Editor's note: NPT is proud to present the first weekly Roy's Media Matters column from Roy Ortega, a journalist with more than 30 years in the television, print and online news business. Ortega most recently worked at the El Paso Times as Multimedia Editor. He will be reviewing the trends, ideas and events shaping news coverage nationally and in the Center of North America.

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If Walter Cronkite had never shown us his human side, would journalism be in the terrible mess it’s in today? It‘s a bold question to ask especially before he‘s even been laid to rest. But the passing last week of the man regarded as “the most trusted man in America” reminded us once again that modern-day journalism has probably fallen short of its original creed: To keep society well-informed of what’s important in the world.

As Cronkite often lamented during his later years, American modern journalism has degenerated into an abyss of tabloid-style reporting and over-opinionated talking heads who contribute little or nothing to the understanding of issues that affect our every day lives. In Cronkite’s world, the death of Michael Jackson would have been relegated to the back page behind health care reform and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a journalism student at the University of Texas at Austin in the early 1970s, I was taught that media ethics are the temple of what’s right and wrong in our profession. I was taught that as a reporter I should find the most important aspect of a story and report it truthfully. Walter Cronkite instilled in many of our generation a sense of honesty, integrity and objectivity in our conveyance of relevance and truth to the public. My college journalism professor, Dr. Al Anderson who knew Cronkite personally and who drew inspiration from his work, often told us, “the news you report should be free of your personal bias, as much as is humanly possible.”

But what went wrong? Even with Cronkite’s high standards of objective journalism, he ultimately failed to keep his personal feelings out of his reporting during the Viet Nam War. When he declared “…it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as honorable people,“ President Lyndon B. Johnson knew the war had been lost.

American society felt betrayed. Why? Because up until then, news reporters were supposed to be objective. Once Cronkite strayed from this sacred code, the doors to opinion-based journalism swung wide open. Today, many Americans simply don’t trust journalists because they believe their reporting comes with some degree of bias. Recognizing that there is no longer any such thing as unbiased reporting, Americans in large numbers have begun retreating to journalism outlets that best suit their own beliefs and political thinking. Not good for society.

I’m not blaming Cronkite entirely for igniting the spark of distrust toward journalists. The fact is, it was going to happen anyway. Two other major factors have contributed greatly to the decline of American journalism: The over-commercialization of the newsroom and the advent of digital communications. Once the profit motive was injected into the core of journalism, all bets were off. How often have you seen your local TV station or newspaper report anything negative about a car dealer that spends thousands of dollars on advertising? None, I assure you.

In today’s world, media credibility has been reduced to nothing more than an abstract ideal. I’m sure Uncle Walter never intended this to happen.

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Roy Ortega may be reached at rortega54@elp.rr.com.