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.