of the elderly. Here’s a case where the press needs to lead rather than wait for the spinmeisters to decide what gets covered.
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I suppose that Ms. Lieberman's article answers its own question. She's practicing journalism. We're all still waiting to discover what the rest of those who describe themselves as the "press corps" are doing beyond acting as publicists for the political establishment. Granted that there are occassional examples of journalistic excellence, but they are unique enough to stand out and they never have anything to do with political activities of any sort. We can only hope that Trudy's lead will have some positive effect upon her colleagues in the rest of the media. Unfortunately before there can be a better informed electorate there has to be a better informed press corps. And they need to have the will to report the news rather than regurgitate press releases.
Posted by Jack![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.cjr.org/nav-commenters.gif)
on Thu 3 Jan 2008 at 01:06 PM