Times Mirror Company mission statement
Included in the 1988 Annual Report to Shareholders, Times Mirror Company President Robert Erburu's letter described the Times Mirror mission and in doing so articulated the close relationships among news media on one hand, self-governing people on the other and the process of popular rule.
Erburu wrote, in part, "The Times Mirror Company is committed to gathering and disseminating the information that people need to live, work and govern themselves in a free society. We will strive to do so with the highest standards of accuracy, fairness, quality and timeliness."
Thus, gathered into the space of 41 words is an expression of several News Values, including:
- The role of News media in governing society.
- The concept that government responsibility is shared but lies ultimately in the hands of the governed.
- The importance of accuracy, fairness, and timeliness in the process of delivering information.
Erburu's statement about the role of media in a self-governing society is consistent with the view of news promulgated in Journalism 4370, Advanced Reporting. That is, news reporters have a high responsibility for delivering to people the information they need to govern their lives. Any thing reported that is not part of this process is not news. It might be entertainment or something else, but it is not news.
Journalism, seen as the process of gathering and reporting news, may be viewed as an interwoven group of intelligence gathering and disseminating activities designed to help people make informed decisions about the conduct of their their families, their communities, their work and their lives in general.
