#3// The Courageous Watchdog

On Wednesday, we discussed four main responsibilities of a journalist:

1) Two Way Mirror

2) Courageous Watchdog

3) Free-market Place

4) Optimism

The “Courageous Watchdog”. I especially like the first word, courageous. Although journalism requires having and making connections, being a journalist doesn’t always mean you have friends. Probably for this sole reason: your friendship comes second to your story. Occasionally, a journalist’s safety is undermined by the importance of telling the facts. The International Women’s Media Foundation present the “Courage in Journalism” awards every year, giving accolades to journalists who went that extra step to be the watchdog for the people; whether that means getting arrested, having security cameras set up in your own home, or just being hated by an entire nation… they were there. You can read more about these awards and the winners here:

http://iwmf.org/honoring-courage/2012-courage-in-journalism-awards.aspx

I want to specifically point out Asmaa al-Ghoul, a contributing writer for Al-Monitor’s Palestine Pulse. She plays a vital role in uncovering human rights abuses and reporting on development issues, and because of this she regularly “receives death threats and has been beaten by Hamas security forces while covering protests.” If she doesn’t have courage, I don’t know who does. You can read her controversial stories here: 

 http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/contents/authors/asmaa-al-ghoul.html

"This event which I come to just about every year, always humbles me deeply. And it always inspires me. These amazing women encourage me. Their stories uplift me. Their work astounds me and leaves me in awe. It's so good to know that these women and so many others like them are out there every day, risking their lives and their livelihoods in pursuit of the truth. All of us here tonight and around the world are beneficiaries of their courage, their voices and their noble struggle" 

-Journalist, Maria Shriver.

Another word for courage is the less flamboyant "integrity," a word that comprises professional, moral and political integrity in doing one's job as a reporter or analyst. Acting with integrity means honestly probing the causes of the many problems and then suggesting antidotes that offer a way towards a more stable, productive and equitable society. Journalists fulfill this duty as they serve as the Watchdog. 

#2// Creditability

I wanted to blog for a quick second on something that last weeks group only briefly touched on: news creditability. As I said last week, all first-rate reporters and journalists strive for the truth, and the only way to gain that viability is to find & credit yours sources – although the following clip seems to defy all that and explain why some news… just isn’t the truth. At least, that’s what some people say. 

The JFK Assassination was one of the first events that established creditability in the news, as it created the idea of “continuous coverage.” The general public completely leaned on broadcast news and entirely believed this coverage because it was their primary source of knowledge – it was all they had, and because no one person knew more than the next, they assumed it to be true. At the time of JFK assassination, you could rely on media to get the straight facts… but now? What’s happened? And what’s to blame?

I guess I could point fingers way back before the 1941 broadcast journalism beginning, and talk about the “stunt journalism” days, where if there wasn’t anything exciting to be told… they created something to be told. The reach is still the same, all journalists are yearning to write something that yearns to be read… but when they don't cite sources, don't hold creditable interviews, and then chop, rearrange, opinionate and punctuate the facts to make a "news-worthy" story... then it's just turning cantaloupes to antelopes. I mean, according to the following article, “Currently, about two-in-ten say they believe all or most information from ABC News (21%), CBS News (21%) and NBC News (20%)”. Well, that’s pathetic.

http://www.people-press.org/2010/09/12/section-5-news-media-credibility/

So what news can we rely on? And how can we weed out the facts from the fiction?

Anyway, just your daily reminder that's it hard to trust anything anymore! 

Uplifting way to start your weekend, right?

Happy Friday, ya'll! 

Extra-Credit: Brian Stetler Report

Brian Stetler, What is Social Media?

By Jenna Neeley, Section 001

PROVO – Speaking to undergraduate communications students, a New York Times journalist announced an override of the current news system by media-driven tactics occurring over the next decade.

Brian Stetler told a Brigham Young University audience Wednesday afternoon that social media serves as an “around the clock” approach to news. “There are now only three types of media journalism: Facebook, Twitter, and everything else,” Stetler said.

The general publics no longer wait around a television set for the breaking news, because they are instantaneously updated via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts. Even government officials are using social media to amplify their messages and relay public decisions. New Jersey mayor, Cory Booker, even used his personal twitter account to reach out to civilians during the Hurricane Sandy black out of 2012, inviting one stranded woman to his home to use WiFi. “People feel more connected to their officials when using social media, like they know them on a personal level” Stetler said.

One BYU student said that the Government’s role is to represent its people, and if they do not keep up with social trends, they are missing a majority of their audience. These new message tools allow correspondence between the reporter and the reader; an instigating step towards public participation in media news. Stetler said this “empowers the people”, promoting a more active and aware democratic union.

Reporters and journalists also use tweets and texts as raw material for headliners. Although time-efficient, Stetler noted that these mediums are only complementary to old-fashioned reporting and investigating. They can improve an article, but not completely compile it.

#1// It's Truth

Wednesday, September 11^th Class

As an active member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, I have grown up believing that my Savior is the center of all things. But upon deciding on a Journalism major… I thought I was entering into an entirely materialistic and world-driven profession. I mean, it’s the news. It’s the gossip, the source-of-all-knowledge to the world and its people. Don’t get me wrong, I love the gossip and I love the talking and I love the scandalous stories. More than just about anything. But after studying the Constitutional principle in the Six C’s of Journalism the connection between Freedom of Press and Freedom to Worship became clear. My connection to my Heavenly Father and my religious beliefs really was connected to the over-exaggerators on every other news station. Beginning in the Enlightenment and finalizing in Smith’s pursuit to restore this Gospel, the press and the Lord were hand-in-hand. And although there are few top-ranked, religion-based national, newspapers or magazines, all journalists are leading to one thing… and that is “The Pursuit of Truth”. I don’t know how to connect this idea to any certain article or any outside idea, because it’s the idea that centers around all things… it’s truth. And it is what every human being, religious or not, should be striving for. It is what binds journalists to the Descriptive World.

“I defie the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life, ere many yeares I wyl cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scripture, than he doust.”  - William Tyndale