“Journalism is the presentation or description of facts, but as more and more citizens become authors through technological mediums, this dedication to the traditional role of a journalist will change.” This is how I started my essay at the beginning of the semester. Coming into the class, I felt that journalism was a dignified profession limited to professionals who had learned the trade and gained the respect of the people by eliminating biases. I have grown to realize (through study and discussion) that journalists cannot be completely objective in their work. It is near impossible to leave out biases. You should a lack of objectivity by showing your feeling, what makes the story/what doesn’t, who you interview, what sides you show, and even at times what stories you write about. Even with this, a journalist should do everything that they can to present what happened (in their eyes) as correctly as they can. As I hinted to in my first essay, with the growth of technology allows people throughout the world to allow their voice to be heard. Does that make them a journalist? A former reporter who was one of the first to really apply blogging into his work, Dan Gillmor, gave his take on are all these people who can post, tweet, write their views through the world wide web answering, “some are (journalists), some aren’t…but some of them are creating journalism.” The traditional role of journalism is still alive in the world today. Many receive training, but it would be inappropriate to exclude those who are using the technological resources of today to become journalists. Some are good journalists, and again some are not. In the end when it deals with who is a journalist and what journalism is, it is the responsibility of the reader to determine it for themselves and see conclude what is real journalism.
What is journalism?
This seems to be an often asked question, but no one really seems to have an answer for it. Now I realize that this is perhaps not the most trusted source, but through the encyclopedia website Wikipedia, we find the view of what most accurately describes journalism today. “Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues, and trends to a broad audience. Although there is much variation within journalism, the ideal is to inform the citizenry,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalism). To me this is what journalism is. Reporting facts and events, presenting the trends of our day, and when it comes down to it, informing the citizens that hear or read the work.
This definition showcases a broad array of what journalism could be. This makes the person who tweets about their date a journalist. The person that blogs about how boring their lecture was, is a journalist (never the case in Comms. 239 of course). And perhaps even storytellers are journalists. All of these people inform others about what is going on in the world today.
I realize that many of these people may not be considered journalists by some. Some have voiced concerns that, “there is no merit in handing out awards to papers which do not seek to publish truth- telling serious journalism,” (Hagerty 2005). We can realize the differential of who is a serious journalist; who is relaying important information that is crucial to the public. Once again it is up to the audience to decide who falls into these categories.
Who is a journalist?
Social media allows the role of who is a journalist to expand. Social media is crucial to the success of a journalist because it allows a journalist to expand their audience throughout the world. It is also as helpful to journalists as, “It is essential to begin by understanding various social media sites and the ways they can enhance the work journalists do,” (Overholser, 2009). A journalist is anyone who fits the description from the previous paragraph, and can now do so through many technological mediums. So is Chad Johnson or excuse me, Chad Ochocinco are journalist? He tweets and has a large following. He even tried to establish an amateur news organization for celebrities who wanted to share news with the world. To a few, he probably is a journalist. Is Anderson Cooper a journalist? Yes to a larger number. Was Walter Cronkite? Yes to an even larger number. Is Jay Leno? He reports world events? Perhaps also to some as they are learning about the world around them, although in a less serious manner. All of these people report news to inform the public. They do it in different styles and ways but they do it nonetheless. In any of these cases, it is up to the public to determine 1. If they are journalists and 2. If they should be taken seriously and how they should take the information they receive from them.
Some may disagree with me. In fact I know of two who fall into what I describe as a journalist that would disagree with me. On one of the final episodes of Crossfire, Jon Stewart relayed that he is not a journalist and had no responsibility to society. As he put it, “the show I follow are puppets making prank phone calls.” To him he is not a journalist, but he shapes the way many people-especially young see the world today as he relays information. Additionally, Glenn Beck also does not feel that he is a journalist. He took on the daunting task of taking on the ladies of the View and told them that he was merely a “commentator.” He saw that he was only taking his views and relaying them to the public, not feeling that he was reporting anything. As we know, Beck has also influenced and relayed a great deal of information to the public.
