Below is an article that just appeared today :
http://www.lifeinitaly.com/news/news...p?newsid=11187

(ANSA) - Milan, October 1 - The majority of Italians
believe the nation's journalists are ill-informed, biased and
outright liars, according to a new survey released Wednesday.
The survey of 2,000 Italians by AstraRicerche for the
Lombardy region's journalism council showed that the public
standing of journalists has degenerated considerably over the
last ten years.
''This is the first time in Italy that we have addressed
the problems of journalism in the eyes of the reader
explicitly and with a scientific analysis,'' said council
president Letizia Gonzales at the presentation of the survey.
Around 68% of Italians think journalists are liars (up
8% from a similar survey in 1997), 60% say they are
ill-informed (up from 48%), and 52% maintain they are biased
(up from 51%). Only 40% went as far as suggesting that
journalists are corrupt, however.
Enzo Finzi of AstraRicerche said that although the
public's view of journalists ''is continually worsening'',
the survey also revealed that ''above all there is a massive,
unsatisfied demand for good information''.
Around 73% of Italians polled said the social role of
the journalist was useful, although 15% were unconvinced, and
a further 12% said journalists didn't serve any useful
purpose.
The survey also produced a list of 'commandments' that
the public required of the nation's journalists, with
specialised competence, professionalism, clarity, the ability
to involve the reader emotionally, and effective
communication in the top five slots.
But 44% of Italians said it was not necessary for a
journalist to be likeable to do their job, whether working in
newspaper or television journalism.

I agree in a sense. I think the media as a whole is evil

Well, I think that journalists are very necessary to a free society. Yes, some of them are biased and they should not be if they are reporting news; but still, think how it would be without them!! We would have a society at the mercy of the state's version of the news as it was in the USSR or Nazi Germany. I have found that Public Radio is one of the finest sources for unbiased and truthful reporting in the United States. I don't know if there is an equivalent in Italy. Maybe some of our Italian members can enlighten us here.

In general doesn't the population get what it asks for?

At least in America I think the media reports on what - and in a manner - that gets the most attention for their advertisers - in order to maximize profits.

If we didn't read and respond to the "garbage" they report then they probably wouldn't report on it or in the way that they do.

I am not saying that I condone or agree with how our media works - just that the results are pretty logical and predictable given the economic and societal rules that are in play.

Others thoughts?

Carlo in America

Carlo, This is exactly why National Public Radio - no advertising - non-profit - is one of the best sources for unbiased and truthful reporting in the U.S.

I notice watching the TV news the difference in reporting -
Even thought the basic news story is the same there are several ways to present it - News at Al Jazeera are presented very differently than at CNN - American news are more USAcentric than Italian news ( maybe because Italy is a smaller country ) - Italy tends to offer much more of a panoramic on the world -

Italian news reporter tend to exaggerate the news -

Paolo, US reporters do the exact same thing. The media has become nothing but a dramatic play. They take the smallest stories and make them sound so important to keep the persons attention. Not too mention the extreme negativity they place upon everything. If all you do is watch the news or read the paper, you'd start to believe that everyone and everything is doomed in every way possible. I think the media is partially responsible for the increased amounts of anxiety and depression plaguing the world.

Only 40% went as far as suggesting that
journalists are corrupt. Only 40%!? Seems
like a considerable amount.