The Marketplace and the needs of the public

The marketplace and the public need each other. If we went back into time where if you didn't grow it or shoot it, you didn't eat; or if your wife couldn't sew it or patch it, you were naked, things would be a lot different.

To be progressive, the individual has to have everything the market place throws at him, commercials included. Your favorite TV show would not exist with the amazing (or not so amazing) actors cast with out commercials.

Journalists, in general, hardly make any money. We would make even less if ad and commercial space were not sold in abundance. I do agree that as journalist, our sponsorship can be sold off to the highest bidder, but our stories should stay un-bias and stick to the facts. Having the luxury of working for a non-sponsored university newscast, our only veto is on ethical grounds. Though we are technically an MTV station, we are still educationally based and would run a story in a heartbeat if something corrupt happened at MTV headquarters. Though we tend to stick to local stories, if we had a national reach, I'm sure we would run the story regardless.

Back to the main question, the conflict between the marketplace and the needs of the public is a necessary evil. In order for the public to have a marketplace, the public must have everything that comes with it, including commercials and sometimes bias. There would not be a marketplace without the commercial aspect, and without commercials and the funding that comes with them, there quality of journalism would be even less because everyone has to pay the mortgage (shameless steal from Thank You For Smoking).