Citizen Responsibility

Back when the printing press was first invented, only a handful of people had access to journalism. Nowadays, with our ever growing technology, anyone and everyone has the capability to be citizen journalists.

I have a blog right here. I also have a Twitter and Facebook account. All of these social media uses contribute to the information people read about the world. Newspapers have grown with technology by putting their articles online as well.  http://www.nytimes.com/

Citizen journalists should not take the online world lightly. It is important to understand that what you post online is stuck there forever! It doesn’t matter how many times you try to take it off, it will always be somewhere online.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlqslTxKkmo

Since we all have the means to be citizen journalists, we also have the responsibility to write the truth. As Confucius said, "The object of the superior man is truth." He also said, "It is man that makes truth great, not truth that makes man great." http://tinyurl.com/7km4mhk. It is our responsibility to take the truth we have and make it interesting and relevant to online viewer.

Let us all be responsible citizens and only present the truth!

Journalists as Celebrities

How do we as a public determine who is a celebrity? Are journalists celebrities? Here are three reasons why broadcast journalists are celebrities.

1. Broadcast journalists are consistently seen on T.V.

When a face appears over and over again on television, they can’t help but become well known to the public. Here in Utah, Carole Mikita is a celebrity because of her work with Latter-day Saint leaders and members around the world. Her name and face appear consistently on T.V. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=166&sid=101151

2. Broadcast journalists set agendas.

As the seventh element of journalism discussed in my Comms 239 class, journalists must make the “significant interesting and relevant.” When journalists do this, they set the agenda for discussion and concern. Barbara Walters makes news interesting through her personality and interviewing techniques. http://www.biography.com/people/barbara-walters-9523127

3. Broadcast journalists cannot hide.

It doesn’t matter how badly broadcast journalist want to hide from the public, they can’t. People know exactly where and when they will be on air. Reporters are seen with big cameras and important microphones; naturally, people will gravitate toward them. Here is an example of a crowd drowning out a reporter on live T.V. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD6QbrCsuw8

Broadcast journalists can’t help it, but they are celebrities. 

Journalism and Faith

This was my favorite Comms 239 class thus far! I love combining anything with my faith and beliefs.

Religion and faith are completely tangled in everyday living. People do what they do because of what they believe. I do what I do because of what I believe. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I will never shy away from that. www.lds.org

I liked how the group presenters in class discussed the “ghosts” in news today. These “ghosts” are the reason why events happened, the lack of context in the story, yet they were not directly addressed. Religion and faith are these “ghosts.” A journalist can present a story in such a way as to hide the true reason and motivation behind it, but the public knows something is missing. It is better when the news outlets are as transparent as possible, even with the touchy religious issues.  

Amazing faith is shown when the Amish people in 2006 forgave and even attended the funeral of Charles Carl Roberts, the man who killed five of their young Amish girls.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXAUQWqUAXY . There is no way to distance this story from religion. The Amish people forgave the murderer because they were taught to forgive in their religion, and they strongly believed in it.  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/04/national/main2059816.shtml

Ethics in Journalism

In my Comms 239 class, we discussed the importance of ethics in journalism. The group focused mainly on the Society of Professional Journalists’ four pillars of ethics.

1.       Seek the truth and report it

“If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.” –Albert Einstein http://tinyurl.com/ly9l8z

Truth should be simple, direct, and to the point. Truth does not have to be dressed up elaborately, it is just there.

2.       Minimize harm

We specifically talked about the Golden Rule. This is a simple and universal code that applies to all people and not just journalists. http://tinyurl.com/cur5xt

If you were on the other side of the microphone how would you want to be treated?

3.       Act Independently

If journalists don’t remain objective, readers will not trust the newspaper. If I wrote for the New York Times, and I attended a republican rally, readers will assume that I have a republican bias, even if I try to remain objective in my column.

4.       Journalists are accountable to their readers, viewers, listeners, and each other

The underlying principle here is to be transparent. Let the public know what you do and how you do it. Give follow-up websites and give people a chance to get involved.

