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.

Oh say what is truth? Tis the fairest gem!

Why is truth important? Is it important? What are the pros and cons to being one hundred percent truthful? I feel as though the list of questions about honesty could go on. However, as explained in the presentation, “journalism's first obligation is to the truth.” To this I full-heartedly agree because of the role which journalism plays in society.

When the country was first started the citizens wanted to ensure that they would have the freedom of press so that the truth could be publish without fear of consequences. As a result of the first amendment, men were ensured this freedom and thereby became the watchdog of Washington ensuring that if things went awry that the people would know.

While watching things in Washington, journalists became obligated to give the facts. However, when a journalist falls from this standard then there are sure to be problems. An example was this video of a news reporter who unknowingly reported the murder of his fellow anchor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG4UMxP3HsM While this was simply a misreading of the script it demonstrates the importance of giving the truth. If such a falsehood were truly aired or printed the impact would be extremely detrimental. Such a story would cause unnecessary anguish from family members and would horribly damage the news station's credibility.

An example of non-honesty actually happening was during the shooting of Arizona Republican Gabrielle Giffords; she was reported dead by NPR. While in their hurry to have cutting news they forgot to check their sources and pronounced her dead when in fact she was still in surgery and stable. http://michellemalkin.com/2011/01/08/horror-arizona-rep-gabrielle-giffords-6-others-murdered-at-tuscon-event/ I remember listening to the reasons behind the false information being reported the next day and the drastic blow to the credibility of NPR. Fortunately for them they were willing to admit their falsehood and recover from this unfortunate report.

However, this leads to one of the most basic and important things of journalism - if journalists want to avoid controversy they must report facts. The world today is so linked and so “small” that it is essential for journalist to give facts. If these facts are not given then controversy arises and credibility is lost. I really like what this man's blog said about the importance of truth. http://journalistjan.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/the-importance-of-truth-in-journalism/ “There will be an inevitable decline in trust from readers if journalists cease to do their job and report honest information.”

After all, our jobs, as journalists, rely upon the public viewing or reading our stories. If they were to not trust us as journalists then we would inevitably lose our jobs and our livelyhood. But aside from our jobs, we have a duty to report the truth to the public in an unaltered, unbiased form. We must present the FACTS and then allow the public to make up its mind by itself. “It is always better to have a factual piece, than one that is fabricated to spark public interest.” If we will be honest and live by a code of ethics then we will be fulfilling our duty to the public and to the founders of this nation who fought to ensure that we could have this freedom of speech. Let us not abuse what others have given their lives for us to have.

What is the future?

     I think that the thing that has baffled me the most in reading and contemplating the future of journalism is how fast things are moving.  How we perceive news and where we obtain it from is changing on a daily basis.  Everywhere news companies are changing how they present news and the formats which news is broadcast.  Sources are derived from everywhere now due to the accessibility of hand held media devices such as cell phones and video recording devices.  This trend is particularly interesting because I can be involved in what is taking place in Libya and their revolution whereas had I lived even 50 years ago I would wait and hear it second hand.  Now I can see first-hand footage captured and transmitted into outer space and back again as though it were happening in my own city.  I really do feel that this is a big improvement because there are some things I can witness and the news can cover right away.  Before, due to the inavailability of these devices it was nearly impossible to have video coverage of them.  The perfect example which is outlined in the reading where amateur footage was the primary source is the attack on the twin towers on September 11, 2001. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuQl9hUC00k Because of this type of coverage people across the world are able to have personal experiences with things which they never witnessed first hand.
     However, what will the future of journalism be?  Well, that is the question to which no one seems to have the answer.  Why?  Because if we were to step back twenty years there is no possible way that anyone foresaw that journalism would be where it is today.  There was absolutely no way that anyone could possibly foretell the tools available. http://www.newsandtech.com/resources/  Perhaps we will advance to the point were we will have devices implanted that will immediately transmit the latest urgent news into our minds or perhaps we will revert back to having the news reported to us on chalkboards like this man http://creamcityandsugar.blogspot.com But one thing is certain and that is that only the future can tell what it holds for journalism as it rolls out before us.

He Lives: Testimonies of Jesus Christ

I wanted my first post to be and explain what has created me as a person. Mainly my Savior Jesus Christ.