What is journalism? Who is a journalist? These are tough questions. I thought I had these questions somewhat answered coming into this class. Perhaps as I have gained my feelings through this class I have gone farther away from the truth. As I can tell, journalism is relaying information and bringing it through the public. It is done by many ways and a journalist is someone who does this process. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the public to realize the effectiveness of the person they are getting this information from, noting their legitimacy, and realizing that biases that they possess. By doing so, the individuals form and decide who a journalist is and what is journalism.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
JOunralism and Faith
In religion and journalism, both sectors seek to bring the truth to those who follow it. Truth is what makes religion the determining factor into how we think, feel, etc. As I have come to realize, although truth is critical in the work of a journalist, it can be extremely difficult to do so. Writing any type of story is extremely difficult to do without some type of opinion (whether intended or not) to jump in. As journalists, we seek to eliminate the bias of our work as much as possible. When it deals with reporting on faith, it may be better to have someone involved a knowledgeable about the faith relaying the messages so that the story is not left up to someone else.
Sometimes news organizations loosely affiliated with a religion may receive criticism for backing and supporting religious views or religious figures through news stories. Such as is the case with a preview of a talk given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles talk on constitutional matters. The story was originally produced by the Associated Press and presented the church in unfavorable circumstances. Some may view that outside sources are the best to uncover and present the most truth. However, as one blogger points out, (http://www.nothingwavering.org/post/15804/2009-10-16/conservative-cranks-paranoia-of-medias-anti-mormon-bias-is-validated.html) when it comes to religion, some news organizations may look to tear down churches; even if they spread falsities and information that is far from the truth. As untruthful information is spread by the media, it can have a harmful impact as we know that the public will often believe a great deal of what they see, read, or hear.
In journalism we interview people that have something to do with the story so they can give us their version and side of it. In good journalism, journalists should also share the views of the opposite side of the story. I am not completely familiar with how the writings are displayed with other religions, but I do know that with the LDS faith, the media often turns to those that have left the church or have the agenda to harm the church’s reputation. As religion is a soft spot for a great number of people, they want to see their religion displayed in a good light. So perhaps it may be best for religious journalism to be covered in a way that the followers of the faith feel is accurate. This can be difficult as, “Readers often inundate religion reporters with e-mail complaints and comments about religion news stories. It's not just Mormon readers who are touchy about how journalists cover their faith,” (http://www.truthandgrace.com/mormonslander.htm).
As religion often brings up a great deal of debate and questioning of who is correct or how something should be portrayed, there is a just a need for it to be presented fairly. It was interesting to see local sports anchor Tom Kirkland’s response to a national article about Jimmer Fredette that mentioned his religion. Kirkland mentioned that he is not LDS which eliminated his bias, but wanted the story of this great basketball player presented fairly (http://www.ksl.com/?sid=14900731&nid=966). With religion, the same thing needs to happen. Opposition may arise and there may be challenges but there is a need for information to be presented fairly.
Sometimes news organizations loosely affiliated with a religion may receive criticism for backing and supporting religious views or religious figures through news stories. Such as is the case with a preview of a talk given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles talk on constitutional matters. The story was originally produced by the Associated Press and presented the church in unfavorable circumstances. Some may view that outside sources are the best to uncover and present the most truth. However, as one blogger points out, (http://www.nothingwavering.org/post/15804/2009-10-16/conservative-cranks-paranoia-of-medias-anti-mormon-bias-is-validated.html) when it comes to religion, some news organizations may look to tear down churches; even if they spread falsities and information that is far from the truth. As untruthful information is spread by the media, it can have a harmful impact as we know that the public will often believe a great deal of what they see, read, or hear.
In journalism we interview people that have something to do with the story so they can give us their version and side of it. In good journalism, journalists should also share the views of the opposite side of the story. I am not completely familiar with how the writings are displayed with other religions, but I do know that with the LDS faith, the media often turns to those that have left the church or have the agenda to harm the church’s reputation. As religion is a soft spot for a great number of people, they want to see their religion displayed in a good light. So perhaps it may be best for religious journalism to be covered in a way that the followers of the faith feel is accurate. This can be difficult as, “Readers often inundate religion reporters with e-mail complaints and comments about religion news stories. It's not just Mormon readers who are touchy about how journalists cover their faith,” (http://www.truthandgrace.com/mormonslander.htm).
