What IS Journalism? What IS a Journalist?

Journalism wise, I've never had a more informative semester. I've been thrown into the world of broadcast journalism at full force and have loved every minute of it. Most importantly though, I've really come to find a definition of journalism and a definition of what a journalist really is (and the journalist I want to be). In this post I referenced Wikipedia and the views of journalism that it provides. While its important to point out what others believe journalism to be, I've found that having my own clear-cut definition is what really makes me become a better journalist. 

One of my original big points of journalism was the fact that I believed journalists to have one main job, that being to supply the public with information needed to form their own opinions on certain topics or stories. 

I still believe that to be true after everything I've learned. Each week I was able to add more to my list of things a journalist should acquire, and now I feel like I'm a professional with regards to my thoughts on journalism. 

One of the first weeks we talked about truth in journalism. I feel like if any journalist follows this one principle, all of the others will follow. Its important to tell the truth to the public, as well as making sure we are true to ourselves. I've seen in the real world how journalists have failed because of failing to follow this one key principle, all for the incentive to get a "unique" story. 

I loved the quote from the book that says, "And, as we will see, 'journalistic truth' is more than mere accuracy. Its a sorting out process that takes place between the initial story and the interaction among the public, newsmakers, and journalists...(it) is ultimately what sets journalism apart from all other forms of communication"(Kovach and Rosenstiel, 41). 

This quote says it all. Truth in journalism is different than just regular truth. We are held to a higher standard and must show that in our work. Thats the job, verifying facts to be true.

We also talked about loyalty. A journalist must decide upfront where their true loyalties will lie, whether that be with the public or to an employer. After that lesson I decided that even though its a fine line, for me it will always be simple. I will stay loyal to an employer, as long as they allow me to stay loyal to the public. You can be loyal to both and be a great reporter by choosing to take stories your employer asks and by using that opportunity to let the public know everything they need to know about it to make their own opinions. That is what a journalist does. 

The week we talked about the profession of journalism really helped to solidify the actually terms of being a journalist, at least for me. It was brought up that many people are considering themselves journalists when in reality, they have no education, no background, and just a blog that they write their opinions on as a forum for discussion. Using opinion is not what a journalist does. Its the complete opposite. With that being said, the profession of a journalist became clear to me. It is someone who is trained and educated to collect, display, and organize facts for the public to form an opinion. That is what makes journalism an actual profession. 

I must say too that I felt lucky that I was able to present the topic of verification to the class. I really got to dig in deep to understand exactly what verifying means to journalists. It is essential in the job to gather facts, but not necessarily a "must" to verify them all. In fact, there are organizations that have "fact checkers" so that the journalist doesn't have to. A passionate journalist will verify their own facts. This guarantees that the information that will be provided, along with the journalist's name, will be true and accurate for readers. No true journalist would present information that had not been verified to the best of their ability, mostly in fear for their reputation and job if the facts were to be wrong.

Being independent was another good quality that was discussed. Being free from bias really will lead to producing the best stories and allowing everyone to understand more of the issue than the biases hidden within. While its important to have ideals and values as a journalist, having bias will lower credibility and ultimately form you into a more narrow minded reporter. Its essential to understand that at times we can't rid ourselves of our biases, but a true journalist will look past them to get to the facts and share the real story. 

A journalist is investigative, but follows the code of ethics in deciding what to air or present. That means that while a reporter can go undercover, proper steps must be taken to ensure things are done in an ethical manner. Its a fine line as well, but it can be done. A journalist welcomes opinion and discussion but does not use that in writings or broadcastings. 

For us of the LDS faith, faith in journalism becomes more prevalent. Its important to never fail from our faith, but to not let it get in the way of our opinions, just like our biases. 

One of the biggest jobs of being a journalist is also learning how to make it comprehensive and relevant. Summarizing the important facts and making them relevant to what is being told is one of the challenges that needs to be faced more in this profession. We see a lot of filler stories and fluff to make a story longer or seem more important than it really is. thats not news, its boring. 

