Abstract

Television has become the foremost medium of news and information for a public that must be informed if it is to survive as a free society. In this dimension of its service, television stands alone in its capability of instantaneously exposing to nearly everyone in the nation not only the character and thinking of the leading personalities of the time, but also the important events that are shaping the future. Charged with such a responsibility, would the industry truly be worthy if one was to ignore such events as the disturbances that are occurring in cities, thereby keeping most of the public in the dark on a matter of vital national concern. The riots, their causes, and their effects are a challenge to the very foundation of the society, and they will surely play a role in the shaping of the future. They are news, and they must be reported. One must report with a conscience, but one must report. It is one of the greatest strengths of the country that one can expose and discuss the faults openly as free men, and television provides an unequalled forum for such discussions.