By Charles W. Corey
USIA Staff Writer

April 9, 1996

WASHINGTON -- Striving for a free press is "worth the fight" for any nation, says a well-known American media critic.

Appearing on a U.S. Information Agency WorldNet "Dialogue" program April 9, American University professor of communications Lewis Wolfson said that in the fight for a free press, it is important for editors, reporters, and a concerned public to clearly "establish a position."

He warned, "Don't let government make a move on the press" because "they do it everywhere. You have to be careful to fight every inch of the way."

"Sometimes it feels like a very lonely fight," Wolfson told WorldNet participants in Austria, Lithuania, and Estonia.

A good and responsible free press is a benefit to citizens worldwide, he stressed, because it keeps governments honest and the public informed about the activities of their elected officials.

Asked how important it is for a newspaper to remain neutral in an election campaign, Wolfson replied, "It is not only important, it is essential."

In the United States, he said, particular candidates are often endorsed by the newspaper on its editorial pages. But it is critical that news reports remain as objective as possible. While "pure objectivity is impossible to reach," Wolfson said, it should be a goal "because objectivity and balance are essential to good journalism."

Speaking to journalists in the audience, he cautioned that "once people start reading your stories in the newspaper and say, `Oh boy, I see a slant toward this party or toward this candidate in the news columns,' then it changes their view of your newspaper. As you know, credibility is a journalist's most precious characteristic."

Wolfson noted that in the United States, "more people get their news from television in this country -- perhaps 60 percent or even more."

But that doesn't mean newspapers lack influence, he added. When the news anchors for the three major networks arrive at work every day, "the first thing they do is read The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and perhaps other newspapers and news magazines. Most of the original reporting done in this country is done by newspapers. So it has really an enormous -- if secondary influence -- on what goes on in the political process, in political reporting."

Asked about coverage of a candidate's personal life during an election campaign, Wolfson maintained that "we do need to know about the private lives of politicians, especially where it affects their public performance -- and that is the standard that is always used." But he admitted that "there have been excesses in the process."

Commenting about imposing guidelines on the press, Wolfson said, "I am one who has been around Washington for a long time, both as a journalist and as a teacher, and I get very nervous when people start talking about limitations on the press and start talking about national security limiting the press."

He added, "How often have we heard that argument? We heard it during the Vietnam War and during Watergate. We have heard it since, and quite often it has not proven out.

"I think the press rightfully goes after secrets in government that they think should be made public, but has also been discreet about holding back about things they feel should not be made public," Wolfson said.

Asked if any guidelines are needed for coverage by publically financed radio or television during campaigns, Wolfson emphatically said "no."

They "are free to analyze as they might. They are also free to criticize a sitting president.... There is that feeling -- although politicians are not very happy about it -- that public broadcasting is the peoples' broadcasting, and is open to say what it might."