Overall, I've greatly changed my opinions on what journalism is to me. I've been able to build a list of qualities that a true journalist needs to possess in order to be a great journalist. I'm not all of the way there, I'll admit. I'm still learning, but thankfully I'm in the right place. I saw changes in my reporting as the  semester went on and realized that I was doing better at verifying my facts and keeping biases out of my reporting style. I realized, too, that I am very loyal to my "employer" right now, otherwise known as Brother Curtis and 11 News. I can easily open up more and find things that the students want to hear and need to hear. I've also noticed I've cut back on the "filler" stories and the fluff information in my writing. I only write the truth and choose to use relevant information instead of just things to fill up time. I've really developed this semester and have really grown to love my work. I'm becoming passionate about being a journalist and I know it can only get better from here. I think at times people tend to get lazy and choose to not follow the things and advice that we learned in this class. I've noticed that as I've followed these guidelines, my reporting has improved. My goal is to not get lazy and to strive to focus on the small things in journalism to make my work overall great, instead of just good.  

Engagement and Relevance of Journalism

There are so many different news outlets with different reporting styles and techniques. They address different demographics and political views as well. Yet, each of these stations will share common newsworthy stories that the mass public will want to hear. With that said, people of all ages, types, opinions, etc will be watching any given newscast. That  is why it is so hard, I believe, in the news industry to create a show that provides news and stories to fit everyone's preferences. In the Elements of Journalism, it is pointed out that most people want to hear all types of news at the same time as well as the gossip(187). This means that as a journalist, we must be diverse enough in our reporting to be able to report on any given topic. 

In order to use the principle of "Utilitarianism", It will be important for any journalist to look at the principle and decide what really needs to be told. In class, we talked about covering what the audience needs to know as a first. I believe that to be the most important in any newscast. 

With that being said, I like using the example of reading the New York Times. While a lot of the information is targeted towards a different demographic than I fit in, I always know they will cover the need to know information. I will skim over the other information, but the important information I can always count on to be on the front page for me to easily access and have to understand what it is going on in the world. 

I don't look at the news in the New York Times as engaging to me unless it is relevant to me. That brings up a great point that news will be engaging if it is relevant to the viewer. By being able to use John Mill's principle and really understand it, I believe will help strengthen and help any journalist. Journalist's being storytellers and following this principle will go far in the industry. 

Journalists Make The News Comprehensive and Proportional

In The Elements of Journalism it reads, "The future is uncertain, and it is unclear how long you can stay in business unless you generate audience fast,"(214). Being in the Broadcast Journalism world I can see how that statement is completely accurate. Many news organizations are faced with the pressure of competition to try and make the news fit to the public and draw in viewers. Instead of being about news, the newscasts are turned into a battle of the weird, showcasing anything unique that will draw in viewers to the show. 

To make yourself stand out as a journalist, it's important to look for originality in newsworthy events. By doing this, you create a good name for yourself and can easily obtain jobs over people who create "fluff" to fill in a newscast for time and to grab eyes. 

It's uncommon in most news today to see varieties of stories. Most are copies from other sources, but that's because its important enough that people want to hear about it. In all cases, originality will not be a necessity. These must-hear stories need to stay true to the 'newsworthy' guidelines. Truth must still be there as well as timeliness. 

Another point brought out in the book was using emotional phrases to attract viewers. This is a good tactic that I have seen work, but it must be used carefully so viewers don't feel lied to or lead on. Bias must also be avoided and it should be clear what is happening in the story to the viewers. ITs important to realize too, like the book said, that when you mess with viewers emotions, you have crossed a line and lost your audience. 

Faith and Journalism

As a member of the Church, I can say that I really believe in faith. I use my faith every day and am grateful for the experiences I have to exercise my faith. As a journalist, especially one at BYU, it is a difficult challenge to separate my religion from my reporting. I will always have my ideas and opinions and my bias will most likely favor my religious beliefs. Here at BYU that is typical. I would say everyone in the broadcast room feels the same way. Our news is all centered around our faith in a way. You cant escape your religion. 

When I go to seek a job outside of Utah when I graduate, my faith and my beliefs will not remain in the BYU broadcasting lab. They will come with me wherever I go. I have come to accept that it will be a challenge for me to leave my biases, yet not to let go of my faith and to deal with problems as they arise. In Mind of a Journalist, there was a great quote from David Waters. He said, "Our personal faith deeply affects who we are and what we believe, but it doesn't always have to affect what we do" (pg 93). I've thought a lot about it and really believe that I could be a good reporter in any setting If I can remember that I need to do my job. Reporting on a religious event would mean that I would need to remain transparent and only tell the facts. 

I've noticed that there are few stories on religion in the news today.In Utah we see it more, but thats because our market is filled with people who want to hear about the LDS Church. If we were to share information on other religions on the news here, I feel like people would become offended. That is why news channels are very picky with what religious news is shared whether it be printed or broadcasted. 

