Verification is key to modern day journalism because there is news everywhere and journalists need to sort through the news to determine which is verifiable and can be run. The book presents the opinion that if a story is not verifiable, it should not be published. Journalism of verification is making sure all the details of the story are correct before running the story. This can be difficult because the pushfor news outlets is to break the story first and the temptation to publish the story before verifying it is always present. This leads to journalism of assertion where not all of the details are verified. Twisting details of the story to make it more interesting is asserting unverifiable facts, which should be avoided.
Keys to verifying stories should be to seek multiple witnesses of an event to make sure all sides are represented fairly. Additionally, disclose as much as possible about the witnesses so the readers understand why those sources were used and why their opinions are valid. Additionally, if anonymous sources are necessary, journalists should let readers know why their opinions are valid and the reason for using an anonymous source. Journalistic bias is affected through verification because journalists need to be objective when gathering the news, not just presenting it. The book uses the phrase "objectivity is a method, not an aim" to show that the entire newsgathering process including verification needs to be objective. By showing objectivity the journalist is letting the audience know how they obtained their information and how it is fair.
When journalists reveal their methods to their audience they are becoming transparent. The public should know about the news gathering process and the journalist should tell the audience how they obtained their information. Transparency increases credibility. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel posted their verification process online in order to be more transparent. Often, the temptation is for journalists to be omniscient. Vague stories often lead the audience to believe the journalist knows more information than they do. This should be avoided, and journalists should inform the public of where they obtained their information and what interviews and sources they were unable to get. Richard Sambrook, the director of the BBC Global News Division says "Transparency about the newsgathering and selection process is as important as the journalism itself in retaining that trust." He said that earning the trust of the audience was key to good journalism.
Intellectual humility corresponds with transparency, because it is important for journalists to be honest about what they know and be humble enough to not pretend to know more than they actually know. Humility means that journalists assume nothing and self-check to ensure all facts are verified. In a story by Bill Kovach reported in the Los Angeles Times, he asserted that humility was the key to the 2000 election. He said journalists covered the story rather than exploited it and showed intellectual humility producing transparent journalism.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Profession
Journalism has often been referred to as the fourth estate of government. In many ways this is true becuase journalists act as gatekeepers and whistleblowers for the government. This high calling of the fourth estate can be likened to a professional priesthood where journalists job is to connect with the audience and inform them of what is going on in the world. I think that not all journalists are using their priesthood effectively however because media is become disengaged from their audiences. Many people are distrustful of the media, so they are not as willing to learn from the journalist priests. By verifying facts and writing well written, balanced stories, the media can re-gain the trust of their audience and form a more solid priesthood.
It has been suggested that with the decline of newspapers, journalists should use their priesthood power and influence from the fourth estate to begin a government sponsered newspaper. I believe this will decline the priesthood power because the audience will even less likely to trust a media that is dependent on the government for survival. An article by Dan Gilmor suggests that having a government sponsered media would not create a new priesthood, but further damage the already crumbling journalistic priesthood.
One of the biggest struggles for journalists is to decide when to get involved and where to draw the line. It can become difficult to simply stand and report on a story rather than getting involved and helping people that are in need of help. One of the best rules presented in class was that helping in a crisis is fine, as long as you put down the notebook first. The Society of Professional Journalists encourages reporters to stay distant from the stories they are covering. When journalists participate in the stories they are covering it often looks like they are trying to do good things just to boost their ratings. A story by Eric Deggans says that journalists should help as much as possible, and then never report on it. This discourages journalists from helping out because they would be taking time away from their job and it also does not allow for any thoughts of self interest because mass audiences will not know what they did.
Distance is an important part of gathering news. If reporters get too close to the story they lose objectivity and the story becomes a conflict of interest. However, if they stay too far away they will not understand the entire story. The line is different for every story and the sign of a good journalist is to find the line so that they can report accurately, but not get too close to the point the story becomes biased.
I think that journalists view the world in a slightly different way than other people because they are always looking for a story. Journalists, by nature, are curious and want to know more about what people are talking about and want to find a story in everything. However, the worldview of journalists is shrinking as journalism becomes more localized. An interview with Mark Danner says that news is becoming more local for two reasons. First, there is a perceived lack of interest among American audiences. Additionally, it is expensive to have foreign news and support bureaus around the world.
It has been suggested that with the decline of newspapers, journalists should use their priesthood power and influence from the fourth estate to begin a government sponsered newspaper. I believe this will decline the priesthood power because the audience will even less likely to trust a media that is dependent on the government for survival. An article by Dan Gilmor suggests that having a government sponsered media would not create a new priesthood, but further damage the already crumbling journalistic priesthood.
