Media consumers these days have a difficult time differentiating between news reporting and news analysis. For example, when I watch KSL at night then turn to Glenn Beck's program, I hear the same facts but portrayed very differently. Transparency is vital in the world of news; journalists are entitled to their own opinion, but they can only share it when they make their thoughts perfectly clear and separate from the facts.
Josh Wolf, a journalist who was imprisoned for refusing to give up information he reported on, believes that "objectivity is a false ideal." I completely agree. No one can be completely unbiased in their reporting because certain partialities will always remain. In fact, these opinions can actually enhance the news. Reporters with different backgrounds can give their readers or audience a fresh analysis of the facts. However, this only works if they make their bias clear and explain exactly where the facts came from.
One idea that Josh Wolf has is to teach media literacy during secondary or even primary education. If this were in effect, more children would grow up able to identify slanted news and honest journalism. They would not feel like a deceived audience, because they would be able to recognize fact from fiction and opinion.
If journalists knew their consumers were educated in media literacy from the time they were children, I think reporters would double check their facts. Bill Mitchell of the Poynter Institute believes that the tools of verification are more readily available. Journalists can access each other's work more easily, and they can keep each other in check as well as their consumers. Since media is available more now than ever before, it is important it is transparent and completely verified. A journalist can never be sure who will end up reading, watching, or listening to their story.
No comments:
Post a Comment