In Jay Harris' "What is Missing From Your News?", the author explores the increasingly obvious trend of the commodification of news. Hard cold facts are slowly churned into a softer, more consumable product. The contents of news has been saturated with entertaining drama, suspense, and feel-good cat-rescued-from-tree stories. Harris suggests that if we don't like what we're reading in the news, go out and make your own. Enter: the Student Media Watchdog Association (SMWA).

SMWA is a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded by four University of Michigan Communication Studies students in 2010.

We feel that the news in its current state is overwhelming, over-commercialized, and under-consumed. By holding journalists and news organizations accountable for their news content, we hope to encourage the general public to think critically about the news it consumes and to uphold journalistic standards of objectivity and integrity. Our agenda is not influenced by an interest in ratings or profit but rather the pursuit of news that better informs our student body and enlightens public discourse. We are about making the news more accessible for you.