Reporter examines role of media

The media must play a role in resolving the challenges that face America today, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Haynes Johnson told a crowd of about 100 people at the Annenberg School Wednesday. "This is the most important period in American history in 60 years," he said. "This new series of tests is difficult and challenging because it is amorphous?and long term." Johnson's speech, entitled "America and the Crisis of Change in the 90's", was the second in an annual lecture series in honor of philanthropists Walter and Lenore Annenberg. Johnson, a best-selling author and Washington Post special reporter and editor, suggested the media foster public action. "The umbilical cord of television can actually change history," he said. He pointed to the examples of Somalia and Tiananmen Square, saying, "We live in a time of fleeting images." Johnson, who has worked closely with every president since Dwight Eisenhower, said he spoke with President Clinton after his vacation at Martha's Vineyard. Johnson said Clinton was candid about the mistakes in the early part of his presidency. "I clearly misread the culture of Washington," he said Clinton told him. Johnson also asked Clinton about his hopes for the future. "I want a restored sense of possibility?and sense of community in American life," Clinton replied. But Johnson is not as optimistic as Clinton. "Once again, just when the President sets out to ride?he's being tested," he said. "He's being tested by the pictures in our minds." The real goal, Johnson said, is to help America's political system by trying to match the country's potential for change, Johnson said. To this end, he addressed the Annenberg students as the future media. "We are the most insular of all. We spend too little time getting our shoes dirty. We have a tremendous obligation to go beyond the normal confines of journalism.?We must try to help explain the tremendous depth that television can't show." He implored the graduate students to use the media to aid progress. "We have no visible enemy.?What you're watching [now] is the bleakest period since the Great Depression." "We can't afford to create disembodied pictures," he added. Last year, Johnson traveled around the country, attempting to catch an accurate picture of American life. "There was a great unanimity of opinion across the board," he said, "a deep underlying pessimism? about the workings of society." Armed with this knowledge, Johnson said, "I'm convinced this is a vital moment in our national life.?It's altogether bound up in the future. If we pull together, rather than fragment, we can survive." With this conclusion, Johnson questioned President Clinton's early approach in the White House. "Do you think you misread the people?" he asked the president. Clinton seemed to flinch and responded, "Maybe."