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.