People trust journalists and politicians that come across transparent. Obama knows this, and so gave this address. http://tinyurl.com/as2mrv

In class, we also discussed a few case studies in which ethics comes into play. We discussed each issue, and decided what would be the “ethical” thing to do. We got into heated debates, and not everyone agreed on every issue. This is when our personal morals come to play. We must look deep within ourselves and decide what is right and wrong. 

Watchdog Journalistsm

In Comms 239 we talked about watchdog journalism.

All of us can become watchdog journalists thanks to the internet. We all have the ability to keep tabs on anything and everything.

The government is always a good place to start. But can we weaken the government by what we post? WikiLeaks, http://wikileaks.org/ a professed watchdog, have been accused of making the U.S. military more vulnerable. When we view videos on the internet, we must make sure that we search both sides of the story before we jump to any rash conclusions.  

Watch this WikiLeaks clip posted in April 2010. U.S. soldiers were accused of killing innocent Iraqi citizens. You be the judge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0

How does the United States government react to WikiLeaks? Well, according to Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, the U.S. is trying to indict him on criminal charges. Here is an interview with Assange on CNN’s 60 Minutes. http://tinyurl.com/3mcxn3w

I think WikiLeaks and other social media watchdogs can be very useful in exposing truths about the government and other big wigs. But we cannot take everything we read and/or see by face value. A little research never hurt anybody.   

Tower Theatre Presents: "Page One"

I traveled up to Tower Theatre in Salt Lake City Tuesday evening with some friends of mine. We watched a documentary called Page One: Inside the New York Times. I went up to Salt Lake City with small expectations, but I left the theatre enriched.

My Comms 239 professor always has our class read David Carr’s column in the Monday Business section. I got to know him better from the documentary, and I will enjoy reading his column even more. I respect David Carr from his love and passion for the New York Times and for newspapers in general. He came from being a drug addict to having a family and getting a job at the New York Times.

The documentary illustrated the controversy of internet news versus traditional newspapers and if newspapers are even needed anymore. The documentary ended with the strong fact that newspapers are indeed very much needed because they are the ones who do the actual reporting. Most news from internet sites distribute recycled news.

The question was asked: could the New York Times, probably the most prestigious newspaper company in the nation go out of business? The answer was that they could, but mostly likely not. They did hit some hard times and had to let many people go, but they are still a strong viable source for quality information.

The documentary proved that the New York Times is still here to do investigative journalism on possible scandals and issues that the public needs to know about. David Carr investigated the Tribune company scandal which led to resignations. The company performed legal actions, but the New York Times was confident and still printed the story.

I greatly enjoyed this documentary, and I learned a lot on the way.

Independence in Journalism

In my Comms 239 class we discussed the topic the Journalistic independence. I thought the group did a great job with their presentation.

A newspaper company is like a track team. They run their various events separately, but they still depend on each other to win the meet. The journalistic runners have to be careful about not taking sponsorships from outside companies and wearing the sponsor’s logo on their jersey. This detracts from the team, and diminishes the pure motive for running.

Journalists must stay independent from partisan affiliation to remain objective and fair to all sides. They should write for the love of writing and in sharing truth to the public, not for personal gain and extra benefits. Here is a video showing the many different sport teams General Motors has sponsored over the years. They interviewed people who were directly affected by the sponsorship and so of course they are going to speak very favorable about General Motors. http://vimeo.com/10763538

One concept the group talked about was independence from race, ethnicity, religion, and gender. These are all characteristics that help define who we are. It would be hard to obtain full independence from these.

It is hard to separate myself from religion. It would be difficult to do a positive or balanced story on something contrary to what I know is right. In professional journalism you have to be careful about taking sides, but in citizen journalism, we are free to write whatever we want. L. Tom Perry of the quorum of the twelve apostles talked about using social media to promote The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. http://tinyurl.com/3qsbp6s

Diversity in the newsroom is important to ensure various perspectives on issues. People are also more likely to trust the organization’s objectivity. Here is a video where Soledad O’Brien talks about the growing diversity in the media. http://tinyurl.com/3ez2cwe

  

"Good Night and Good Luck"

In my Comms 239 class we watched the movie “Good Night and Good Luck.” Watch this movie trailer to gain a sense of the movie. http://tinyurl.com/86gous.

