I can see through you!!!!

      As we strive to become journalists there are principles extremely important which we must learn and then decide to follow. Just as when we chose as children to say no to drugs, alcohol, and other destructive substances, we must decide now, before we are professionals, what we believe and then live by those values no matter what.

      Why? There may come a time when we receive a story and shortly thereafter we find out that we are the first ones to hear about it. Then there may be an overwhelming desire to be the first to publish that story before we verify where it came from and if it is even true. After all most of us dream of the same opportunity that Robert Woodward had in the Watergate scandal. However, as said in the presentation in class on Tuesday we must aim “for thoroughness, accuracy, fairness, and transparency” in our journalism. One of the most important standards that we can emphasize is that of verification. The best way to have good verification is to learn good tools before we are in a profession and then practice them. “Practices such as seeking multiple witnesses to an event, disclosing as much as possible about sources, and asking many sides for comment are, in effect, tools in the discipline of verification.” http://kyleeknoles.blogspot.com/2010/02/verification-journalism.html

      As we strive to verify our leads and stories it will solidify our stories in formation or articles and our reputation. I firmly believe that the process of verification will build a bond of trust between us and the public. It is this trust which I feel is lacking in today's society lacking. But the question may still linger as to how we build this trust and improve the verification of our stories.

      One of the best ways that I learned from this last reading and presentation was through transparency. This is the plastic thing we put on an overhead projector but is one of the fundamental tools of good reporting. “Transparency signals a respect for the audience and reaffirms a journalist's public interest motive, the key to gaining credibility.” http://newsgames.gatech.edu/blog/2009/02/notions-of-transparency-in-journalism.html When the public knows our respect them and our desire to get the facts to them, then we will gain their respect back. “Transparency in journalism also includes honesty but goes a step further. It includes virtue and credibility. In journalism, that means accrediting sources and quoting accurately.” http://blogs.setonhill.edu/NancyGregg/2005/09/journalism_of_v.html

      As we strive to be transparent and to verify our stories we will become great assets to the world of journalism. We do, after all, believe in being “honest” and “true” (Articles of Faith #13) in all that we do. Let us therefore decide today to live by the principles which will be of the most service to society.

With great power comes great responsibility

      One of the main reasons that the Revolutionary War took place was because the colonies were tired of being taxed and having no say in the parliament in England. Thus when this country was founded the founders took special consideration to ensure that this would not happen again. One of the ways that ensured the citizens their rights was the document termed the Bill of Rights. This bill protected the population of the United States and ensured that the rights pertained therein could never be taken away.

After this took place newspapers popped up everywhere reporting the happenings in the government. This ensured that the United States government would not become what the parliament was in England. By keeping a watch on Washington the press then became the unofficial “Fourth Estate” of the government. However, with this title it was not long for the press to become an immense political and social power. This power was derived from the “fact that the press can be used to shape societies while imparting news of note and commentary of interest.” ( http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-fourth-estate.htm )

However, with any “power” there comes certain responsibilities. Because the press plays such an important role in society it could be easy for the press to misconstrue information and lead the public to believe something entirely false. Thus journalists have to decide a moral code by which they live and report by. Also, journalists are under a microscope and need to make sure that they are reporting both accurately and willing to do everything they can to write a meaningful, well-founded story. It is very easy to see the faults of journalism because it is available to the world. This article points out five things that are seen as continually wrong in journalism: http://www.prmoment.com/315/five-things-prs-hate-about-journalists.aspx As I read this I was saddened because of the decrease in trust which is occurring among the general public. If this trend is going to stop it is important the we as journalists strive to do the best that we can in every aspect of reporting.

      One big issue that this distrust in journalism has created is that many people are unwilling to go on the record in stories. This has created a huge controversy as to whether or not journalists should be allowed to keep their sources confidential. On one side it is “absurd” that journalists should be allowed to keep their sources confidential, especially when it pertains to the safety of others in our communities. http://www.mwilliams.info/archive/2004/09/journalist-confidentiality.php The other side of the coin is the argument that sources have a right to privacy. Despite both of these arguments it is important for journalists to follow leads when they come their way and use correct information in all of their reporting. There was an article I read once that said the more sources you have the more credible your piece is and the less inclined you will be to make up things in your stories. This is of particular importance especially because we are known as the “Fourth Estate.”

     

True to the Truth and True to the Citizen

     One of the biggest obligations that journalists have in the industry is determining to whom and what they are loyal. Part of being a journalist is being committed to the truth and then offering the truth up to the public in an unbiased and well-founded way. The Nieman foundation for journalism at Harvard University explains that “A commitment to citizens is more than professional egoism. It is the implied covenant with the public … the notion that those who report the news are not obstructed from digging up and telling the truth … It is the basis of why we as citizens believe in a news organization.” http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102542/Journalisms-First-Loyalty-Is-to-Citizens.aspx

These are particularly strong words. To say that we hold a “covenant” with the public to find and tell the truth places an important weight upon journalists. Many times journalists forget about this important, sacred pact that they have made with the public. Especially in the the society of today it is easy for journalists to slip into heresy and report their opinion instead of the truth. They forget their commitment to the citizens and allow their standards to fall so that they can get that “story” - if it can even be called that once they are done with it. But the question comes – why do journalists allow their standards to slip? Sherrie Gossett investigated into this further and explains that there are several reasons that this can happen. Standards may slip because “the pressure of the competitive 24-hour news cycle and the push to be first with a story, without adequate checking” is intense and can certainly lead to a slip in standards. http://www.aim.org/media-monitor/standards-in-journalism/ This in particular took place when NPR reported that Sen. Gifford from Arizona had been not only shot in the head but killed, when in fact she was still alive and recovering.

Thus, as we strive to become journalists it is important now more than ever that we hold to standards of finding the truth, sharing the truth and giving support to the truth. The Pew Media Study in the New York Times explains that “there's a feeling that in the digital age, information is a commodity that's just available and there's not always a sense of how it's generated or produced.” Many times this feeling allows journalists to take the amount of information available for granted. This same study also “reaffirmed public distrust of the media as an institution.” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/business/media/pew-media-study-shows-reliance-on-many-outlets.html I feel that if the decline in standards is to change the media must make a return to the basics. We must demonstrated a sense of loyalty to the public in such a way that they know we are loyal to them. We must demonstrate a sense of honor and high standards in journalism. When this happens the media will be much more influential for good. But, until this happens the public will continue to distrust the media and eventually may lead to the undoing of journalism as we know it.