Editor and Researcher Elisa Vandernoot

Avi Davis' Introductory Remarks at the Is The (Real) News Dead ? Conference

My name is Avi Davis and I am the President of the American Freedom Alliance and the coordinator of today’s conference

The title of today’s conference is Is The Real News Dead? And it was arrived at after much soul searching and consideration.

The New York journalist A.J. Liebling once said that the only people who have freedom of the press, are the people who own one.

That might have been said toungue in cheek at one time but behind the sarcasm may be a glimmer of truth.

It is particularly relevant when we talk about the news.

We are society who more or less live by the news. Most of our decisions on a daily basis are governed by information we receive from our news sources. Weather it traffic reports, weather reports, travel advisories or information about our health and security, we rely on the news to help us determine our daily routines, our political allegiances and the kind of future we plot for our children.

In past few decades however, more and more of us have come to distrust the news and begun to see it as colored by political bias, moral relativism and the self involvement of those who deliver it.

The rise of the Internet has offered an explosive new format for delivering the news, facilitating a democratization of sorts .

But even with the advent of new vehicles of communication, we should still be asking our selves the question – how reliable are our news services, who is and will control the news and what kind of checks and balances should there be to ensure that our news is presented in a dispassionate, objective manner.

These issues are the focus this conference today and tomorrow so that we can begin to understand and appreciate what the future might hold..