As religion often brings up a great deal of debate and questioning of who is correct or how something should be portrayed, there is a just a need for it to be presented fairly. It was interesting to see local sports anchor Tom Kirkland’s response to a national article about Jimmer Fredette that mentioned his religion. Kirkland mentioned that he is not LDS which eliminated his bias, but wanted the story of this great basketball player presented fairly (http://www.ksl.com/?sid=14900731&nid=966). With religion, the same thing needs to happen. Opposition may arise and there may be challenges but there is a need for information to be presented fairly.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Independence and Journalism
As mentioned often in class, journalists need to stay clear of their personal bias. It is the responsibility of journalists to inform the public, but they cannot play of the part of an activist. As mentioned in the text, “Journalists must maintain an independence from those they cover,” (Kovach 118). Some may wonder why this is a big deal? By having a connection with the subject you are covering it creates a conflict and change in how it is covered. Some may think that a journalist may make a story sound better than it is. As mentioned in class, two female reporters were taken off a story about lesbian relations after they married each other. They were probably taken off the story because it was felt that they would highlight parts of the story and shun others. It is interesting that this is what journalists do in every story, but when it is visible and evident that there is a bias, they do not let the people wwork on it.
One aspect of journalistic biases that people probably don’t think about is that sometimes when they have a connection to something, they may try to overpower that bias and try to hard not to show it. I do some work for a television station. One of my responsibilities is to commentate for high school football games. One challenge is that my brother is on the team. I don’t want to show my bias towards my brother that I enjoy and love, so I often downplay his prefrormance to not make it seem like I favor him. Whether I favor him or not, I am not being truthful in how I interpret what happens in the game. The following link shows a time where I interviewed him for being awarded Defensive Player of the Game. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKnPUCI5t8o. We have a great relationship, but this sequence was awkward for us. We didn’t really know how to act and because we didn’t think that we could be ourselves. As I tried to not show bias I underplayed his performance in the game.
Journalists have a powerful influence to the public. They often know more than the public of certain topics and they are able to inform us. It is important that journalists keep allegiance to the core journalism principles, but some feel that Americans are ready for a less objective, partisan journalism. Talk shows and other opinionated news sources have become very popular; especially with the youth of today. Partisan journalism is closer to the style done in other parts of the world, and they would be popular in the United States as well. (http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Objective-Journalism-Vs-Partisan-Journalism/102448). People are more inclined to opinions today and like the fight that comes from debating. The listeners or readers of journalism need to realize the opinions of journalists as the push opinions, factions, or propaganda. The important part of this section is the responsibility of journalists to keep themselves from things that they live, are in charge of, or are involved in. It makes it difficult for the journalist to not share too much or to share too little.
One aspect of journalistic biases that people probably don’t think about is that sometimes when they have a connection to something, they may try to overpower that bias and try to hard not to show it. I do some work for a television station. One of my responsibilities is to commentate for high school football games. One challenge is that my brother is on the team. I don’t want to show my bias towards my brother that I enjoy and love, so I often downplay his prefrormance to not make it seem like I favor him. Whether I favor him or not, I am not being truthful in how I interpret what happens in the game. The following link shows a time where I interviewed him for being awarded Defensive Player of the Game. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKnPUCI5t8o. We have a great relationship, but this sequence was awkward for us. We didn’t really know how to act and because we didn’t think that we could be ourselves. As I tried to not show bias I underplayed his performance in the game.
Journalists have a powerful influence to the public. They often know more than the public of certain topics and they are able to inform us. It is important that journalists keep allegiance to the core journalism principles, but some feel that Americans are ready for a less objective, partisan journalism. Talk shows and other opinionated news sources have become very popular; especially with the youth of today. Partisan journalism is closer to the style done in other parts of the world, and they would be popular in the United States as well. (http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Objective-Journalism-Vs-Partisan-Journalism/102448). People are more inclined to opinions today and like the fight that comes from debating. The listeners or readers of journalism need to realize the opinions of journalists as the push opinions, factions, or propaganda. The important part of this section is the responsibility of journalists to keep themselves from things that they live, are in charge of, or are involved in. It makes it difficult for the journalist to not share too much or to share too little.
Journalism Ideology
In our text, The Mind of a Journalist by Jim Willis, the chapter about journalists as an ideologue brought up an interesting section. It brings up the title, “When Passion Enters in.” In this section it talks about Anderson Cooper’s coverage of the devastation brought by Hurricane Katrina. Speaking about not only the hurricane itself, but the devastation it brought to the people and the Gulf area. The text mentions that, “he was at the center of the storm, both literally and figuratively, often showing his emotions about how he felt about the victims of suffering, often showing anger toward government officials whom he believed were moving too slowly in responding to the disaster,” (Willis 74). In this case, he became a spokesperson for those suffering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina against the lack of help the government gave.
