Reporting needed, not entertainment

If the Dec. 15 reporting on the 14th Congressional District candidate forum in St. Charles is an example of what the media has become, an entertainment industry, it explains why most people dislike politics and politicians based on the negative campaign coverage they see.

I attended the event and listened as the candidates made statements and answered tough questions for more than and hour. They all did a good job answering questions directly and respecting each other. They even shared some good natured humor with each other at times. Overall, it was a very positive event.

But to the account in your paper, it was a nasty affair filled with political mudslinging. Within the confines of the brief article, the writer managed to include all of the barbs exchanged between the candidates, which when spoken aloud together would consume about three minutes of elapsed time, or less than 5 percent of the entire event. There was no reporting on the other 95 percent, which was very informative and a testament to our electoral process.

The article was indicative of what the media in the U.S. has become -- an entertainment industry. Geraldo Rivera explained it best several years ago when he said, "If you have a village with 1,000 homes and one of them burns down, you don't report on the other 999."

The media applies this formula to campaign coverage as well. After all, how entertaining would an article be if it was about how candidates would fix the mortgage crisis, help small businesses, and other important issues? Not very, I'm afraid.

Sadly, though, most voters rely on the media to become informed about the candidates. When they read articles like this, they decide to stay home instead.

The article was a disservice to the candidates, the Chambers of Commerce who put on the event and the voting public, who read only about the negative and none of the positive.

Michael J. Donahue

Geneva