The Journalist as Celebrity

In my life I have gotten to know several anchors and reporters for news channels and, in my eyes, I would I look at them differently because I know they get on TV in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers, including myself. Luckily, I knew them before I ever saw them on the Television and that matters. There is something about looking at the TV, seeing someone’s face and knowing many other people know them too. It’s almost as if they are a local celebrity. Now that changes when we get into national news, because then they almost become a celebrity, like Anderson Cooper, Diane Sawyer and Walter Cronkite. Reporters in print media don’t face that issue and can elude possible distortion with stories that come with being on the television. Sources that are televised act much differently than those on the radio or included in the print reports. It’s due to the fact that they are more likely to know who the reporter is and where this story will end up. Journalists like the anonymity of who they are, because they feel like they would not be able to get all the stories they do if people knew what they looked like.

Celebrity Journalists-

http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=247

Chelsea Clinton, Journalist?-

http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/11/17/chelsea-clinton-journalist-why-celebrities-are-stealing-our-jobs/

The Journalist as Celebrity-

http://www.american.com/archive/2008/february-02-08/the-journalist-as-celebrity/

The News Must Be Comprehensive

When looking at what makes a good journalist or broadcasting organization, the audience needs to remember what news is about. It is reporting those things that are important to them and allowing the whole audience an opportunity to relate to it. The news should be complete and comprehensive, meaning it should include all aspects and not be cut and trimmed to attract a specific audience. It isn't all about readership or what is hottest, becasue that leaves out a lot of other important things that need to be covered. The news industry has tried for a long time to be #1 and they will do almost anything for the best ratings, which means they get caught up in this pressure to hype things up. Many times we find the shows we watch are more enlightening than the news we watch, because it has turned way more entertaining. Examples of that include the latest hype with reality shows and how the news will include segments to promote the shows. That is not real news, at least it isn't for me. The topics covered in a report should be examined and thought over, determing if it is out of impulse or actual importance. Journalists should keep the news comprehensive and in proportion.

Don't feed the hype!-

http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v35/n1/full/ng0903-1.html

Don't beleive the hype-

http://www.sean.co.uk/a/journalism/press_releases_editing.shtm

Media Hype: Friend or Foe?-

http://www.innovationjournalism.org/ij4/presentations/zamirhaider.pdf

Journalism and Faith

Only after I got into this broadcast journalism class did I realize that a journalist’s faith might become an issue at some point during their career. There are some topics that are covered and some might get in the way of the journalist and their beliefs. In those situations what are they to do and I am sure many wonder which one takes priority.

Should a reporter stay away from those issues? Is that even possible? The only real answer for many is that it all depends on what is put in front of them. Another point to bring up wile reporting about religion is how should it be done? I think Joe Hight, of The Oklahoman’s said it perfectly, “when you are reporting, you must understand that people have different values than you, and you must be as fair and balanced with them as you would with people of your own faith.” As a journalist you took it upon yourself to not include your personal beliefs in your work. People want fair reports that aren’t full of your personal beliefs, as if you were trying to preach to them, because sometimes those beliefs cannot be verified.

Critical issues in journalism- (which includes religion)

http://www.stjohns.edu/media/3/1af6827dbe48442688836f1412e8303f.pdf

Is religion needed to report on it?-

http://www.religionwriters.com/tools-resources/reporting-on-religion-a-primer-on-journalisms-best-beat/the-basics/do-you-need-to-be-religious-to-report-on-religion

On having faith in journalism-

http://www.concernedjournalists.org/faith-journalism-and-having-faith-journalism

Personal Code of Ethics

When I first showed up to class in the beginning of this Fall semester, we were all asked what ethics meant to us and at first it took me a second, but then I was able to think of a couple of definitions. I think the first had to do with morality and then I came up with a personal guideline one strives to hold to. I came to find out a little later that I was actually spot on. Ethics are a moral principles that govern a person’s or a group’s behavior.

When dealing with journalism, the code of ethics they stick to is mostly voluntary, unless there is an office or organization that requires its employees to uphold it as a policy for their workplace. I personally do not plan on being a journalist, since I am only minoring in Communications, but I do believe this is good for myself to think of a personal code of ethics that I can use as a guideline on how to act and live when dealing with others. It is almost like the Ten Commandments given to Moses, where I need to take them upon myself and be willing to suffer the consequences to my actions if I go astray from what I have promised to uphold. Well, maybe it is not so strict, but if I thought of it like that, I would definitely be a better person and co-worker.

