Watchdogs of Democracy? by Helen Thomas

Helen Thomas writes about the waning Washington Press Corps and how it has failed the public.

Helen Thomas has covered Washington politics for over sixty years, witnessing many changes which are not necessarily for the best.  In the book, Thomas tells about the way information is now controlled by United States presidents and politicians at tighly orchestrated press conferences.

She sees a growing and what she considers an alarming reluctance among reporters to question government spokesman and probe for the truth.Thomas considers it a wholesale failure by journalists to fulfill their most vital role in contemporary American life---to be the watchdogs of democracy. She describes journalists as being lapdogs today. The dangers to democracy Thomas sees include:

• The jailing of reporters;
• Conservative swing in television news coverage;
• The insistance of politicians of "managed" news.
• The failure of reporters'  to adequately question those in power.

Part of the book deals with the lack of journalists' challenge to President George W. Bush about the invasiion of Iraq, homeland security and the economy.

Great American Journalists

Thomas uses one chapter in the book to write about the journalists that she considers the greatest in American history.  She contrasst them with the journalists of today, especially those appearing on television which she says has, "transformed journalists into personalities, who become more important than their stories".  Journalists that Thomas admires include H. L. Mencken, Dorothy Thompson, Martha Gelhorn, Margarite Higgins, Ernie Pyle, Merriman Smith and Douglas Cornell, and, of course, Edward R. Murrow among others.

About Helen Thomas

Helen Thomas is considered the dean of the White House press corp.  She has won over thirty honorary degrees, and was honored in 1998 with  the inaugural Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award, established by the Washington Correspondences' Association.   Her books include Thanks for the Memories , Mr. President, Front Row at the White House , and Dateline: White House .

Thomas, Helen. Watchdogs of Democracy: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How it has Failed the Public. New York: Lisa Drew/Scribner, 2006.