This was something Anderson Cooper felt passionately about. He did not act quite the way he usually did because he had emotional ties to this topic. He even lashed out and demanded answers from Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu after questions after work was not done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsuRCXiYGO4. He sounded emotional in his voice, but demanded better answers to the solution to the situation. Especially in times of tragedy, it may be difficult for a journalist to not become emotionally tied to a story. In the book, Willis mentioned how tough it was to write about the Oklahoma City bombings. I have mentioned in previous blogs that there is a need to stay objective on topics, but perhaps having a passion for what you write about may make someone a better journalist.
It may be easy as a journalist to get caught up in the same things over and over again. Perhaps there needs to be a change in how journalism is taught and how journalists think. It is mentioned that, “In decades of journalism studies, scholars refer to the journalists’ professionalization process as a distinctly ideological development, as the emerging ideology served to continuously refine and reproduce a consensus about who was a ‘real’ journalist, and what (parts of) news media at any time would be considered examples of ‘real’ journalism. These evaluations shift subtly over time; yet always serve to maintain the dominant sense of what is (and should be) journalism. Schlesinger (1978) for example writes about ‘newsmen’s occupational ideology’, Golding and Elliott (1979) speak broadly of ‘journalism’s occupational ideology’, while a decade later Soloski (1990) talks about an ‘ideology of professionalism’, and Zelizer (2004a) mentions ‘journalists’ professional ideology’; yet most of these authors do not make explicit what this ideology consists of, other than claiming it contains ‘self-contradictory oppositional values’ (Reese, 1990). Schudson describes the occupational ideology of journalism as ‘cultural knowledge that constitutes ‘news judgment’, rooted deeply in the communicators’ consciousness,” (http://www.promusica.se/Library/Electronic%20texts/Deuze2005.pdf).
Perhaps the constant debate over who is a journalist really needs to change. People just need to get out and write. Sure there needs to be some structure and I would imagine professional training does add benefit to the work of someone, but going through this topic, I feel that journalism is losing them ability to have passion. I think that having a passion for any job you do or what you write about is important. That will bring out the best work. It does however need to be controlled and not taken overboard such as it appears Anderson Cooper did in the affected southern states. If journalists can learn to write with a controlled passion, it will create a much better journalism profession.
This was something Anderson Cooper felt passionately about. He did not act quite the way he usually did because he had emotional ties to this topic. He even lashed out and demanded answers from Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu after questions after work was not done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsuRCXiYGO4. He sounded emotional in his voice, but demanded better answers to the solution to the situation. Especially in times of tragedy, it may be difficult for a journalist to not become emotionally tied to a story. In the book, Willis mentioned how tough it was to write about the Oklahoma City bombings. I have mentioned in previous blogs that there is a need to stay objective on topics, but perhaps having a passion for what you write about may make someone a better journalist.
It may be easy as a journalist to get caught up in the same things over and over again. Perhaps there needs to be a change in how journalism is taught and how journalists think. It is mentioned that, “In decades of journalism studies, scholars refer to the journalists’ professionalization process as a distinctly ideological development, as the emerging ideology served to continuously refine and reproduce a consensus about who was a ‘real’ journalist, and what (parts of) news media at any time would be considered examples of ‘real’ journalism. These evaluations shift subtly over time; yet always serve to maintain the dominant sense of what is (and should be) journalism. Schlesinger (1978) for example writes about ‘newsmen’s occupational ideology’, Golding and Elliott (1979) speak broadly of ‘journalism’s occupational ideology’, while a decade later Soloski (1990) talks about an ‘ideology of professionalism’, and Zelizer (2004a) mentions ‘journalists’ professional ideology’; yet most of these authors do not make explicit what this ideology consists of, other than claiming it contains ‘self-contradictory oppositional values’ (Reese, 1990). Schudson describes the occupational ideology of journalism as ‘cultural knowledge that constitutes ‘news judgment’, rooted deeply in the communicators’ consciousness,” (http://www.promusica.se/Library/Electronic%20texts/Deuze2005.pdf).
Perhaps the constant debate over who is a journalist really needs to change. People just need to get out and write. Sure there needs to be some structure and I would imagine professional training does add benefit to the work of someone, but going through this topic, I feel that journalism is losing them ability to have passion. I think that having a passion for any job you do or what you write about is important. That will bring out the best work. It does however need to be controlled and not taken overboard such as it appears Anderson Cooper did in the affected southern states. If journalists can learn to write with a controlled passion, it will create a much better journalism profession.
