Diseased Journalism

To the Editors of The Crimson:

Well I'm afraid "the cold wet fish of truth" is just slapping us around. We must "reconsider [our] basic assumptions."

In the old days the King of England could tell you what you said was treason, and you would have to be quarantined in the Tower. But then modern man developed Freedom of Speech (which, of course, I am now enjoying, as did Jeff Wise in "Not Taking Chances," December 17, 1985).

"But the tables have been turned on us." There is in our society a kind of diseased journalism which has an "incredible virulence." I mean to identify a syndrome, the symptoms of which Jeff Wise exemplifies: irresponsibility on the part of the journalist (avoiding doing the necessary background research to write cogently on an issue); loss of logic (note Wise's thought process: Diseases were dealt with poorly, doctors learned how to find cures, a new disease defies cure, so we should deal with disease defies cure, so we should deal with diseases poorly as we did in the first place, and then everything will be nice again and "our attitude will change"); and lack of creative thinking in general (Wise decides there can be only one possible way of dealing with a problem).

The diseased journalism is harmful, easily transmitted. Someone might actually take Jeff Wise seriously. If enough people take him seriously, a whole community will be infected with a destroyed sensitivity to human rights.

Thus, I propose, and it is "the only feasible option we have right now," that we isolate journalists like Jeff Wise and protect the society at large form harmful editorials and irresponsible journalism. Wise should not mind, really. His article indicates he does not think much of the rights of individuals anyway. Peter Gadol '86