As this semester has moved on, I really have learned a lot about journalism and how much goes on behind the scenes with the importance of this code of ethics. Like I mentioned earlier, the code of ethics is voluntary and it amazes me how journalists, for the most part, strive to be honest, fair and trustworthy. To help with what makes up this certain code of ethics, there is an organization called the Society of Professional Journalists, which is made up of thousands of journalists, and they have come up with four pillars of ethics. To introduce these four pillars they have said that the forerunner to justice and the foundation of democracy is public enlightenment. They also said that standing at the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility is professional integrity. I am astonished at what these professionals strive to do in the name of journalism, which leads us to the four pillars. They are to seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently and be accountable. It covers the basis of what a journalist should do to provide good reports to his or her audience. I personally have made a personal code of ethics that is quite similar to that of the SPJ’s. I will explain what my goals are with this code and how I plan to stick to it.

Being only a Communication minor, and taking the basic journalism classes, I am given the opportunity to learn how to look at news and decide whether I can trust certain agencies. I have learned that as a member of the audience to the news I consume, I have the ability to do some checks to see whether the stories are accurate or not. I have the right, as a consumer, to pick which source is best for me, because I have choices. As an example of that, I recently have taken a liking to reading the newspaper, which I really have never done. The newspaper is slowly dying, which is a sad thing, but I believe I can trust The New York Times as still being the best out of the ones that are surviving. I have read other newspapers lately and I find The Times to be the most transparent and informative. That is my choice and my opinion, but in the end that is why we have that freedom to choose what we like best. Other than reading the newspaper I get other news online, because it is convenient being around computers most of the day. I don’t have time to watch TV, so that takes a back seat to any news consumption.

When determining which source of news to trust and how to know for sure if they are a good organization it is important to check them against other sources for independence, verification and public vigilance. In other words, what are they reporting? Does it personally affect you? Does it help you to know what you are consuming? Is the information’s accurate? All these are great questions to find out if you are taking in good information and will help you find the best source for your personal wants and needs. I truly believe that an individual journalist and an organization have to stand up for what they believe to be true and right. When the whole team is organized, bold and following the four pillars of journalism, they would be considered an outstanding example in journalism. That trust journalists seek with their audience takes time to develop, but it is key if they want anyone to pay attention to them.

For my life personally, I want people to trust me, as well. I want to be able to be a good listener and have people trust me with their information they share with me. I want to be a valued source when asked questions and have people believe me when I tell them something. My parents taught me to be trustworthy and growing up that characteristic took some courage to stick up for my values, but in the end it is always worth it to choose the right. Yes, I have slipped up and told lies, but have learned my lesson and regained the trust of those I harmed. It took time and hard work to fix my wrongdoings, but I am glad I went through those experiences. I have learned that will help me through out my life. I want to share a list, which I have taken from other sources and applied to my personal code of ethics. I want to be or a journalist to be trustworthy, courageous, loyal, objective and fair to both sides. All those together, if a person was to stick to them, would make a pretty outstanding person.

Journalism is an honorable career and after going through this class I respect them even more. They are all around us, but do an outstanding job with all the details they have to keep in mind while reporting. It is, once again, all done to help us stay informed. We the audience are being enlightened by other citizens who have taken upon themselves to be watchdogs within our society and uphold what matters most to a democratic society, freedom. That includes the freedom to express ideas, opinions and thoughts with out being censored by the government. What a blessing it is to live and work in this great country, where we enjoy and have enjoyed these freedoms for hundreds of years.

In conclusion to my time in this class I want it to be known that I will not take for granted the things I used to look over and not think much of. There is so much that goes into being a journalist and it really is a way of life. Journalists have to dedicate themselves to their work and make it a priority to be mindful of what they do and say. Even though I am learning the basics in this class, it will be useful for me in my life to use these principles in my life as I associate with the people of this world. Just as I have grown from this class and this assignment, I think it would be useful for all of us to look at our lives and determine what kind of personal code of ethics we could be living by. It will not only improve your life, but also the lives of everyone around us. Who knows, this might be the key to world peace. All I know is that I am a better person, because I want to be trustworthy, loyal and be fair to those I come in contact with. If only we could all live by the golden rule and treat others, as we would want to be treated, then we would really get somewhere. Mistakes come with the territory, just make sure to learn from them and try not to repeat them. One last thing, remember who you are and what you stand for, and then journalism will really find a special spot in everyone’s hearts. Learn the code and live it. That is my final advice for all who read this, which includes myself.

Ethics

Journalists nowadays are not forced to be ethical and there is no law holding them to what the SPJ has put together as the four pillars of ethics. Journalists are simply being responsible citizens and accountable for their work. The four pillars of the SPJ’s code of ethics (http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp) go as follows: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently and be accountable.


Starting with the first pillar, seek truth and report it, there should be an understanding that journalists must be honest, fair, and courageous when gathering, reporting and interpreting information (Willis, 50). It is important to know that journalists are dealing with other people’s lives and should treat that information with care and be just in reporting it. That leads us to the next pillar to the code of ethics, minimize harm. Journalists’ sources, colleagues and subjects all have their personal opinions, feelings and thoughts that they must keep in mind. It is crucial to be wise when asking questions during tragedy and grief, because you do not want to come off greedy or seem like you are pandering. A journalist must think on their feet and be able to work on their own without making mistakes and causing more drama than is necessary. That is why the third pillar of the code of ethics is to act independently. This pillar also means that when journalists are on their own in the field they have to be aware of their own feelings and thoughts and maintain an independence from those they cover. One cannot get too involved in their story so that their judgment is swayed one direction or another. That is why journalists have to be accountable of themselves and those they surround themselves with at all times. Which takes us to the fourth and last pillar, be accountable (http://bigthink.com/ideas/3307). Journalists have to abide by the same high standards to which you hold others. Be aware that mistakes will be made and journalists have to accept this and make sure to go back and correct them (http://www.regrettheerror.com/).

Watchdog Journalism

When a newsroom asks its journalists to have more watchdog journalism in their work, what does that mean? To answer that question we can start with journalism being the fourth estate and it being a fourth branch of the government. They act as an overseeing eye and are there to inform the people (http://tinyurl.com/3tzyez4). Charlotte Hall, Editor at the Orlando Sentinel, said simply, “Watchdog journalism is a state of mind for the whole newspaper: Journalism that gives power to the people.” In other words, the entire team of journalists has to be aware of what is around them and be willing to keep a look out for the rest of us, so we can be informed (http://tinyurl.com/3kle4xp). They are the private eye for the public good.

At the same time, many are wondering if some journalists and organizations are taking watchdog journalism too far and turning it into a form of amusement. It is being drawn out and it is a joke, sometimes to boost ratings. Liz Leamy, a TV reporter, says that it is the “just add water” investigative reporting. Some bad examples of watchdog journalism include, a news channel putting cameras up in a house to prove you can’t get all your carpets cleaned for $7.95. Another in the mid 1990’s claiming a bra’s internal wire could poke the owners. This is not watchdog journalism. It supposed to be reporting that looks out for the civic interests of the audience and uncovers real problems in the community and offers solutions. A good example would be Bob Woodward and Carl Burnstein’s reporting on the Watergate Scandal for the Washington Post (http://tinyurl.com/azyqy). Remember, the purpose as a journalist is to be a link between the news/truth and the audience. It is to empower them with the information by keeping an eye on your surroundings, reporting the events and providing possible solutions.

Independence in Journalism

Whenever I speak of independence I always think back to the colonial times when the settlers were trying to break free of England’s tight grip over the colonies and what that must have been like. Independence in Journalism is a little different, but it still means to separate yourself from, and not being subject to control by others. Independence is the fourth principle in journalism (http://tinyurl.com/djszyf). Meaning Journalists must maintain an independence from those people and topics they cover. A journalist can’t be swayed by outside forces in their work. Their stand must be equal and look at all sides of the event. This could be termed as independence from faction, or having a true set of ideas rather than a member of a team, someone who puts the audience first (http://tinyurl.com/3wp7py2). Journalist have to be committed not only to their audience but to themselves. A journalist has to promise themself that they won’t have any conflicts of interest while working on a report. This is defined as an independence of mind and is crucial to a journalist and their work, for there can be no obstacles while reporting. The book The Elements of Journalism says, “Friendship, opportunities, and flattery all will conspire to seduce the opinion writer to cross the line” (p. 120). Living up to this principle of independence of mind is very difficult, take the case of Maggie Gallagher (http://tinyurl.com/d2qczz). She was an outstanding journalist for the New York Post and was always making her stance clear on being honest and completely committed to your work. Then, Howard Kurtz, media writer for the Washington Post, finds out she’s writing under a federal contract to promote President Bush’s marriage initiative. She goes to defend herself, stating she wasn’t aware of an issue between the two jobs she had. Well, it is too bad she didn’t reveal her contract because she just shot herself in the foot by not opening up about this conflict of interest. The moral of the story is, don’t get yourself involved in journalism without maintaining independence from your work and personal life.

Verification

The human body depends on the heart to pump oxygenated blood throughout the body to supply vital organs with the nutrition it needs. It is crucial that it continues to beat all day and all night, if not death is imminent. In journalism, the same goes for what is reported and how the information has been verified. Verification is the beating heart of credible journalism in the public interest and without it a journalist is nothing (http://tinyurl.com/3avjurn). Verification allows the work that is presented to stand on its two feet and supply the audience with the vital information they seek.

