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.