Thursday, March 25, 2010

The Journalist and Faith

In class we've often discussed bias and objectivity in journalism. I feel like I've reached a conclusion: it is impossible for a journalist to be impartial. In our latest class when we discussed religion, I had prepared myself for another lecture on objectivity and balance. This time, however, what I found most interesting was the discussion on how religion is covered.
Religion has become cliche in the news. Islams are terrorists and Mormons are polygamous. Unfortunately, the most popular knowledge of religion comes from news media. These cliches become stereotypes.

Jon Meacham, pulitzer prize winner and editor of Newsweek magazine, said that the days of the religion desk in the newsroom are over.
“The journalists who will survive and thrive in this era are those who are able to think holistically and not just see through a narrow lens,” he said.
Journalists shouldn't view religion as a beat, but as a part of a bigger story.
Meacham wrote a cover story for Newsweek in 2004 about Mel Gibson's controversial film, The Passion of the Christ. The magazine received hundreds of responses from readers, who both commended and condemned the story. One such reader wrote in:

"It strikes me as inappropriate that Jon Meacham takes a dry, detached, journalistic tone in making such pronouncements as "Scripture is not always a faithful record of historical events" and the claim that the Bible's authors "shaped their narratives several decades after Jesus' death to attract converts and make their young religion--understood by many Christians to be a faction of Judaism--attractive to as broad an audience as possible," without a disclaimer that this is a view held only by some. Why work such a dismissive note of authority into his far from universally held understanding of the Bible's origins and accuracy? I'll match my credentials as a textual critic with his any day, and I accept the Bible's accuracy and reject the claim that it pushes a human agenda."
Doyle Srader, Ph.D., Dept. of Communication
Stephen F. Austin State University
Nacogdoches, Texas

First of all, it is interesting that Dr. Srader criticizes Meacham for being too "journalistic" when he himself is a communications professor. If this is the case, should journalists be more emotional when writing about religion? Of course not. It just goes to show that no matter how a certain religious topic is covered, someone will always be displeased.
Religion is a sensitive subject because it is something that people hold very dear to their hearts. It is too easy for a reporter to wound someone by printing an incorrect fact about a religion, making assumptions, or including bias. Even though Dr. Srader said it is inappropriate to be too "jounalistic" when writing on religion, it might be a reporter's only option.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Journalism as a Public Forum

I never imagined how important it was that journalism act as a public forum until I tried to imagine a world without free journalism. The sad part is I didn't have to imagine very hard; a place like that already exists.

In North Korea journalism is anything but a public forum. The only reason it exists is to serve the dictatorship. There is only one news organization and it is run by the government. The reporters have strict rules they are to follow, and their publications can only support their leaders
It's hard to imagine living in a world like that, especially since our government was founded through journalism.

I think that the Internet has helped journalism grow into the mass public forum that it is today. Reporters can keep each other in check because it is easier to access one another's work. Citizens can blog and even comment on news stories.
Commenting on news stories is the perfect way to find the audience's opinions, but it is also the perfect way to cause unnecessary contention. The saying "no news is good news" applies towards commenting. People comment the most when they complain or have something negative to say, and many people keep the good comments to themselves. A couple weeks ago when Mark Willes spoke to the university, he mentioned that his media is undergoing massive comment control. Some of the changes include:
  • no anonymous commenting
  • comment view control (readers can hide comments)
  • no off-topic comments (readers can vote off certain comments)
The public side of journalism is impossible to control. There are simply too many people in the world that have access to news stories and different methods of sharing their opinion. It's just important that journalists don't let it get out of hand, while at the same time not taking over the public forum entirely.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Ethics: Responsibility to Conscience

Ethics has always been a critical part of journalism. Now that the journalistic media is blurred, so is the definition of ethics. Not only do journalists have to make ethical decisions regarding what they print or broadcast, but they must manage their blogs, twitter, social networking pages, and other online productions. Poynter Online lists some assertions of ethical decision-making in digital media--things that should be remembered when doing online reporting.
  • Online publishing has the opportunity to serve audiences in new and meaningful ways.
  • Journalism values in such areas as truth, community and democracy will endure only if we embrace dramatic changes in the pressures and competition we face and the products we publish.
  • Written ethics guidelines based on those values are an essential ingredient in the decision-making required in various forms of emerging media.
  • Transparency is a necessary dimension of the relationship that journalists and news organizations maintain with their audiences.
  • Limited resources, the novelty of online publishing or a lack of protocols cannot become an excuse for shoddy work or causing harm.
The Internet, while at times can compromise a journalist's ethical values, is also causing for more ethical opportunities to arise. For example, building a newsroom where conscience and diversity to thrive has always been a challenge. It is hard for a single newsroom to house different genders, races, political parties and backgrounds in one place. Yet through online journalism readers can find the work of thousands of journalists together through news search engines such as Google News.
Still, as discussed in class, whether you are an online reporter, newspaper writer, or television producer, all journalists should have one thing in common:
Tell the truth. Don't make anything up.
Journalists are ultimately responsible for what they publish. They should put their responsibility to citizens above all else. One reporter who did not live up to this value is Bjoern Benkow.Benkow reported fabricated interviews that he had with Bill Gates, Michael Schumacher, Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Thatcher. The freelance reporter then sold his stories to Scandanavian Newspapers.
In this instance no one was particularly harmed by Benkow's fabrications. However, imagine the catastrophic results that could erupt if a journalist were to report false crimes or even fake weather reports. Journalists could do damage to themselves and the reputations of others. All in all, ethics should not be ignored. People want to believe what they read, but that trust can be easily broken if reporters abuse their positions.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Mark Willes

