Public Forum

Today's headline news stories sound very familiar. Much like the early September coverage of three years ago, hurricane and tropical storm reports seem to capture America's interest and sympathies as yet another natural disaster turns a Gulf city into a hotbed of evacuations and damage. While the now downgraded Tropical Storm Ike doesn't top the havoc that Katrina caused, the featured pictures and "up to the minute" reports bring back memories of the devastation and political controversy that the earlier hurricane caused.

Ike may be a slightly smaller storm, but when compared to Katrina, it's important to take into account what we've learned. In the weeks, months, and years that have followed the storm that hit New Orleans and threw Lousiana's name into the news, there's been a lot of change. Not only has the government changed its habits when it comes to rescue and relief efforts, the media has opened the situation to the public.

On foxnews.com, nearly half of the links to information about Ike include ways for readers to submit their own input, photos, and opinions about the disaster. One link boasts of up-to-the-minute blog posts from those inside the eye of the storm. Others ask viewers to submit photos or participate in a "live chat" about the current situation. Look anywhere. You're bound to find an opportunity to express your personal views.

For better or worse, this is the way that the media is going. The reporters are no longer a one-way channel of information and ideas, the link to what everyone wants to know. It's everybody's  job now. On one hand, it makes us all a little more globally connected. On the other hand, it opens the door wide for falsehoods and propaganda to be broadcast to the masses. 

Some look at this as a stumbling block, as a threat to the accuracy that we, as journalists, try to perpetuate on a day-to-day basis. But the way I see it, it's the philosophy for which we have always strived. Part of the media's responsibility is to provide a public forum. Now, the feedback is pouring in tenfold.