Journalism as a Watchdog
The public has a right to know. That may be the feeling of many journalists that look to expose the wrong doings of people around the world. Whether it is a high-ranking official or celebrity or a local body getting away with illegal activities, some journalists look to expose the truth even if it may cause a problem to the world around them. Watchdog or investigative journalism can be a fun and exciting form of journalism. Headlines and exciting stories that no one else has can make the difference in jobs and paychecks. When a reporter breaks a story such as the Pentagon Papers or Watergate scandal, it makes the kinds of stories that the public’s wants to hear, but it is often at the expense of the loss of reputation for a person or group. It just comes down to the feeling that the public has a right to know what is happening in the world around them.
During the tenure of George W. Bush many pushed for opening up and finding out about his war record. Many journalists commented on it, but Dan Rather really pushed it as he had a negative history with the family (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHal4gUGSA0). President Bush’s military record is somewhat frowned upon. He came from a rich, well-known family and while many were fighting in Vietnam, he was tucked safely away in the National Guard. Television programs obtained documents that were negative about President Bush and it showed that he received special treatment and other things as well. It was later found, that the television stations had not authenticated the documents to find out that they were really true. Bloggers and panelists on television shows blasted programs for not authenticating and posting things that may or may not have been true. This brings up an important part of investigative journalism. Investigators need to make sure that sources are reliable and correct. It is easy to just spout off a story that would be enticing for readers. When a journalist fails to do this correctly, they can lose their job and much worse, lose the respect of their readers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killian_documents).
In an earlier chapter in our text, it mentioned that during investigative or even undercover reporting, reporters may dig too deep into a story and may put their lives in jeopardy. In the 2007 film State of Play, Russell Crowe’s character is a good friend of Ben Affleck’s character who is a politician caught up in a scandal. The more and more Crowe digs into the investigations, the more he exposes. This puts the life of Crowe’s character in jeopardy and to stop him from exposing the truths, he is almost killed. Many reporters have been in similar situations and some have been fatally killed (www.azcentral.com/specials/special01/0528bolles-profile.html). Journalists need to make sure they are careful as they look for the next top story.
Journalism is a watchdog as it reports the things that are happening in the world. At times journalists may become advocates in a situation that they are passionate about, but as long as they try to show a lack bias in their writing, safety, and authentic and correct sources, they will be successful.
During the tenure of George W. Bush many pushed for opening up and finding out about his war record. Many journalists commented on it, but Dan Rather really pushed it as he had a negative history with the family (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHal4gUGSA0). President Bush’s military record is somewhat frowned upon. He came from a rich, well-known family and while many were fighting in Vietnam, he was tucked safely away in the National Guard. Television programs obtained documents that were negative about President Bush and it showed that he received special treatment and other things as well. It was later found, that the television stations had not authenticated the documents to find out that they were really true. Bloggers and panelists on television shows blasted programs for not authenticating and posting things that may or may not have been true. This brings up an important part of investigative journalism. Investigators need to make sure that sources are reliable and correct. It is easy to just spout off a story that would be enticing for readers. When a journalist fails to do this correctly, they can lose their job and much worse, lose the respect of their readers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killian_documents).
In an earlier chapter in our text, it mentioned that during investigative or even undercover reporting, reporters may dig too deep into a story and may put their lives in jeopardy. In the 2007 film State of Play, Russell Crowe’s character is a good friend of Ben Affleck’s character who is a politician caught up in a scandal. The more and more Crowe digs into the investigations, the more he exposes. This puts the life of Crowe’s character in jeopardy and to stop him from exposing the truths, he is almost killed. Many reporters have been in similar situations and some have been fatally killed (www.azcentral.com/specials/special01/0528bolles-profile.html). Journalists need to make sure they are careful as they look for the next top story.
Journalism is a watchdog as it reports the things that are happening in the world. At times journalists may become advocates in a situation that they are passionate about, but as long as they try to show a lack bias in their writing, safety, and authentic and correct sources, they will be successful.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Verification and Journalism
In the world of journalism, it can be nearly impossible to keep biases out of your work. The Pew Center for Research may put the role of journalists best as they said, “When the concept of objectivity originally evolved, it did not imply that journalists are free of bias. It called, rather, for a consistent method of testing information--a transparent approach to evidence--precisely so that personal and cultural biases would not undermine the accuracy of their work,” (http://www.journalism.org/resources/principles). There are going to be mistakes in journalism, and biases and beliefs come through whether intended to or not. I like how this quote mentions that journalists cannot free themselves from bias, but that these biases don’t take away from the solid, accurate work that they do.