Joseph McCarthy brought real drama to the United States. I would consider him the 1950’s drama king. The amount of fervor and anxiety level he transmitted from coast to coast was astounding, and the fear people had of him was disgusting.

I admired the CBS crew and their courage in standing up to McCarthy. Because they stood up to the bully, others were more willing to voice their opinions as well. Edward Murrow and his colleagues were instrumental in bringing McCarthy down. 

McCarthy ruined people’s lives because they were convicted of being sympathetic to Communists. http://tinyurl.com/5srzsb The simple act of telling the TRUTH made all the difference.  

Journalists must have the gumption to tell the truth even if it jeopardizes their personal well being. In order to pursue a journalism career, you must be strong mentally and morally so you will not crack under pressure as Don did when he committed suicide in the movie. You need to be confident in yourself an in your career.

Anderson Cooper is an example of a modern journalist who is confident in almost every aspect. I do not particularly agree with all of his views, but I do admire his confidence. Here is a segment of Cooper interviewing Pastor Robert Jeffress on CNN. http://tinyurl.com/3p7ukt5

Mark Willes' Presentation

Today I went to presentation given by Mark Willes, President and CEO of Deseret Management Corp. It was very interesting and enlightening.

He discussed the decline in revenue to newspaper companies across the country. Many prominent newspapers have gone out of business from the online shift. Deseret News, like others, has lost profits in the last three years.

Deseret News has taken on this problem in a unique way. They have come up with a set of goals that completely differ from any other newspaper. They are focusing more on close to home aspects such as family, faith, the poor, and education. This new focus allows many people to read the newspaper comfortably and address issues they feel strong passion towards. Issues such as the destroying effect of pornography and the lack of fathers in many American homes. The newspaper has gained a lot of attention on a national scale gathering many loyalties on the east coast. People respect their ideals and values issued in the newspapers and so they want to read it.

Another attack that Deseret News has taken is to ask worthy people to write for free! These writers are well-to-do people and do not need the extra pay. People such as Matthew Holland, President of UVU, have taken a personal interest in Deseret News’ promoted goals and want to contribute in what ways they can. They get to write their stories, and Deseret News gets to stay in business.

Mark Willes challenged us to be different and creative in our approaches in challenging the technological problem. What I gained from this presentation is to trust in God. If I promote in the things I fervently believe in, I will do the work necessary to make it succeed. I appreciated his comments greatly. 

Verification

In Comms 239 we discussed the importance of verification in journalism.

Some journalists write down truths, yet do not present the whole truth, such as using sources that only give one side of the argument clearly presenting a bias. Sometimes the media can be one sided because that is where the news is. One example of this is our perception of the Muslims. Many think of Muslims as terrorists who are committed to destroying America and its influence. But, in fact, terrorists are only rare extremist groups; the majority of Muslims are peace-loving people. The media presents Muslims in a negative light because the extreme groups make the news and affect us more than the everyday Muslims. Should journalists verify the other side in issues such as this? Here is a video showing the extensive numbers of Muslims who are strongly against terrorism. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NYzs8IjxhY

A point of verification that I believe is an excellent principle is transparency. This means being completely open to your audience and show them how and where you got your sources. Our goal is to get the information out to the citizens, and then have them make their own decision. If journalists become as see through as possible, they will gain the people’s trust. Here is an online article about statistics on people’s trust in the media compared to other places. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/little-trust-in-government-or-media-either/

The internet poses threats to the verification process for journalists. Some may think it is better to be quick then to be “fully” correct. Either on the internet or in print, it is important for journalists to follow accuracy checklists to verify their work. As citizen journalists we should also promote truth and accuracy in everything we write. Here is a website that allows you to build your own accuracy checklist. http://businessjournalism.org/2010/10/29/how-to-build-a-personalized-accuracy-checklist/       

The Profession of Journalism

In my Communications 239 class, we discussed the profession of journalism and the effects and influences it has on society.