Mark Willes, President of Deseret Management Corporation, was both an informing and entertaining speaker. He explained that many exciting things lay ahead if the corporation combines old with new media, and they have a mission statement to help them accomplish great things.
"To be trusted voices of light and knowledge reaching hundreds of millions of people worldwide."
Even though DMC is owned by the church, Mr. Willes reinforced the fact that they "are not the church." Still, their purposes must be aligned with LDS values. The goal to reach hundreds of millions of people may be a steep one, but Mr. Willes said there is power in setting a goal that is so ambitious you might never get there.
It was very inspiring to hear about his life achievements. At General Mills, he was able to reduce an assembly line process from 3 hours to 11 minutes, saving the company millions of dollars. At the LA Times, he increased subscription by 20%. All of his success was a result of having nearly unreachable goals.
I believe that journalists have to embrace advancing technology and the wide range of media that lies ahead. As Mr. Willes would say, if you shoot for the moon, you'll land among the stars. If journalists do not set goals to advance with the times, they will be left behind.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Watchdog Journalism

Poynter Online did a survey where they asked journalists to give meaning to the term "watchdog journalism." The results were a variety of responses, from "watchdog journalism is news that looks out for personal and civic interests," to "watchdog journalism is just kick ass and take names."
No matter what watchdog journalism actually is, it all boils down to investigation. No watchdog journalist can produce quality work without digging for stories, sources, and facts.
In the end, all reporting is investigative
A reporter gives the public information about a certain topic. They don't just pull the facts from nowhere; facts are researched even if it's simply from an AP wire alert. Without journalists, the public would be in an information crisis. Most people don't know where to turn to find out what they need to know. Journalists help them by compiling all the latest news to convenience and inform the consumer.
Still, one asks, why does it matter?
In class, we discussed that watchdog journalism
  • monitors power
  • offers voice to the voiceless
  • helps prosecution
  • finds crimes that wouldn't have been found otherwise, and helps reform.
Watchdog journalism is so critical, but there are dangers that come with uncovering stories. At Columbia University's Watchdog Conference, journalists decided they need to take a stand in defiance of legal threats against investigative journalists. If more reporters were aware of their rights, they would be able to produce better work confidently. Legal issues sometimes stand in the way of a reporter publishing what they have discovered.

Just as the public needs watchdog journalists, journalists need the public to be watchdogs themselves. Consumers need to keep journalists in check. It is important that the public understands media literacy and how to interpret what a journalist has written.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Journalists as Ideologues

In our class discussion about journalists as ideologues, someone made an interesting statement:
"More people want news that fits their ideology rather than factually correct."
Is this true? If we look at it from a religious perspective, then it might be. People of different faiths believe different things. They want to hear stories told from their point of view, even if what they believe in is not factually correct. If that is the case, if people hold on to their religious values, do journalists keep to theirs?

I scanned Google News for examples of the eight journalistic values we discussed in class. Looking only at the home page, I was able to find examples of all of them.
  • Altruistic Democracy: In an article based on "government for the people, by the people," one journalist reported people in San Jose who are rallying for educational funding.
  • Responsible Capitalism: Reporters look for threats to our economic market. This article is about an Apple lawsuit against HTC, which could have bad results for consumers.
  • Order: Crime is a threat to the normal value of order. In California, journalists are reporting on a man accused of raping and killing a teenage girl.
  • Moderatism: Journalists look for examples of extremetism such as fascism or communism. This article features a story about the Afghanistan government and censorship.
  • Leadership: Journalists like to spotlight poor leaders or heroes, like the Russian President who is trying to save his country's economy.
  • Small-Town Pastoralism: Many people want to find a safe place to live with good schools, low crime, and affordability. This story highlights such enjoyable places.
  • Rugged Individualism: This article on Sarah Palin is a perfect example.
  • Ethnocentrism: This journalist writes about suicide bombing in Iraq. The event is written under the context of U.S. invasion.
In a way, these journalistic values reflect what the public values as well. Journalists control the flow of information and determine what people should know about. However, it is important that journalists not place their own value statements in stories. It should be left up to the public to make their own judgments.
Still, sometimes the media advocates a particular point of view. It's a fine line between acceptable and uncalled for. One news organization that I think does agreeable advocacy, is Salt Lake's ABC 4. They live up to their motto, "Taking action, getting results," by running news stories about problems in the community they want to change. They use their celebrity status as a tool to make a difference in their market. I think this is an effective form of advocacy as well as a good way to appeal to their viewers, since much of their market consists of parents who want to see their community become a better place for their children.

Journalists should take their roles as ideologues very seriously. It's not fair to the public if they don't let their readers make their own decisions, or promote corrupted values.