Some main goals for journalists include making money and also creating good work. “Inside info” that no one else has can be very valuable since no one else has it. Like in the story given in class about Jimmer’s Twitter account, journalists may skip to give truthful stories in order to gain fame. Whether wrong information is given purposefully or as an accident, this is a serious problem in the world of journalism. That is the fastest way to lose followers. Falsifying information to the public causes them to lose respect because of the ethic pedestal that journalists are put on. We know that politicians lie, hide things or stretch the truth often, but as soon as a journalist does it, reputation is damaged.
As mentioned in class, it is the responsibility of journalists to not deceive the public, show transparency to the audience and to those interviewed, and show originality and humility. Someone in class mentioned that it is not fair that journalists have to be objective and have to present both sides. It made we really think, why are journalists held to different standards than other professions. We were taught in class that journalists should not rely on other’s notes. In other professions collaborated work occurs often, but is banned from the world of journalism. In journalism, sources and the public can have opinions but when a journalist does it is a big problem, (http://www.seattlepi.com/opinion/379375_domke17.html). This section really helped me to realize the professional atmosphere of journalism. You have to be doing your best to find credible sources and leave out what you think sounds best. If this is not done, a story will end up just like or class game of telephone-far off from the original story.
Some main goals for journalists include making money and also creating good work. “Inside info” that no one else has can be very valuable since no one else has it. Like in the story given in class about Jimmer’s Twitter account, journalists may skip to give truthful stories in order to gain fame. Whether wrong information is given purposefully or as an accident, this is a serious problem in the world of journalism. That is the fastest way to lose followers. Falsifying information to the public causes them to lose respect because of the ethic pedestal that journalists are put on. We know that politicians lie, hide things or stretch the truth often, but as soon as a journalist does it, reputation is damaged.
As mentioned in class, it is the responsibility of journalists to not deceive the public, show transparency to the audience and to those interviewed, and show originality and humility. Someone in class mentioned that it is not fair that journalists have to be objective and have to present both sides. It made we really think, why are journalists held to different standards than other professions. We were taught in class that journalists should not rely on other’s notes. In other professions collaborated work occurs often, but is banned from the world of journalism. In journalism, sources and the public can have opinions but when a journalist does it is a big problem, (http://www.seattlepi.com/opinion/379375_domke17.html). This section really helped me to realize the professional atmosphere of journalism. You have to be doing your best to find credible sources and leave out what you think sounds best. If this is not done, a story will end up just like or class game of telephone-far off from the original story.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Loyalty and Journalism
Journalists are caught between an interesting dilemma-on one hand, they are professionals trying to earn a paycheck-on the other hand, they are in a profession that are expected to perform in a dignified way that reflects accuracy and loyalty to the public. A diagram presented in class showed that in a communication loyalty model, the journalists are the link between the company and the citizens. It looked something like this:
Shareholders
CEO Managers
Journalist
Citizens
This can make the experience of journalism difficult. Sometimes the desires of these different groups clash. Then what do you do? Do you please those who are obtaining and learning from your material, or do you keep loyalty to those you work for? As mentioned in the discussion, a journalist’s first loyalty is to the citizens; however, those who can balance these two loyalties will be the most successful.
LOYALTY TO THE CITIZENS
Citizens are consumers. Newspapers and news broadcasts should be created for them. This is why a journalist’s first loyalty is to them and why they should focus stories towards informing or entertaining them. Without the citizens, companies and groups would not advertise; evaporating the revenue of the news organization. A statistic in class indicated that 80 percent of journalists listed that making the reader/viewer/listener the first obligation of journalists. Most journalists are on board in this thought process but there are some that are looking to make money.
It was also mentioned that the New York Times occasionally cuts out advertising so that people can read important speeches or recordings of events so that the public can be better informed. This is a media institution that understands the journalistic process well. In the short-run a company may lose a little revenue by taking out advertisements occasionally to inform the public, but overall this act gains consumer trust and will bring more readers to a media group such as this. Throughout this presentation, I kept thinking, “If the owner of a company believes deeply in the core journalistic values and is committed to the citizens first, they will be successful.”