A few weeks ago, a group did an activity about the mosque in New York City with the Muslims. It showed how that our country is filled with bias when it comes to religion. Each group will be passionate about their own faith and will push it upon others. In order to be a great reporter and to avoid bias, its essential to follow the steps we have read about in The Elements of Journalism like verification, ethics, truth, independence, etc.

 There was another great quote from Waters in the book where he says, "If I'm a Methodist and I'm reporting on the Methodist quadrennial meeting, I need to check my personal experiences and beliefs at the door and just report on what happens, regardless of how I feel about it" (pg. 93). I would have to take this approach reporting anywhere outside of Utah. It might be harder than I am perceiving it I'm sure, but this is the best way for journalists to avoid inserting their faith into stories. Its important to gain trust with your audience, employer, and yourself when choosing what to portray in a story if it includes religion. I think that reporting on religion will open the doors for many things in our country. I just don't see it happening more mainstream any time soon. 

Puffery?

I went to Dr. Nicholas Mason's lecture last week called, "The Rise of Mass-Media Puffery and the 'Death of Literature in Georgian Britain". I was confused when I read the word 'puffery' so I decided to look it up online and figure it out before I listened to a lecture and would become totally lost. I found the definition of puffery and was able to understand a little bit better when he talked about puffery in advertising and the effect it has on book reviews. I don't believe puffery is only in advertising. In fact, journalists can use puffery in newspaper review columns or online articles. As a broadcast journalist, I can see how it would be easy to just exaggerate some of the truth of lie about facts to make a story more intriguing to the audience. I never would accept money or bribes from a store or organization to broadcast false ideas to the public. Its a part of the journalism code of ethics that we have gone over in all of my classes. Brother Walz emphasized to our class one day how important it is that you never even accept food from someone because of the message it could send to potential viewers. After listening to his lecture, I was convinced that puffery would never effect me as a journalist. In the context of his lecture, it seems like puffery is a much finer line in advertising than in journalism. I think too that it could become effective in advertising in most causes but when I think of it in journalism, I think of Jayson Blair too and his lies in the New York Times. In journalism, its just safe to say to stay away. 

Journalism as a Public Forum

Our world is made up of opinions. That's what makes our world and our country so great. Journalists get to provide a means for the public to discuss and be aware of what is going around in their communities and most importantly, around the world. As the class talked about, the world of journalism and public forums would not be the same today if it were not for the increasing rate and easy of technology. 

Public forums could include chat rooms, blogs, internet sites, etc. In The Mind of a Journalist, they talk about what they call the  Agenda Setting Theory. That states that whatever journalists will publish for the public to read will ultimately become what is discussed in the community. 

To make journalism more intriguing, I have found that the stories that are the least like all the rest become the most entertaining. I choose to talk about them with other people. This proves the theory correct. Having a  public forum is one of the blessings that America has to help keep our country free. If you look at the state that Egypt went through with not being able to voice their opinions, it becomes clear how essential it is in order to keep a free, and working country. 

Opinion is part of our job. But it is also our job to keep things honest and true as things are discussed. That is what will challenge journalists; the ability to find and discuss new information that the public will enjoy.

--Kim

Ethics in Journalism

Ethics. The wonderful world of ethics. It seems that in the communications major, students take not just one, but multiple courses on ethics. Obviously there is a strong reason why we must understand and focus on ethical practices in journalism. Its one of the biggest issues in the profession. 

In class, we talked about being accountable for what one says. Yes, everyone will admit to saying things that they regret. In this profession, its impossible to take back something once its been said because it is printed and broadcasted for all to see and hear.  As the Elements of Journalism says, journalists will need "to exercise their personal conscience". As humans, we are built with the knowledge of right and wrong. There is no better time to exercise that then the time of practicing journalism. 

Ethics also involves things like plagiarism, fairness, bias, etc. and all of those topics have their own rules and outlooks to others. If you look at this code of ethics and the New York Times' Code of Ethics its easy to see what is expected in the biggest journalism corporations world wide.

By minimizing potential harm to the public or to our work place, we will gain more successful positions and jobs by being able to distinguish between what is acceptable and not in journalism. In the Mind of a Journalist, it says that we need to act independently and be free from any obligation so that we can judge for ourselves and our own work. By doing that, we can all hold ourselves accountable for what we believe is right to print. 

--Kim