Unfortunately for modern society, both print and television media have converted in recent years to a trashy, tabloid form of journalism. This style of he-said-she-said soap opera reporting has tarnished a formerly respectable profession. Print "newspapers" (and I use the term very loosely) such as The Star and The National Enquirer match television shows like Hard Copy in lessening the usefulness of reporting.

A trend of shoddy reporting has emerged even in today's most prestigious news organizations. Several news publications, including The Boston Globe, The Cincinnati Enquirer and The New Republic, have felt the impact of lawsuits for doctoring stories.

All this negative publicity, lawsuits and dishonest writing have left news publications and their television counterparts as nothing more than entertainment pieces. Newspapers, for example, had a purpose in the past as a means of conveying news and opinion. Why should the focus of newspapers change simply because other media have emerged as competition? I understand readership has fallen in the past 50 years and with readership so goes revenue, but why completely sell out to the prospect of the almighty entertainment dollar?

Newspapers need to revert to the days of old when reporters were respected for travelling to the front lines to accurately describe a scene with emotion and paint the reader a picture rather than emotionlessly repeating facts and sensationalizing trite stories. Newspapers also have another aspect as important to society as honest, worthwhile reporting - the opportunity to serve as an open public forum.

Newspapers don't discriminate. Some people can't afford televisions or radios, but virtually every member in our current society can find some form of print media to read. This is reason number one as to why newspapers should feel obligated to truly serve the community.

People in any given community with a newspaper can write letters to the editor and spread their opinions on any given topic. Newspapers must understand their obligation to print these letters, and through stories, editorials and columns, respond to individual citizens and the entire community at the same time.

Timely news and opinions can be discussed through newspapers and print media, but this requires participation from both sides. Newspapers must serve the community by printing quality stories and timely editorials. In response, readers need to think and respond in writing to the newspaper with the knowledge their opinion will be published. To complete the cycle, newspapers must print the letters to the editor in full, whether critical or not. This give and take by newspapers and readers allows for an open public forum or, in other words, a free speech debate with the newspaper as the stage.

Everyone in the community will benefit from this because it causes them to do one important thing - think. Many Americans have become apathetic regarding informed thought on contemporary topics. They feel it more important to have someone explain what the news means rather than think about it for themselves. By re-instilling values such as honesty and integrity to the newspaper business, that essential public forum can exist and be beneficial to the masses.

This column, Common Sense, will be dedicated to forcing people to think about timely events. It will be politically and socially based and will deal with local issues as often as possible. When that is not possible, it will deal with national issues and how they apply to Ohio University, the Athens Community and the students and townspeople who reside here.

All I ask as the author of this column is for readers to think for themselves, debate and discuss with others through word of mouth and write responses for the entire community to see. This column can be a valuable tool for the community and will hopefully be used as such.

Coovert, a political science major, can be reached at bc225095.