Opinion - All may not be as it seems

A long-time employee of the Department of Agriculture, Shirley Sherrod, gave a speech on overcoming prejudices. A tape of the speech was heavily edited, and the remaining snippets distorted her comments, making her appear to use her position in an unfair and prejudiced manner.

The edited speech became a national sensation.

Administration officials soon saw the edited version and precipitously reacted, firing Sherrod.

The speech was, in fact, all about reconciliation.

When the full speech was released and truth of the matter was realized, there was a scramble to undo the damage.

All this happened because the edited—and perhaps maliciously edited—version of the speech was accepted as complete and true. We now know it was not the whole story.

The Shirley Sherrod episode is a cautionary tale. In this day of unfiltered, unedited and unverified information, citizens must be critical about what they see and hear. It is the Balloon Boy all over again, only this is more serious.

Media are changing, and the changes are not good.

The danger is not whether traditional newspapers end up being transmitted electronically or whether television news first appears on iPods.

The danger is at the very core of our free press. That core is the traditional newsroom, and the newsroom is in jeopardy. The newsroom and cadre of trained journalists gather and verify information. Not always perfect, at least the traditonal newsroom provides a vetting process for raw information.

This is being threatened by the outpouring of unsourced and often agenda-driven “news” released to the public by countless outlets. Cutbacks and financial difficulties also threaten professional reporting, so is the growing belief that news should be free.

Shirley Sherrod’s story is a warning. It is a warning for government officials as well as the average citizen. All may not be as it seems.

If trends continue, fact and fiction will become even less distinguishable.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher