True to the Truth

1. The principles of journalism are unique in the academic world because they are not based on science or measurable data. Good journalists must learn what role they play in society and stay in a constant battle to remain within that role. Often pride or ambition will push journalists into the realm of public relations or activism.
A journalist is someone who informs society about the world around them. Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel argue that journalism occurs when a person acts independent of outside influence to report information (Kovach and Rosenstiel, 2001). In shorter terms they define this as objectivity. Objectivity is often confused with neutrality. Kovach and Rosenstiel clearly separate the two. The main difference in their view is that neutrality will attempt to downplay the pros and cons so each side is viewed as equal as possible. Objectivity occurs when someone reports a story with facts regardless of the pros or cons. I agree with their assessment, and would expand on their idea to say that objectivity nonetheless does not give a reporter carte blanche to report every bit of information that they receive.
Journalism requires objectivity because of the role it plays in democracy. Journalists inform citizens about the world around them and in particular the government. Jeffrey Scheuer points out that one of democracy’s ideals is equality (Scheuer, 2008). Effective journalism enables the citizenry to have equal access to information. The shared flow of information grants a realization of the ideal of a rule by the people. Journalists that seek to preserve this equality must be willing to report stories whether or not they portray a candidate, issue, or political belief in a favorable light. This task becomes even more daunting when public sentiment is antagonistic on an issue and there is information that does not perpetuate the ideas of society. In the cases when journalism helps inform people about misconceptions, it is then that the true value of journalism is apparent. Were it not for objectivity, there may be issues that would not be as well understood, and consequently journalism would have failed. Some stories that fall under this category would be the stories of Abu-Grhaib prison and Governor Rob Blagojevich. Neither story makes any American feel good about the actions of those that represent the country or its citizens. Good journalism has allowed informed citizens to take appropriate action to correct these grievous errors.
The dangerous but tempting realm of opinion based journalism is a constant hindrance to good journalism. Scheuer believes that trust is an essential part of journalism. People consume the news in order to process the events that surround them. Opinion based journalism is a breach of that trust. If agendas and talking points are used to find and frame stories, the ability of people to accurately process the facts is compromised. I agree with Scheuer that it is impossible to completely shield reporting from opinion, but it does not mean that an honest attempt should not be made. A reporter can practice journalism and give opinion, but not at the same time. The reporter should clearly delineate when they are reporting and when they are offering commentary. When news agencies try and attract untapped markets, opinion shows are very popular. Fox News and MSNBC are examples of news agencies that seek after niche markets of viewers. While programs on these shows contain journalism, opinion programs bring the ratings. While it is profitable to mix opinions and journalism, it weakens credibility. If profits are a bigger priority than good reporting the good of the public is not being met, and journalism is dead.
Blatantly mingling opinion and the news is not a wise practice, but having opinions on issues is essential to good reporting. I believe that people are generally self serving. Each person enters a career because they want to succeed, and often have a talent that draws them to that profession. It would not be normal for someone to have a career that they do simply because they want to help people. Journalists are no exception. Good journalism is about helping inform people and preserve democracy, but I don’t think journalists as a whole are acting out of charity. The gratification of filling the role of watchdog and gatekeeper is what feeds reporters. In addition to the gratification, reporters enjoy the adventure, the challenge and a passion for the issues. Good journalists cannot be neutral or apathetic towards issues. If a journalist does not have an opinion on a story, they have no motivation to uncover as many facts as possible to inform others. The challenge that journalists face is the ability to reign in their opinions in order to be objective. A truly passionate journalist will want to know the facts whether they help or hurt their opinion. Opinion fuels the reporter to fulfill their role. Therefore I see opinion as an integral part of objectivity.
I will be in a unique position as a journalist. I am a subject to my country, my church, and my family. As I stated above, objectivity is the ability of a journalist to report independent of the influences that their environment has on them. I have a wonderful opportunity to develop objectivity because of my affiliations with these three. Reporting stories without trying to appease these groups is a challenge that I enjoy. During the recent general election I was assigned to report from the Democratic Party Headquarters in Salt Lake City. My specific upbringing influenced me to follow closer to the Independent and Republican parties. The race I was covering pitted a newcomer Democrat against the Republican incumbent speaker of the house. The race was very close and it would have been easy in my reporting to downplay the magnitude of the race. In the end the Democrat defeated his opponent. If I wanted to appease the groups I was affiliated with, not to mention a majority of my listeners, I could have cast doubt on the results and ignored facts. It was a great learning opportunity because I found that I wanted to know even more about the facts surrounding the upset. My opinion on politics led to my passion for finding out more about the story. I felt my reporting was an objective piece of journalism that helped listeners understands the election. I plan to face future stories the same way. If I find my personal beliefs in the story I want to find out why I feel the way I do, and conversely why people would disagree with that. Practice will lead me to produce good journalism that serves the public.
Good journalism requires a healthy balance of personal involvement and public service. Journalists will fill their role more successfully as they form opinions, challenge them, and report.


2. Journalistic excellence is the best journalism provided when compared against the rest (Scheuer, 2008). Journalism’s purpose is to give the information to the public that allows them to self-govern (Kovach and Rosenstiel, 2001). When journalism achieves this purpose it can be considered excellent.
In order to give accurate information to the public the reporters must be independent, in other words, free of influence from personal and public values. It is not conceivable that someone could be completely independent but attempts must be made. The website Politico 44 is a page dedicated to document the daily life of President-elect Barack Obama (Politico44, 2008). The parent website Politico is home to pundits and analysts from a spectrum of political views. Their stories are compiled on the Politico 44 website. The website has the potential to be very informative and achieve journalistic excellence so far as it does not yield to the personal beliefs of the editors.
Journalists are supposed to inform the public about the obvious and the hidden. Good information is not acquired by simply taking notes at press conferences (Rieder, 2007). The reporters must dig to find the truth and report it without worrying who it may upset. Vigilance and good reporting skills will help the people make informed decisions that otherwise would not be possible.
The radio station I followed this semester was KSFO 560 AM (Mediaspan, 2008). There are only two or three reporters that work directly for the station, but they do a lot to keep the local governments accountable. Their most recent efforts have been focused on the state’s debt. California is now 42 billion dollars in debt and KSFO reporters have been on top of the developments relating to that. The downside to their small staff is that after resources have been spent on the debt there is little else as far as local news that can be covered effectively. The budget constraints will often result in reporting several wire stories.


3. Each person has their own unique upbringing that defines how they view the world around them. Family, religion, school, and the media frame the world around us. Under these constructs we form our own version on reality (Scheuer, 2008). Within that reality there are events with facts or absolute truths. Nonetheless each person has their own interpretation of the facts according to their own perception of reality. Journalistic truth concerns itself with the pursuit of understanding. Truth in journalism is not something that is finished or defined; rather, it is a developing set of truths. The metamorphic characteristic of journalistic truth is why accuracy is vitally important for excellence and legitimacy. Accuracy or the lack thereof, in the case of the Duke lacrosse players is what destroyed the reputation of the accused players. In the court of public opinion the players were guilty because the reporters were inaccurate and hasty in their investigation. Journalistic truth helps the public have the information that will contribute to their decision making. The combination of various information outlets, including journalism, is what Scheuer refers to as civic knowledge. Citizens take from pool of civic knowledge when they form opinions and take action on issues.


4. Newspapers and television news organizations are going through a transitional period in the industry. Newspapers are struggling with the pressures of competing with the internet. Advertising revenue is the key to paying for the operations of a newspaper. As fewer people subscribe to newspapers, advertisers are more reluctant to spend the money to advertise. Several newspapers have tried to move to the internet while maintaining the print edition, but internet revenue is scarce. Newspapers that are publicly owned are under pressure to increase profits and as a result more staff is cut. The television stations are consolidating because of pressure from the stockholders to increase profits. It is similar to the dilemma that newspapers have. Fewer reporters and staff are employed to keep costs low.
As news agencies consolidate, the quality and quantity of information available to the public decreases. Reporters will be forced to do more stories with less time and fewer resources. The civic knowledge Scheuer describes is key the rule of the people (Scheuer 2008). The amount of available information will decline and our ability to keep government accountable decreases. The people’s most powerful check against government is their right to speech, especially in the form of voting. Unless people are adequately informed about the world around them voting losses some of its importance.
In five years I will have a job as a reporter for either a radio or a television station. In the changing world of media I might be doing both while also posting stories online. I am also studying political science in order to have adequate credentials to do quality journalism. I will work to specialize in political issues and earn the credibility to be a political analyst or Washington correspondent.


5. My job as a journalist has and will undoubtedly put me in situations that will ask me to compromise my personal beliefs and journalistic credibility. I know that first and foremost my personal morals and beliefs are more important to me than a job. There is more than one news agency to work for, and I hope it never would come down to it, but another career. I know it is a bold statement to make before I have been tested, but I need to stay by what I believe or I cannot be taken seriously as a journalist. The biggest quandary that I can imagine developing surrounds the issue of protecting sources. My family is the most important possession I have. Going to jail for a source would be a very difficult decision to make. It is hard to predict what I would do without knowing the circumstances, but I would like to think I would stand up for my family and try and find some compromise with regards to the source. The more common ethical questions would deal with bribes, misquoting, sensationalism, and plagiarism. In various ways throughout my life I have been tested in these areas before and I see no value in bending to them. The tenets of the church have helped me succeed in life thus far and I know they will not hurt me in the future. I am a public servant as a journalist and I am not going to report as a way to draw attention to myself. The information that people need will be reported. The news must have some entertainment value, but there are some scenes and some information that are privileged to a person’s personal life. My job is to inform not to sensationalize.