Journalism is writing. The scope of journalism is so big, that anyone who writes can be a journalist. The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosensthiel records “Anyone can be a journalist, not everyone is” (page 120). My interpretation of this saying is that in order to be a responsible journalist, certain principles must be adhered to. Anyone who writes down events that are occurring is a journalist, but the kind of journalists Kovach and Rosensthiel are referring to adhere to a code of ethics. Many newsrooms have their own code of ethics in addition to the code of ethics published by the Society of Professional Journalists. Individual journalists should also have their own code of ethics they should adhere to above all else.
To me, journalism means caring. Journalism is caring enough about other people to write about them and hoping to influence change. Journalism gives a voice to the voiceless and starts grassroots movements and informs the public. Being a good journalist means caring about people whether their sources, victims, or the audience. Journalists can care for sources by being fair and honest with them. Sources should know who they are speaking with so they are not harmed as a result of the story. Additionally, journalists should stand behind their sources and not let them be harmed by information they gave. Journalists can care for victims by being sensitive, but not claiming to understand what they are going through. The principles of journalism are even more important when dealing with victims and their families. Journalists should care enough about the victims to verify facts multiple times in order to ensure that no one is embarrassed by the story. Journalists care for the audience by reporting the truth. The job of a journalist is to inform the public and educate them on how to be good citizens.
Furthermore, journalists care about ethics and principles. Oftentimes the principles of journalism seem lofty and unattainable and many of them conflict in different situations. However, when journalists strive to keep their stories balanced and adhere to as many principles as possible, the public benefits. Some of the principles that stood out to me the most throughout the semester are objectivity, verification, independence, and loyalty. Responsible journalists should keep a list of the most important principles and ensure that with every story, these principles are being adhered to.
A code of ethics is important to journalism because oftentimes journalists are faced with difficult situations and they have to use their code of ethics in order ensure accuracy and fair reporting. The Society of Professional Journalists has a Code of Ethics that has four standards. First, seek the truth and report it. The Elements of Journalism says “The primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self governing” (page 12). Journalists need to be actively looking for the truth in their stories in order to provide citizens correct information so that they can become self-governing. Once journalists obtain the truth, they need to report it in order to perform their function as a whistleblower. Journalists must monitor the power of individuals, corporations, and most importantly the government. In order to have a completely free democracy, a free press must be maintained so the media can report on the government.
Secondly, journalists must minimize harm. Often journalists are faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to publish a story. The test for this is that if the benefits outweigh the harm journalists should publish, but if the harm outweighs the benefits, the story should not be published. However, if the benefits and the harm appear to be equal, the test says to publish the story. I want to ensure that in my writing, I am sensitive towards sources and their families, while still being fair to the audience and tell them the truth. Third, journalists should act independently. With mass media declining and new media expanding, it is more important than ever to act independently. Journalists need to ensure that they are free from the business side of the media. Additionally, journalists must be independent from politics and other beliefs. It is never possible for journalists to be completely unbiased, but journalists should approach stories as objectively as possible, meaning they check their beliefs about politics and religion at the door of a story. Every journalist is different in regards to what beliefs they completely abandon in the pursuit of objectivity. I plan to keep my religion foremost in my life as a journalist, but I can write stories without involving my religion in them. Additionally, I think that voting is an important civic duty for everyone regardless of occupation so I still plan to vote, but not participate in political activism and not let my political beliefs become known in my stories.
Finally, journalists must be accountable for the stories that they publish. This has become easier as new media has expanded and the news has moved online. The audience can ask questions directly following stories and create a public forum for discussion. Additionally, journalists should always disclose their sources and let the audience know where information was obtained. If there are any mistakes in the stories, journalists should acknowledge the mistakes and correct them. In reading the New York Times this semester I was always impressed with the corrections always being in the same place, on the second page. The Times held themselves accountable for their mistakes and took efforts to correct any mistakes that were made. Additionally, journalists try to adhere to lofty principles and if I expect that all journalists should hold to these principles, then I must adhere to them as well.
I
n addition to the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics, I have other ethical codes that I expect myself to follow. First, I want to keep my priorities in line and not sacrifice things like religion and family in pursuit of a story. No story is worth giving up the most important things in life. Additionally, I need to maintain my integrity and not compromise my standards in order to get a story. I need to be honest with myself and my audience in my reporting. I will not ever do something that makes me feel dishonest whether it is using someone else’s work without citing it properly or lying to a source in order to get a quote for a story. I need to let my audience know that my information was obtained honestly so that my work can be trusted. Excellence in journalism is always getting the best story while adhering to the principles of journalism and maintaining integrity. Excellence means making a difference through the stories that I write and letting people know the truth so that they can in turn make a difference.
Many of the principles of journalism are essential to the press. Independence keeps reporters honest to their audience and keeps their writing clean. If the writing of a journalist has been tainted by an outside faction the audience cannot trust the story. Additionally, verification is important in order to ensure that stories are accurate so the audience can trust the work of the journalist. Verification helps minimize harm. If journalists verify their work and check with sources to ensure information is accurate the sources are protected. Many newsrooms have verification checklists. The Elements of Journalism provides a checklist of five things journalists can do to verify stories (page 89). First, never add anything that was not there. Often the temptation of journalism is to add information in order to make a story more convincing towards a certain point. However, if information is added, the entire story is tainted and the journalist is less believable in other stories. Second, never deceive the audience. The journalists first loyalty is to the audience and if journalists are deceiving the audience, they are not fully adhering to principles of truth and loyalty. Third, be as transparent as possible about your methods and motives. Journalists should always let the audience know where information was obtained from and what the desired outcome of the story is. Fourth, rely in your own original reporting. Journalists should always make sure they do their own reporting rather than use someone else’s work in order to make stories more interesting. Finally, exercise humility. Journalists need to be humble enough to correct mistakes and ensure accuracy in the future.
My view of journalism has changed over the past semester as I came to realize that there are so many factors and principles that influence journalism. Journalism is simply writing down events, but being a responsible journalist means adhering to principles and ethics to ensure that the public is informed about all aspects of public life. The media is so important to democracy and to citizens and journalists need to recognize this responsibility and write the best stories possible while adhering to these principles.
No comments:
Post a Comment