Journalists have been labeled as all alone. This is partly true because in order to be an effective journalist, one cannot get too attached to their sources. If a journalist becomes too attached to a source, their perception may become skewed. But a journalist must also become close enough to a source to produce the passion and energy necessary to produce a qualified article that make people want to read it. In class, the presenting group used the example of Anderson Cooper and how he got too close to the victims of Hurricane Katrina; and that he no longer reported why it was happening, but that the victims needed help. Cooper is popular because he does get deeply involved, but he needs to draw the line somewhere. Here is a clip of Anderson Cooper being completely emotional and angry at a Louisiana senator on CNN over the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsuRCXiYGO4

Another aspect of the profession of journalism we talked about in class is that Journalists have an underlining bias from their personal world view. I know that I am. Because I have been raised in Orem, Utah, I think completely differently than others from other states and countries. http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=1867. This article is from the Columbia University Press and explains that white men and their worldview dominate the media and unfairly represent women’s worldviews. Although I do not fully believe this argument, I do believe that the media needs a diversity of people with different backgrounds to balance the worldview output for society.   

In class, we talked about the controversy of keeping sources confident. Judith Miller, a New York Times writer, kept her source confidential. Because of this, she had legal issues. Here is a fascinating interview with Miller, her lawyer, and others discussing this issue at more depth. http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/1158

A Thought on Local News

According to the New York Times news article, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/business/media/pew-media-study-shows-reliance-on-many-outlets.html , the thought that local television news channels are gaining more popularity than other media is only “narrowly true.”

One cannot discount the fact that nowadays people are never satisfied with just one source of information, especially in the growing generation. If one is interested in a particular news story, they will find out more about it on the internet in places such as Twitter, blogs, and online newspapers. The public will find the news they are interested about because there are so many different niche websites. The Pew study reiterates this by saying, according to surveys, that the local news channel is the main source of information for three topics—weather, traffic, and breaking news—while the internet and newspapers are the main source of information for eleven other topics. People will not be satisfied with the local news station alone. They have other cravings to feed.

There is talk about local newspapers becoming nonexistent. I do not believe this will happen. It is rare for a person to make it on television. But sports, plays, and other local activities and events are often printed in newspapers. Families are going to continue to subscribe to newspapers to have a physical representation of the event their family or neighbor was involved in. Local newspapers bring out news on a more personal level.

Local news channels and local newspapers are also not going to go extinct. People enjoy and are more concerned with issues that are closer to home. They will want to stay connected on a local level, because it affects them every day. Even the younger generation, who has turned to the internet for most of their news, will continue the tradition of getting news from local television and printed news as they get older. When they have a family of their own, they will want to be involved in their families’ lives.  

Loyalty to the Citizens

In Communications 239 we emphasized the fact that the journalist's first priority is to the citizens. Journalists have a huge responsibility to produce the truth because they create the window that many people view the world. The citizens take that truth and do what they will with it.

Many journalists tell the truth despite the possibility that high people might threaten them. Here is one example of how a reporter in China was killed. A possible reason for her murder was because some persons did not like her findings. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/sep/28/phone-hacking-ian-edmondson-tribunal?newsfeed=true

In today’s day and age, the consumer is now becoming the producer. The audience can now do the reporting just as much as the large news corporations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU5LonkXbCE&feature=related . Citizens now have the same responsibility to tell the truth. We have become citizen journalists.  

In class, we also talked about the dilemma of news organizations becoming too business-like. The news corporations do have to make money, in which I have come to the conclusion that when the news produces truth and they keep their primary focus on serving the community, their business does better because people trust their work and want to read it.