LOYALTY TO THE COMPANY
Most people are so anxious to find a job that they will often not realize what their company stands for. I feel an important part of finding a job as a journalist is to find out what the company stands for. It is basically impossible to avoid spin. It is just natural and is going to happen. The spin or biases will likely reflect the views of ownership and those investing in the news organization. If a journalist can find these out beforehand they can work at a place where their work, style, and views align closely to the attributes of the company.
On page 62 of our text it says, “What good is journalism, after all, if it doesn’t sell?” Some people may forget that journalism is a business and those that work there try to make money. At the current time, it may be more difficult than ever to stay loyal to companies or to bosses as many news organizations are making cuts in order to save money in a down economy. A journalist has a responsibility to the company they work for up to a certain point. They should not jeopardize the loyalty of the citizens for good standing in a company.
The Baltimore Sun is a good example of how a company’s balance between the journalists and those that run the company should be. The mention, “the fact that, on journalist decisions, the newsroom has to have the integrity to make the final call.” They have policies written on the wall so that all workers know how to behave and act. It was mentioned in class that, “Journalists who make a case for the public interest inside their companies could be labeled as naïve, old-fashioned, and difficult.” Journalists that put the citizens first may lose some respect within their company. They may even lose jobs or money over high-principled morals. However, if a journalist can stay close to the loyalty of the citizens it will gain more followers and have a better journalistic reputation and ability. To have success between these two conflicting groups (the company and the citizens) it comes down to one word: BALANCE.
Shareholders
CEO Managers
Journalist
Citizens
This can make the experience of journalism difficult. Sometimes the desires of these different groups clash. Then what do you do? Do you please those who are obtaining and learning from your material, or do you keep loyalty to those you work for? As mentioned in the discussion, a journalist’s first loyalty is to the citizens; however, those who can balance these two loyalties will be the most successful.
LOYALTY TO THE CITIZENS
Citizens are consumers. Newspapers and news broadcasts should be created for them. This is why a journalist’s first loyalty is to them and why they should focus stories towards informing or entertaining them. Without the citizens, companies and groups would not advertise; evaporating the revenue of the news organization. A statistic in class indicated that 80 percent of journalists listed that making the reader/viewer/listener the first obligation of journalists. Most journalists are on board in this thought process but there are some that are looking to make money.
It was also mentioned that the New York Times occasionally cuts out advertising so that people can read important speeches or recordings of events so that the public can be better informed. This is a media institution that understands the journalistic process well. In the short-run a company may lose a little revenue by taking out advertisements occasionally to inform the public, but overall this act gains consumer trust and will bring more readers to a media group such as this. Throughout this presentation, I kept thinking, “If the owner of a company believes deeply in the core journalistic values and is committed to the citizens first, they will be successful.”
LOYALTY TO THE COMPANY
Most people are so anxious to find a job that they will often not realize what their company stands for. I feel an important part of finding a job as a journalist is to find out what the company stands for. It is basically impossible to avoid spin. It is just natural and is going to happen. The spin or biases will likely reflect the views of ownership and those investing in the news organization. If a journalist can find these out beforehand they can work at a place where their work, style, and views align closely to the attributes of the company.
On page 62 of our text it says, “What good is journalism, after all, if it doesn’t sell?” Some people may forget that journalism is a business and those that work there try to make money. At the current time, it may be more difficult than ever to stay loyal to companies or to bosses as many news organizations are making cuts in order to save money in a down economy. A journalist has a responsibility to the company they work for up to a certain point. They should not jeopardize the loyalty of the citizens for good standing in a company.
The Baltimore Sun is a good example of how a company’s balance between the journalists and those that run the company should be. The mention, “the fact that, on journalist decisions, the newsroom has to have the integrity to make the final call.” They have policies written on the wall so that all workers know how to behave and act. It was mentioned in class that, “Journalists who make a case for the public interest inside their companies could be labeled as naïve, old-fashioned, and difficult.” Journalists that put the citizens first may lose some respect within their company. They may even lose jobs or money over high-principled morals. However, if a journalist can stay close to the loyalty of the citizens it will gain more followers and have a better journalistic reputation and ability. To have success between these two conflicting groups (the company and the citizens) it comes down to one word: BALANCE.
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