One of the biggest struggles for journalists is to decide when to get involved and where to draw the line. It can become difficult to simply stand and report on a story rather than getting involved and helping people that are in need of help. One of the best rules presented in class was that helping in a crisis is fine, as long as you put down the notebook first. The Society of Professional Journalists encourages reporters to stay distant from the stories they are covering. When journalists participate in the stories they are covering it often looks like they are trying to do good things just to boost their ratings. A story by Eric Deggans says that journalists should help as much as possible, and then never report on it. This discourages journalists from helping out because they would be taking time away from their job and it also does not allow for any thoughts of self interest because mass audiences will not know what they did.
Distance is an important part of gathering news. If reporters get too close to the story they lose objectivity and the story becomes a conflict of interest. However, if they stay too far away they will not understand the entire story. The line is different for every story and the sign of a good journalist is to find the line so that they can report accurately, but not get too close to the point the story becomes biased.
I think that journalists view the world in a slightly different way than other people because they are always looking for a story. Journalists, by nature, are curious and want to know more about what people are talking about and want to find a story in everything. However, the worldview of journalists is shrinking as journalism becomes more localized. An interview with Mark Danner says that news is becoming more local for two reasons. First, there is a perceived lack of interest among American audiences. Additionally, it is expensive to have foreign news and support bureaus around the world.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Loyalty
One of the most important and controversial elements of journalists is their loyalty to citizens. Although ideally it is easy to say that journalists first loyalty is to citizens, it is much difficult in the real world where advertising runs the newspaper business. Newspapers and broadcasts are dependent on companies purchasing ad space in order to make money. In situations depicted in both "Goodnight and Good Luck" and "The Insider" journalists question where their first loyalty is.
Journalists are becoming more and more disengaged from their audiences. Because fewer journalists are from the communities they serve, they are often unaware of nuances of their audience. However, they are less biased because they are more disengaged from their audience. I think that a more engaged journalist population is better because the audience is more likely to trust a journalist that they can relate to and if a journalist is from the community they are reporting on, the audience will be more likely to listen to the journalist and trust the information they are receiving.
Additionally, the wall between journalism and advertising is both dangerous and necessary. By separating parts of a business it becomes difficult to keep the business running smoothly. However, without the wall journalism would become entangled with advertising and it would be difficult to write an unbiased story that is not influenced directly by the advertisers. However, even with the wall, journalists can still be influenced by advertisers and the business side of journalism as was the case with the LA Times and the Staples Center sports arena.
In this situation, the LA Times had a deal with the Staples Center Sports Arena and published a a magazine about the facility splitting revenues with the stadium. The reporters were not aware of the business deal and were considerably upset when the scandal was reported. The following link shows an interview showing how upset the reporters were when the news of the scandal came loose.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec99/la_times_12-16.html
One of the most important things newspapers can do is to ensure the public knows that they are the first priority of the newspaper. The number one job of journalists is to tell the truth to the audience to make an informed public. By becoming transparent and aware of communities the public will begin to trust journalists again and be more willing to talk with them about issues affecting individuals. Some corporations such as the New York Times and Washington Post have set up standards, however, the pubic is often not aware of these standards because they are not easy to get to. The audience has to search for the standards rather than the journalists making them easily available.
The New York Times standards are linked here: http://www.nytco.com/press/ethics.html
The Washingtin Post's standards are linked here: http://www.washpost.com/gen_info/principles/index.shtml
Journalists are becoming more and more disengaged from their audiences. Because fewer journalists are from the communities they serve, they are often unaware of nuances of their audience. However, they are less biased because they are more disengaged from their audience. I think that a more engaged journalist population is better because the audience is more likely to trust a journalist that they can relate to and if a journalist is from the community they are reporting on, the audience will be more likely to listen to the journalist and trust the information they are receiving.
Additionally, the wall between journalism and advertising is both dangerous and necessary. By separating parts of a business it becomes difficult to keep the business running smoothly. However, without the wall journalism would become entangled with advertising and it would be difficult to write an unbiased story that is not influenced directly by the advertisers. However, even with the wall, journalists can still be influenced by advertisers and the business side of journalism as was the case with the LA Times and the Staples Center sports arena.
In this situation, the LA Times had a deal with the Staples Center Sports Arena and published a a magazine about the facility splitting revenues with the stadium. The reporters were not aware of the business deal and were considerably upset when the scandal was reported. The following link shows an interview showing how upset the reporters were when the news of the scandal came loose.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec99/la_times_12-16.html
One of the most important things newspapers can do is to ensure the public knows that they are the first priority of the newspaper. The number one job of journalists is to tell the truth to the audience to make an informed public. By becoming transparent and aware of communities the public will begin to trust journalists again and be more willing to talk with them about issues affecting individuals. Some corporations such as the New York Times and Washington Post have set up standards, however, the pubic is often not aware of these standards because they are not easy to get to. The audience has to search for the standards rather than the journalists making them easily available.
The New York Times standards are linked here: http://www.nytco.com/press/ethics.html
The Washingtin Post's standards are linked here: http://www.washpost.com/gen_info/principles/index.shtml
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