Loyalty & Journalism

Henry Fielding once said, "A newspaper consists of just the same number of words, whether there be any news in it or not." While we used to find that many of those words used to be advertisements, today those ads are gone. With the newspaper industry crumbling these days, advertisers are less inclined to provide revenue for newspaper companies. The Associated Press recently reported that most new information comes from newspapers. This means that the information we get from television, radio and internet news sources--sources which are fed by newspapers--are also crumbling. This gloomy perspective presents a question:

If newspapers are falling, why not find better sources of income?

It's hard to draw the line between revenue and responsibility. Journalists rely on advertising, but their primary responsibility is to citizens. An interesting example of this is the Utah People's Post. The UPP was started by a group of citizens who realized this responsibility and decided to take care of it themselves. In fact, we're seeing this more and more: citizens informing citizens without the journalist middleman. People these days are informed about news through Twitter and Facebook instead of a newspaper.
Could it be possible for citizen journalism to envelop the five characteristics of successful a news company?

• The owner/corporation (citizens) must be committed to citizens first. Citizens can be loyal to themselves, but they can also focus their priorities on other things. For example, across the globe some people are more loyal to their government than to other citizens. In some cults we find people who are more loyal to their religion.
  
• Hire business managers who also put citizens first. Citizens might not put the reporting responsibility in the right hands. They would most likely want to listen to people who will say only what the citizens want to hear.
  
• Set and communicate clear standards. As we see through personal blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, people usually say what they want. Whatever standards they have seem to come second when it comes to expressing their opinion.
  
• Journalists (in our case, citizens) have the final say over the news. This is the only characteristic I don't agree with. I believe that citizens have the final say over the news, especially in the United States. In our democracy it is the people who decide what is important in their lives.
  
• Communicate clear standards to the public. News companies often make their employees sign ethical or professional statements. This helps the public trust them. Would citizens be willing to bind themselves to a same type of contract? I don't think so.
  

Although citizen journalism is vital for information in our day, journalists are still needed. It is critical that journalists remain loyal to the citizens. If they aren't, news would cease to be news and become some mix of tabloid sensationalism or propaganda.
Still, whether our world becomes one of news corporations or citizen journalism, one thing is for sure; citizens will always have the power.