Journalism In Review

My understanding of journalism increased throughout the semester. As we learned from one another's instruction I was able to discover a new meaning of journalism and its importance.
http://www.freedomwriters.com/ is a movie that depicts the liberating power of writing, and I think that is the biggest lesson I took away from this class. We learned a lot of great things about journalism, but the most important aspect of journalism is its ability to free us.
On a few different occasions Professor Cressman has talked about the affect that journalism has on our liberty. He has even said that without liberty there would be no freedom. Journalism gives us the power to choose. We must be informed in order to choose, and that is exactly what journalists do. Just as http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/6?lang=eng talks about receiving light and knowledge of a spiritual sense that gives us power and enlightenment, journalism gives us light and knowledge that we can use to make decisions in the world we live in.
Think of those who are uninformed. They are completely lost and unable to make decisions. As President Monson spoke about in this last conference http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-race-of-life?lang=eng neutrality is a weak trait that simply takes the path of least resistance. Information will keep us from being neutral and simply floating through life's journey.
The floaters and free-riders are forgotten in life and I will forever be grateful for those who inform me. Without journalists history would be forgotten, and the progression of the human race would be handicapped.

Journalists as Celebrities

It is difficult for journalists to balance lives of a celebrity and their career as a public informer. I think a pure understanding of a journalist's role can help them understand that they are to act as advocates to the public instead of puppets to paparazzi. The book says, "Celebrity-worship and hero-worship should not be confused. Yet we confuse them every day, and by doing so we come dangerously close to depriving ourselves of real models. We lose sight of the men and woman who do not simply seem great because they are famous because they are great. We come closer and closer to degrading all fame into notoriety." I hope that journalists realize they should act as heroes, not celebrities. The power of journalism can be found in knowledge. People rely on journalists to provide information that leads to knowledge. The desire to be a celebrity can rob a journalist of their powerful influence on the public.

One of the clips we saw in class recently shows the difference between the desire to be a celebrity and the desire to be a voice for the people. When Jon Stewart went on Crossfire he called the anchors "bipartisan hacks," and that is exactly what they were doing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE. The anchors for Crossfire were more interested in fame than being voices for the public. They had become puppets to political leaders.

How do we avoid becoming too wrapped up in popularity. One simple way is to report the truth. The truth hurts, and at times is the fastest way to lose popularity in the public eye while still gaining respect. Sports writer, Rick Reilly, is the greatest sports writer of our generation, but he manages to separate himself from the celebrity world. He does it by giving honest reports on what is happening in the world of sports, just as he did this last week with an article written about Tiger Woods and his negligence towards his half brother http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/page/MastersRickReilly/tiger-brother. The article is truthful, but is not the most popular thing to be writing when Tiger is gaining momentum as the fan favorite going into the Masters.

It is amazing how often the truth is the solution to many of the problems in journalism. Writing truthfully will help you gain respect while allowing you to avoid becoming engulfed in a celebrity lifestyle. Truth will liberate both the journalist and the consumer http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/john/8.32?lang=eng#31.

Comprehensive and Proportional

Engaging the audience is one of the biggest challenges faced by news providers. There is an obligation to report the facts, but the facts might bore your audience into disappearing. If viewers are disinterested by the news they are receiving they will switch where they are receiving it. Look at the difference between  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4lB1Y4ZwfU and  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B0QPcoTZg8. Which one would you rather watch? Jon Stewart is definitely more engaging to watch than CNN. 

The problem with Jon Stewart being more engaging on the Daily Show than CNN, is that his show is a comedy news broadcast. It is not meant to be a fact based news station. His entertaining style is mixed in with news creating what we refer to as infotainment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infotainment. Of course Stewart uses facts while he is doing his entertaining show, but he is mostly entertaining. CNN loses viewers to the Daily Show because of the entertainment they receive. 

Infotainment threatens pure journalism by replacing it with a sort of stand-up comedian act. When audiences want infotainment that is what they get because news stations have to be able to compete, or they risk going out of business. In class the battle between infotainment and pure journalism was compared to broccoli and ice cream. As a child if your mother were to offer you a bowl of broccoli and a bowl of ice cream you would certainly choose the ice cream. You eat as much ice cream as your stomach can handle, and eventually you get so sick of ice cream that you will choose to eat a bowl of broccoli.

Audiences will eventually outgrow the sugar high they receive from infotainment, but news stations cannot afford to lose money while infotainment steals their customers.

As a journalist you must learn to both entertain and inform here are some ideas to help:

• Ask open-ended questions
• Conduct in-depth interviews
•  Don't give options
• Write articles like a story
• Ask yourself, "Who is the audience, and what do they need to know."
• Use metaphors

One of the most important things to remember while attempting to both entertain and inform is that techniques should never alter facts.

Journalism and Faith

Journalism and faith are two concepts that appear to be in complete opposition of one another. Much like science and faith seem to contradict each other in every way, journalism and faith may be polar opposites. Journalists rely on facts to create respectable journalism. Faith is defined as a trust or confidence in something that cannot be proven http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faith. Journalism is built on a foundation of facts, and facts are defined as a truth known by actual experience, or something that can be proven. The definitions show that facts are the opposite of faith, so how can journalism and faith coexist?

So far in journalism coexistence with faith has not been very successful. "Journalism and religion is a tough mix. Religion depends on faith, and journalism demands proof," said Jim Robertson, editor of Columbia Daily Tribune. In order for journalism to fulfill its purpose of informing the public there has to be a balance between religion and journalism, and journalists must be able to report on religious issues. Religion effects everyone in one way or another. People develop their beliefs based on religion, and for journalists to report on what is important to the public those religious beliefs must be understood. 

Maybe religion and journalism can work together, as long as there is an understanding of each other’s roles. Journalists must view religion as a driving force, and respect individual beliefs. Instead of reporting on the belief itself journalists can view the effects of those beliefs. The actions of people may be easily explained by an understanding of their religious beliefs. The actions are facts, the beliefs are faith. Journalists can report the the beliefs and actions as facts without questioning the faith. A good example of reporting actions and beliefs as they relate to religion comes from http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghans-protest-improper-disposal-of-koran-at-us-base/2012/02/21/gIQAjhBqQR_story.html. The religious belief is explained as a motive to the viewed reaction. 

Faith must be recognized by journalists, but it is not necessary to attempt to prove it. Viewing faith as a motive and reporting the beliefs and facts makes it possible for faith and journalism to coexist.