Q. Should journalists be trusted? Discuss.
Most news organizations have their slogans, with many frequently employing the word “trust”, although in the 1990s, “speed” was also conceived as a commercial priority. Even though it is probably impossible for any journalist to reach the absolute truth in their reporting, they are eager to say that information provided on their paper, on wave and on screen is much more likely to be true than their competitors. When a certain event occurs, each news company seems to choose various ways to deliver the stories. Occasionally, the information that the audience reads on numerous media platform is not exactly the same, and then people start questioning what to believe and how to think of a certain event.
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Compared with the so-called golden age of journalism epitomized by name journalists like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, the profession of journalist no longer holds the initiative in terms of reliability. According to a conducted survey by the Telegraph regarding the trustworthiness of several professions in the UK, the figure of journalist’s reliability is the second least trusted among other profession including bankers and lawyers. Surveyor considered politicians are the very least trustworthy with 7% of response, and journalists also got a slightly higher 7%, followed by bankers and real estate agents. Not only in the UK, but also other countries regardless of whether there is freedom of speech or not, the general perception towards journalists is not quite positive. Perhaps somewhat paradoxically, however, most people paradoxically and constantly read and cite press articles created by them, and also they still think of journalism as an important profession in society. In this essay, I will examine whether content generated by journalists would be reliable, whether the processes of newsgathering are ethical, and …show more content…
Surely, there might be some exceptional journalists. However, as N. Davis (2008) argues in his book, the Flat Earth News, that over 50% of news article in UK were directly or indirectly influenced by Public Relation industry. (Franklin, 2006, p 42) And also, the prevalence of this dependency is ongoing.
“Journalists who are no longer gathering news but are reduced instead to passive processors of whatever material comes their way, churning out stories, whether real event or PR artifice, important or trivial, true or false” (p.59).
Over the past few decades, journalists consider that journalism is their product and readers are their customers. However, from an economic point of view, their real customers are advertisers, and they purchase the attention of readers with products. Factually, advertisers are buying readers’ time how long they stay on the content (Rauch, 2014) (Mejias,
Clare Boothe Luce, an American journalist and politician, delivered a speech in 1960 to the Women’s National Press Club in front of the American press to criticize journalists for the misinformation they publish in order to challenge them to start publishing the truth rather than writing what the public wants to hear. Luce appeals to the audience of journalists using her role as a politician, comparison, and emphasis to persuade journalists to start writing the truth, no matter how dull, in order for American citizens to truly understand what is going on in today’s society. Throughout the speech, Luce speaks to the audience of journalists about how the information they release shouldn’t be falsified for a myriad of buyers or views. Although
Self-motivation and determination are two of the main ideals of being journalist. If a journalist does not have the desire to find and report a story, he has no career. A journalist depends on finding the facts, getting to the bottom of the story and reporting to the public, whether it’s positive or negative. Janet Malcom states in the book The Journalist and the Murderer, “Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible.” (Malcolm, 3) Her starting words speak volumes about “the Journalist and the Murderer” and the lessons that can be learned.
In the documentary film, Page One: Inside The New York Times, the inner world of journalism is revealed through journalists David Carr and Brian Stelter as the newspaper company The New York Times, struggles to keep alive within a new wave of news journalism. The film is dedicated to reveal the true inner mechanics of what modern day new journalists face on a daily basis and leaves the audience almost in a state of shock. It broadcasts news journalism as yes, an old school method of news generation, but it also highlights an important component that reveals the importance behind this “old school” methodology. We often think that progression always correlates with positive products, but the documentary insists that within the case of modern journalism, the new wave method is actually a detriment that can reap negative consequences.
Chris Master incorporates the ‘duty of journalists [as] to reshape information and get that information to the public’, while this is important and periodically essential, it is his broad knowledge tells us that ‘the best journalism is the journalism to challenge the orthodox, respectfully challenge the public opinion and occasionally deliver bad news’(pg 5). While this is almost evident in Masters’ book, but the fact he did not deliver these stories that seem perfectly fit for ‘today’s journalism’ he attains a kind of benevolence, and consideration for his subjects. As seen in his anonymity, which shows the reader how it is not worth the social and media torment of the journalistic process. Quite powerfully he delivers the calming words that many of us already know, perhaps by our own nature or experience: ‘In order for there to be good journalism, journalists need to find a balance between what they want to present and what the public wants’.
