The Great Ethical Debate.... Over and Over Again

I found this past weeks’ presentations more interesting than usual.  I liked the topic, because there are not necessarily black and white rules for everything when it comes to ethics.  This caused a debate, even in our class of students with similar morals and religious beliefs. I found an interesting book addressing something that we briefly touched on, and that was sensitivity during war.  In this article, it talks about how journalists had to become more careful in their reporting as the Rwandan genocide became more and more disastrous. They had to take a step back and ask themselves if they were treating the people as human beings, or just as another story to print. http://www.i-m-s.dk/files/publications/CSJ%20Background%20Paper%20(24%20january%202011).pdf Group B also did a nice job of helping the class to understand just how difficult ethics can be.  Instead of having a PowerPoint, they created a small-group activity that helped us to learn about ethics in journalism by giving us different cases to discuss and present.  In order to do this we used these 10 questions linked here:   

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/everyday-ethics/talk-about-ethics/1750/ask-these-10-questions-to-make-good-ethical-decisions/

Group A used Linda Greenhouse, a journalist who made actions that were debatably unethical as an example of a journalist that is not acting independently.  They said that, “journalists can’t be isolated, but can’t be completely involved either.” I found an article telling both sides of the Linda Greenhouse story, and her involvement in both an abortion rally and her speech on Guantanamo Bay.  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6146693

Overall, I thought both presentations were both informative and thought-provoking, everything a presentation should be! 

Journalism as Watchdog

Group 8 probably had the most entertaining presentation so far in class.  They were all funny and charismatic and added life to their presentation, rather than just making it bland and boring. 

Their presentation was on Journalism as a watchdog.  In an ideal society, this would not be necessary, but the world we live in is anything but idea.  With corruption in every corner, especially in the government and conglomerate corporations, it is necessary that we have people who bring the truth to the public.  This is where the journalists come in. The story of Deep throat and President Nixon is perfect example of this need.  Below is a YouTube clip from a movie made about deep throat and the Nixon scandal.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjZ_D1j8cis

The group also talked about how the role of journalists can be weakened if it turns into a form of amusement, rather than a source of information and truth.  This means therefore, that we must stay objective and straightforward in our reporting while being actively curious.  The group mentioned a study done by Andrew Kohut and since I could not remember who that was exactly, I looked him up.  Here is a link to the short biography I found on Kohut:

http://www.people-press.org/about/andrew-kohut/ I found that he is the President of Pew Research Center, duh!

            I was really curious about the statistics given on Political affiliation in journalism, I found this article that disproved it, stating that 32% were Democrats, and about 31% were Republicans. http://www.journalism.org/node/2304

This was just a single survey disproving what the book was saying, but besides that point, it still makes me wonder if journalists should align with a certain party, because it would make it hard to be objective. Just something to think about… 

Proactive Journalism

Group 6 had a very nice presentation about verification in journalism.  They surprised the class by using candy as an object lesson.  We all took some of the candy, assuming it came from the group, when really we had no idea where it came from.  As journalists, we must be active in all aspects of life, even when it comes to accepting a kit-kat from an unknown source.  

“For all you (we) knew, there could’ve been razor blades in the candy.” –Group 6 member.

I absolutely love the new goal that group 6 presented which was, “Instead of OBJECTIVITY… aim for thoroughness, accuracy, fairness, and transparency.”  The reason I like this so much is because it is impossible for a journalist, or any person for that matter, to be completely objective and unbiased.  Personally, I believe that it makes the stories that much better when there is something that people can identify personally with or feel passionate about.  Although it is essential that people are not promoting their own cause, it is impossible to be completely objective. This goal presents a much more realistic aim.  With this in mind, it is most important to be transparent.  In this, journalists must also be truth SEEKERS rather than truth PRESENTERS.  There is a difference between stumbling upon information and actively seeking the truth.  Sounds like a trend to me! One thing I really felt from group 6 was that it is essential to be proactive if we want to be successful as journalists.  Below is a link to a YouTube video in which the founder of Wikileaks, which could be considered the modern form of muckraking… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtNGVJujfNw

After watching that video, I stumbled across a “Rap News” video about the same topic, which presented Wikileaks with a twist, white-boy rap. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl4NlA97GeQ&feature=related

Mark Willes Speaks at BYU (Response to Extra Credit)

This past Thursday I was privileged to attend a presentation by Mark Willes, CEO of Deseret Magazine Corporation.  The most important thing I took from Mark Willes presentation was one of the first things he said, “You can be taught from on high.”  By this he meant that we, as the audience, must listen to the spirit and be taught in that way.  We will not learn from his words, but from the spirit.  If we all were to get something different from Willes presentation, then in his eyes he would be successful. 

It was quite scary the numbers he presented, that newspapers had not lost money until 2008, when nearly all newspapers began losing money.  This is a scary statistic because to this day, the newspaper industry is still in the negative income.  How is it possible that a small Mormon-based newspaper still exists in this dying profession? It is because it is written to a specific niche, but also because of the morals that Deseret Industries are dedicated to following.  Editors will work for absolutely no pay, just because they believe in the mission statement of Deseret.  Which is: “Trusted voice of light and knowledge reaching hundreds of millions of people worldwide.” This is reached by the following steps: align actions, pursue excellence, champion virtues, improve lives, work together, invest personally.

            Even though it really scared me that journalism is being overridden by the internet, Willes left us students with a message of hope.  He believes in BYU and the students that go here.  As a University, we have an advantage over others going into broadcasting and print journalism because we are willing to follow a different path than the average person.  It is this special twist of our mindset that will help us to bring something different to the table.  This twist is necessary for success, because without something new, we will die with the rest of them. 

The Profession

Group 5 did a good job presenting about the Priesthood of journalists.  I learned new things that I had never before heard of, like the “hegemony” theory (http://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/marxism/terms/hegemony.html) and the “news work” theory.  I did not agree, however with their statement that journalism should be completely unemotional.  The real world is full of emotion; it would be unrealistic to take it out. It is the best stories that bring out emotion in people.

I liked the debate that we had in class about confidentiality of sources.  I can definitely see both sides of the issue, but I think that anonymous sources should not be used in a newspaper.  The word “anonymous” leaves too many doors open to questioning the truth and validity of the facts.  This questioning can only be a downward spiral of distrust towards the journalists.  Sometimes it is better to just make a clear-cut decision to avoid sticky situations. 

One thing that really surprised me is that journalists are supposed to write to the level of a 9^th to 10^th grade reading level.  This surprised me because it seems like they write above that level, or maybe it’s just that the information in newspaper would be way over a sophomores’ head.  Below is a link to the reading standards for grades 9 and 10, just for clarification http://www.nusd.k12.ca.us/Nusd/english-ninth.html

A full response to the article...

This summer, my family stopped paying for cable and basically boycotted television.  My younger siblings learned how to use Netflix and my family got all its news from the internet.  Life was really good. I mean, at first it kind of stunk not being able to turn on the tv and watch my favorite shows, but I got used to it and stop caring so much.

I wouldn’t say my dad is a nerd, but he is pretty good with computers, pretty smart, and wants to know everything about everything. I think he just got fed up not only with the high prices of cable, but also how so much of the news never applied to him. Sure, he would learn about everything that was going on, but nothing that interested him. He’d much rather be playing tennis in the backyard than watching something he doesn’t care about.

For me, I’ve never really paid attention to the news so much until last year when we had to read the New York Times every day for my media writing class. At first I really enjoyed reading it but then it got old really fast because I felt like the exact same crisis was being written about just in a different tone or by someone else. After a while it felt forced.

With my experience now I prefer getting my news from the internet and from social media sites because I get to choose what I look at based on what interests me.  I also feel like the internet doesn’t have to be as professional as the newspaper or television news so it’s a lot more enjoyable to read and not as boring. It also contains links, pictures, and videos that keep me entertained.

Whatever happens with news in the future I look forward to it and am sure that I will adapt.