I present to you five techniques, which allow journalists to thoroughly verify their work before it is published or aired:

1. Edit with skepticism- Ask questions like, why is this here? Can it be supported? Can it be proven? Don’t settle with information you receive. Instead dig deeper and find the source to be sure of its legitimacy.

2. Keep an accurate checklist- Make sure you have a good list to check your work and balance the sides in your work. Also, don’t be afraid to add to this checklist. You can add procedures which help your final outcome be even better.

3. Assume nothing- This is referring to not allowing any room for complacency. It is important to get as close as you can to the source for your work. Think of a target and having the immediate source in the middle. Going out from there you have eyewitnesses, primary sources and then secondary.

4. Tom French’s Red Pencil- this is, or should be, another part of your checklist. It simply means to get the red pencil out and put a check next to facts and assertions to double check that your work is true(http://tinyurl.com/3odwxzt).

5. Be careful with anonymous sources- with anonymous sources it is hard to determine what their intentions are, so go back to step one and be skeptical. Ask yourself what their motivation is (why?), what other alternatives their might be to check that the information is verifiable and determine what importance their message really has http://tinyurl.com/3vopo8s).

The Profession

While reading a book called The Mind of a Journalist by Jim Willis, it was very interesting to find a chapter with the title, “The Priesthood of Journalists.” What does that mean exactly? Well, it seems like many journalists see their work as surrendering to a higher calling of serving others (http://tinyurl.com/3lssjos), not unlike the clergy of a church or even police officers. They describe this priesthood with two important theories: hegemony theory and news work theory.

The hegemony theory is directed at journalists’ beliefs, comprised of their social, cultural, and ideological beliefs. Beliefs being defined as convictions about whether something is true or false. The problem with this theory is that many critics come out and state that editors and reporters of the news media are the ones who decide what is important and report what they want the public to know or not know. However, many of us know that, by and large, those days are over, because of technology that lets the public not only have feedback (http://www.cnn.com/feedback/hdlns/), but also have a say in which news they want for themselves.

The second part to this priesthood of journalism is the news work theory. Within each office there is a type of news culture and these norms and ethics are passed down from older generations to newer generations of journalists (http://tinyurl.com/fmg37). Some of the norms are not for all and among journalists there are debates on what is right and wrong. One of those debates is how detached journalists should become from their community to report with less bias and be equal to all parties. That is usually left to each office and is determined by the news director or editor.

Journalism and Loyalty (plus future of news update)

Journalists position themselves to be right in the middle of what’s happening in their immediate community or around the globe. They present, or relay, what they see and hear to their audience which makes them intermediaries. This is why the second principle of journalism is so important to the audience. It is that journalists’ first loyalty is to the citizens.

In many countries corruption not only rules law enforcement, businesses, but also journalism (http://tinyurl.com/6rrrjw). Money is what drives those to give in to change stories and sometimes even forget what was seen or heard. Fortunately, many journalists feel a need to bring the truth out without being bought out or influenced by those in power. Journalists have even gone as far as declaring they won’t let their self-interests cloud their decisions when reporting an event. This movement has even spread to whole organizations, making a code of ethics standard in the work place. Some of those organizations include the NY Times, Washington Post and LA Times (http://tinyurl.com/3wac3gr). They include regulations such as fairness to the audience, avoiding conflict with them and even correct attribution (journalism sourcing). This makes it easy for journalists to know that all within the workplace are held to these standards. Unfortunately, even with these principles and regulations, we find examples of occurrences when journalists give in to an outside source and change their story. Sometimes it might even be that journalists don’t convey clear messages to the public and are later caught in situation where they can’t explain themselves, which happened with Dan Rather and the Killian Documents (http://tinyurl.com/5fwam).

It so important for journalism to understands its role in peoples’ lives and for journalists to accept their position as middlemen. They chose be who they are and should stand up for what they know. Their loyalty is not to their boss, their mother or their religion. Rather, it is solely to their TV, radio, newspaper, or magazine audience.


Update
If you read this NY Times article (http://tinyurl.com/3e56go3) about a Pew Media Study, you will find interesting shifts in media consumption among different age groups. I wanted to note that as younger generations are shifting to the Internet for most of their news and information needs, many TV stations might have to change their news agenda. The reason being, many Internet web portals offer everything from local community issues to national news feeds, but adults still read the local paper and watch news on TV. According to this study, adults watch TV for weather, traffic and breaking news, but with the slow death of local newspapers, where are other important local topics going to be found? It is interesting to think about how the downfall of one channel might change the presentation of another.