Theses and Professional Projects from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Paper 2. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/journalismdiss/2
398).It is also stated that news divisions reduced their costs, and raised the entertainment factor of the broadcasts put on air. (p. 400). Secondly, the media determines its sources for stories by putting the best journalists on the case and assign them to areas where news worthy stories just emanates. (p.400). Third, the media decides how to present the news by taking the most controversial or relevant events and compressing them into 30 second sound-bites. (p.402). finally, the authors also explain how the media affects the general public. The authors’ state “The effect of one news story on public opinion may be trivial but the cumulative effect of dozens of news stories may be important. This shows a direct correlation between public opinions and what the media may find “relevant”. (Edwards, Wattenberg, Lineberry, 2015, p.
In his editorial "Words Triumph Over Images," Curtis Wilkie blames today’s media for being “reckless” and “a mutant reality show”. He believes that television and radio are “unfiltered”, which causes the quality of journalism for newspapers to be unmatched. Yet, it is unfair to label all media that is not print as lesser because the quality of any media relies on the viewers and the individual journalists, and in drastic situations like a hurricane, reporters may have many road blocks. Any of these aspects can affect the quality of journalism, which invalidates Curtis Wilkie’s claim.
The introduction of the internet to modern society has brought about a new age of information relation. Since there is no longer a need to wait until the next print day, news from all over the world is available at a person’s fingertips within hours or even minutes of the event. With this advent of such easily accessible information, new problems for the news media have also arisen. Aside from potentially losing good economic standing because newspapers are no longer being purchased in the quantities they used to be, the credibility of the information itself is also put into question. No one would argue that credibility of news sources is unimportant, but there is a discrepancy in what takes precedence; economy and speed or getting the information out correctly at the first publishing by taking the time to make sure all facts are checked. The importance of having a system of checks on all information submitted is paramount. People trust what they read and believe it to be so without always questioning. If all information were to not be checked thoroughly, there would be instances where people read an article only for information included to be wrong and they go on believing such information. This can be very dangerous as misinformed people make misinformed decisions. With an increase in errors being made by citizen bloggers and even major publications, many are worried that journalistic ethics and credibility in the news media are being sacrificed in order to maintain swiftness in the news circuit and to retain personal profits. Though getting information to the masses quickly is a major part of the media’s importance, this should not mean that the credibility of that information being presented should be sacrificed for it...
Journalism and the Code of Ethics Introduction: What is the 'Standard' of the 'Standard Thesis - Current code is irrelevant to journalists. Why do you need to be a member? Importance of ethics in mass media. How to use [IMAGE]? A qualitative look Areas of concern ---------------- 1.
The relationship between journalism and politics is a two-way street: though politicians take advantage as best
"Journalism Ethics Online Journalism Ethics Gatekeeping." Journalism Ethics for the Global Citizen. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. .
It’s a question that keeps floating around in the public sphere: is print advertising and newspapers dead? The world is becoming more and more fast-paced and although, our want and need for the up-to-date news and breaking stories has not changed, the way in which we consume it has. This background report investigates and explains the downfall of the newspaper and the technological shift to online news. It will also discuss differing opinions of this relevant topic of the future of journalism from a range of reliable primary sources and investigative data.
In trying to attract new audiences, news media have begun to transition from reporting to becoming a form of entertainment. With the meteoric rise of social media’s role as a news source, the fight for an increase of diversity in the media, and the ever-growing desire of immediate content, the future of responsible journalism is more important than ever. Ask yourself, why do I think the way I do? Where do my political views originate? How do I prove them? Most likely, it is due to the biased portrayal of issues in the media and the politicization that accompanies what we consume. Now, compare your views to your preferred news reporting entity. More than likely, they are the same.
The impact of the internet on journalism is one area that continues to attract the attention of media scholars. The technology has brought forth a set of opportunities and challenges for conventional media (Garrison, 1996). The last ten years have seen a lot of inventions which have greatly altered the way people access and consume news. Audiences have also “developed more sophisticated and specific demands and tastes for news delivery, thanks in part to the explosion of social media and mobile technology.” (Kolodzy 2013)
McLoed and Hawley (as cited in Wilson, 1995) elucidated appropriately, "a recurrent journalistic controversy has involved the question whether journalism is a true profession or merely a craft." Sparked primarily by Lippmann and Dewey, extending into the age of the penny press (mid 1980s) and later, the attempt to commercialise the news (late 1980s) to our present era, there has existed a contentious debate on journalism being distinguished as a profession (Wilson, 1995). Encapsulated in a democratic homeland since the advent of time, media systems are habitually acclaimed as the “fourth power,” with its journalists often hailed as the “watch-dogs” of such a society. Lending itself to act as ‘gatekeeper’ for the wider society and performing the traditional role of journalism, the media (overall) exist as powerful “instruments of knowledge” that perform the function of providing information to the masses in a public sphere, where issues may be discussed, justified and contested (Scannell, 1995, p. 17). Evidently, media workers play a pivotal role in our society; however, their status in the realm of professions is not definite.