Even though journalists and news organizations tell the truth, they can still present it in a bias way. They could only quote people from a one sided perspective or merely put in stories that portray a single side of the issue. We as consumers must be wary what we accept, and we must make sure we always look on both sides of the issue. http://www.mrc.org/timeswatch/ . As citizens, we must use our own brains to determine what is skewed and what is not.

What is Truth in Journalism?

In Comms 239 this week we talked about journalists gathering and reporting truth, and how vital truth is for our society to function. Just as Confucius said that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," I can also say that truth is in the eye of the beholder. Every person has a different perception of the world. We all have had different experiences and backgrounds that automatically create biases and opinions. Every journalists try very hard to rid themselves of these fallacies, but I believe that their biases still present themselves nonetheless. Interestingly in Canada, there is a law against lying on the news http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/a-law-against-lying-on-the-news . Because of our constitution, this would be not be a likely law in the U.S., but even if it did become a law, it would be a hard law to enforce.

Journalism's main goal in society should be to bring about change for the betterment of everybody. One example is in Upton Sinclair's book "The Jungle." Because of what he wrote he brought about the Meat Inspection Act, and the Pure Drug and Food Act of 1906. Recent works like "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser, have brought about even more changes and improvements in the meat packing industry. Here is an example of how clean McDonalds' meat processing plant has become. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HPnULHzJVc&NR=1

It is such a shame that in many countries the truth is withheld from the public; and that the government intervenes and controls what people can and cannot see. One example of withholding truth exists in China where local tobacco and cigarette companies sponsor schools and in many situations have slogans on the playgrounds promoting their product. Read more about this issue at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8779180/Chinese-primary-schools-sponsored-by-tobacco-firms.html. 

Truth is important. We all have a right to know the truth. It is up to the journalists to give it and present it in an honest manner.

A Digitized World

In my Comms 211 class, one of the things we talked about was how the world has advanced so much in technology in such little time. This video illustrates just how far we've come! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_fE0ZBN-Tc

Social networking has been growing and has a lot of influence and power in today's world. The normal people, like me, are gaining more prominence and say in society. I read a chilling article from CNN on how a drug cartel mortally punished a man and a women because they spoke against drug cartel activities. Their deaths were a warning for other social network users. http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/09/14/mexico.violence/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 The big people are beginning to fear the little people. Professor Campbell talked about this very issue when he said that we are becoming a pro-am world; where amateur voices have just as much power as the professionals.

I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that we can use the internet to assist us in spreading gospel principles. M. Russell Ballard talked about this very issue. http://lds.org/ensign/2008/07/sharing-the-gospel-using-the-internet?lang=eng&query=internet We may think that we are just one voice; but with help of the internet, we can become a million voices.

Even though we have the internet at our daily disposal, I hope we do not overuse it. We need to focus on what is really important in our lives. We need to look around us, notice the beauty, and be thankful for the tangible aspects that are close to home. Here is an inspiration Mormon message which illustrates this perfectly. http://lds.org/pages/mormon-messages-gallery?lang=eng#live-in-thanksgiving 

Stay involved and be committed to freedom

As I read the New York Times and other newspapers I am reminded how important it is to stay involved and up to date on current events. It is very easy to relax and stay in a tight bubble and assume that the world is a happy place and that nothing affects us. This is where we are wrong. We can learn and contribute so much by staying involved. The simple act of tweeting and blogging interconnects us as a nation and allows us to easily voice our opinions to the public.

Yesterday was the tenth year anniversary of 9/11. That day, ten years ago, united Americans. Are we still as united as we were ten years ago? The terrible event happened that much we cannot change. But we can change how it has affected us as Americans, and who we are as people. We must stay unified dedicated to freedom. And more importantly, we need to stay dedicated to the one being who has made this nation flourish—God. If we allow ourselves to forget God and what He has done for us, we will cease to prosper. We should have been awakened from the events of 9/11 and realized that we cannot succeed on our own. America was founded upon grand ideals and principles. These same ideals and principles must continue to sustain our daily lives as we strive everyday to become better people, committed, little by little, to make this nation great.