Truth in Journalism

Upton Sinclair is one of the best and most vile examples of exposing truth to the public by writing the book “The Jungle.” He gave meat packing plants a good reason to clean up , because not only did he tell the nation what was going on behind closed doors with the meat they ate, but it brought in government intervention. Fortunately, today we have the FDA which applies regulations to what companies can and can’t do with what we consume. His journalistic side demanded the truth be told and he was obliged to it and that is the first principle of journalism (http://www.journalism.org/resources/principles).

Sinclair was one of many examples on how to reveal truth. He was a muckraker, or acted as a watchdog, that brought light to an area not yet known to the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muckraker). He was able to go in and investigate behind the scenes and later write about his experience. He had people to verify what he wrote, which made his words credible. That brings me to another point behind truth in journalism: verification. With journalism, your work has to be backed up by credible sources, because if not people find it hard to believe. That could be a reason why Wikipedia can’t always be trusted. Anyone can go in and edit an article, which makes it hard to trust it one hundred percent (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2005-12-06-wikipedia-truth_x.htm). Luckily, we as seekers of truth demand facts, so Wikipedia editors have been more gracious by posting references on the articles they edit. But don’t settle on one website, check several and compare them to see if the information they provide all align with each other. Remember, we have a right to hear the truth, so stand up and be a voice for your community.

The Future of News

The way people have been getting news has evolved over the past couple of years so quickly many are questioning what the future of news will be like. Technology has played a leading role in not only the way we, the audience, receive the news, but also the way the media is transmitting it from the source to the consumers.

Everyday younger generations are surrounded by screens everywhere, whether they are tablets, TV’s, mobile telephones or computers. What this means for news is the channels by which people are receiving and sending information is online, so naturally the trend is to follow where everyone’s eyes are looking. The Internet is so vast and accessible it is where more and more people go to get their fix of sports, weather, top stories, and latest viral videos. Technology is constantly advancing and changing how and where we get news, but the Internet is the main hub where it is all available (http://tinyurl.com/cf2rbk). 

Although, all of this change makes life easier and supposedly saves time in the long run, it is not completely the most reliable source. The Internet can and does lie to us all the time. We have discovered, with these technological advances, how easy it is to manipulate information, pictures and videos on our very own computers at home and upload them to the Internet and cause mass confusion. Some examples include the 9/11 picture that was taken from the observation deck on one of the WTC towers with a plane in the background or a website dedicated completely to satire news (http://www.theonion.com/). I agree, some of it is funny, but other sites are simply misleading and fake with the sole purpose of getting the wrong kind of attention. That is why we have to be on constant guard, because the next email you get about some breaking news story could just be another hoax.

In this modern day, with all of the technology we sit behind, we are not only consumers anymore, but producers as well (http://tinyurl.com/4y9q865). Blogs, videos, stories on social media sites have allowed us to share our own stories and become journalists with a little “j.” We are now able to contribute to our communities and surrounding world the things we have lived through. We are the news, so why not be contributors.

Chapter One: Journalism Defined

Is it possible to imagine what our present day world would be like without journalism? If it would be possible to imagine it would not be anything like the world we live in today. We definitely would not share all of the freedoms we enjoy in the U.S. and other democratic countries. That is because journalism provides information to make a democracy run more smoothly and it inspires ordinary citizens to fight for freedom. In turn, those actions build strong communities that can be a lot more trustworthy. Here one could ask how trust is strengthened. Well, the reason for the added trust can be traced back to the purpose of journalism, which is to pass on information to others and report on events. In other words, journalism is a type of watchdog, where it governs itself through a type of checks and balances system. The other side to the news media's job is to report to the public all it needs and then for the public to sort out for itself the truth over time (The Elements of Journalism, p. 26). This means that as the public comes across several media sources, they can compare and contrast to check for themselves to see who is accurate. In the end, this allows them to find reliable sources for their information needs.

Although, the media has had to adapt to it's surrounding world over the past several hundred years, today is no different. In today's ever changing world, we see the media shifting its ways of reporting, because of challenges it is facing. Three challenges mentioned in the reading were: new technology, conglomeration and globalization (The Elements of Journalism, p. 29-31). These challenges allow journalism to find new channels of reporting information and they are even shifting journalism's role to ordinary citizens through the Internet and the many social media channels. With this change, the public also has to adjust and make sure what it finds is reliable by once again checking their sources. Surprisingly, not everything on the Internet, TV or radio is true. What this process of checking does to the public is permit it to be stronger researchers and according to John Dewey, help fulfill democracy's purpose of allowing people to develop to their fullest potential (The Elements of Journalism, p. 22).