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

Investigative Journalism

Unfortunately, I was gone last week for a broadcast journalism trip with BYU to the MWC Tournament. I didn't get to participate in the Jeopardy game, but I did get to go out and experience journalism in the real world, with real journalists (not that BYU students aren't REAL journalists, but you get the point).

Investigative journalism   poses a lot of interest to the general public. To many, investigative journalism is the only form of honest reporting. This could be said because to the viewer, they see the reporter as someone under covering things that are deceiving to the public. 

Here is an article that states how the art of investigative reporting is slowly decreasing, especially from larger networks. With lawsuits being common in today's society, investigative journalism is becoming more and more risky. A great example of this can be found here, where the author talks about the potential harm and obstacles that can occur during investigative reporting. 

Yesterday in the Comms 300 class on media and ethics, the topic of recording others was discussed. A great point was made about whether or not undercover reporting would fall under the unethical category. I found a link that relates to the points that were discussed. 

To me, investigative reporting is fun. It takes work and makes the job entertaining. However, with that being said, there are many fine lines that undercover jobs contain. Whether or not I would be willing to take the risk to report undercover would depend on the topic. It would be a thrill, but there are only two ways the story can end; great, or in tragedy. 

Investigative journalism is a lost art. We see it less and less in today's society--but when it does appear on networks and TV, it usually makes for the most interesting stories. 

Journalists and Ideology

The class activity helped solidifiy the points of the lesson in my mind. Each organization is going to have an opinion and sway towards what they will run as a company to viewers. 

While ideology is different than bias, its a journalists job to make sure they are following the organization that they work for and their ideals without having bias. This is a fine line, just like some of the other points we have covered in this class. 

To make sure as a journalist things are being told without bias, the reporters ideals will need to shine through in their writing. 

I found this blog that helped me understand how that could be achieved a little bit better. They touch on the fact that ideals are different from bias. Ideals are more like values that people believe and live by. Bias is only telling one side of the story and refraining from hearing or learning from the opposing side. 

Its a slight difference, but as a journalist things are key. This is a great example of someone showing bias, as opposed to their ideals.  

As a summary, its important to note that bias and ideals are two completely different things. Bias= bad and ideals=good. As a reporter, its important to define your own ideals for your own specific reporting style. I know i'm starting to learn and develop mine. 

Independence and Journalism

I think the activity we did today in class summarized it all. I liked splitting up in the groups and deciding each viewpoint of different groups through out the country. Most importantly, it brings up the point that as journalists, we have to be free from bias and have an independent point of view. 

All of the different groups had a different outlook on the situation. I think its a valid point that was made that everyone will view situations differently, and different news organizations will portray the situation differently as well. Thats how loyalty is gained within an organization. 

Diversity I feel was a great point to touch on as well. That is why America is so great! We have different people with different viewpoints and different thoughts. That is why its essential for journalists to be independent like this link shows. 

As we have talked about every week, it will be hard for a journalist to withhold from sharing some sort of their opinion in their stories. That is why its so essential to make sure all of the facts are covered, and verification is performed like we talked about the last class. 

My group had the opinion of the muslims in our class activity. Coming from that stand point really made me think about what I as a journalist would have done in that situation. I think it was a very good discussion and I think that if everyone had to take a look at the muslim point of view, things would have played out differently. As a reporter, I am going to have to try and think about the opposing view on every story. I'd hate to make a group of people feel neglected or abused because of a certain take on a story. I can't help but feel that happened for that group of people in New York. 

Being independent in journalism is another key step in being a true journalist. All of our aspects have really tied together and solidified a great definition for journalists to be defined by.