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.