I thought that this last week was a very interesting class. The case study on ethics really made me think what I would do in those situations and how my values would play out in  real world situations. I think it is especially important to us as BYU students to have set values and ethics because we end up representing more than just ourselves and our businesses. I think that ethics are chosen and that we simply have to cement out ethics now so that when situations arise it is an easy choice what we will do in any given situation. 

I think that case studies are the best way to learn what our ethical standards are and how we need to change them. According to the Indiana State School of Journalism,  journalist ethics come down to four things: 1. Seek Truth and Report It, 2. Minimize Harm, 3. Be Accountable, and 4. Act Independently. http://journalism.indiana.edu/resources/ethics/

In our case study in class, my group talked about the guy mowing the lawn naked. When we were talking about it we found it relatively easy to figure out what we would do; however, it became harder when people started asking questions and we became responsible for our choices. It seems obvious that newspapers should only print pictures that enhance their story. In this case it seems that the paper printed such a large and questionable picture for shock value. I think that it was unnecessary. http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

I think that the biggest worry for me is peoples online ethics when their not accountable to anyone. I’m interested to see how that effects their stories and coverage. Here is some informations on online ethics. http://www.ojr.org/ojr/wiki/ethics/

Watchdog Journalism

I think one of the most important functions of journalism is to watch the Government and big businesses. I agree with what the group said that often times that function of journalism is trivialized. I know that we use watergate as an example in every class, but it really is one of the best examples. Journalists made a huge difference in our country and in public opinion. http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Journalism-Newspeople-Completely-Updated/dp/0307346706

I do think that sometimes journalists are too focused on this function. Sometimes there isn’t a groundbreaking story. Journalists sometimes look over important stories just because it doesn’t involve an important person.  http://www.fair.org/media-beat/010308.html

As far as language goes. I think that in most cases report language is crucial. It gives a serious, formal, informed opinion. Sometimes however, it can be overly dry and can take away from the message. http://businessjournalism.org/2010/10/29/how-to-build-a-personalized-accuracy-checklist/

Independence

 Journalists must maintain an independence from those they cover. This is an essential part of journalism. (http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Journalism-Newspeople-Completely-Updated/dp/0307346706) We must present an unbiased view of the facts to cover stories correctly. I think that with all the new media forms, journalism independence will suffer. In the past people were exposed to general news every time they read the news paper. Now people can bypass that news and just straight to whatever news interests them. This means that the public will have to make a greater effort to know what is going on in the world.

At the same time the technology is also allowing people to access more resources than before. Journalists who are not independent from those they cover will be easily revealed in this new environment. http://www.kcnn.org/principles/independence_in_journalism In an ideal world news would be completely unbiased; however, this is not an ideal world or society. Journalists are loyal to employers who are in turn loyal to their owners. The public needs to be aware of these situations.

I think that there is a place for both fact and opinion in news; however, it needs to be clear which is being presented. Articles need to be presented objectively. Bloggers or reviewers need to clearly state that they are sharing their opinion and not hard fact. After all comment is free but facts are sacred.    http://www.fair.org/media-beat/010308.html

Verification

The most interesting thing that we talked about last class was bias in news. I think that the news is often presented in a very biased form. I remember the clips of Anderson Cooper that we were watching a couple weeks ago. We talked about how he was very emotional in his presentation. I think the biggest thing wrong with that report was how biased it was. Yes, the people needed help; however, he didn't report anything that the government was doing to help. He simply ignored any facts that didn't go along with the story he wanted to present. I think that more than anything journalists need to keep themselves unbiased. http://www.journalism.org/resources/principles

I think that one of the most important points of verification is the principle of transparency.This means being open to your audience and showing them how and where you got your sources. The goal of journalists is to get information out to the public and have them make decisions about information. I we do not do this in a trustworthy way, we stop being credible. I found an article about peoples trust in the media compared to other places.  http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/little-trust-in-government-or-media-either/

I think that the internet poses a threat to the verification process. I think that many blogers think that it is more important to be fast than it is to be correct. Journalists need to be accurate and dependable or else people will go to other sources. I really liked the accuracy checklist that was shown in class. I think as news consumers we should encourage truth and accuracy in the news. If we don't read the fiction or embellished truth then they will stop writing it. http://businessjournalism.org/2010/10/29/how-to-build-a-personalized-accuracy-checklist/      

Journalism the profession

I have been thinking a lot about the anonymous quoting issue that we talked about in class last week. I think that in most situations it is silly to put an anonymous quote. In most stories you can quote someone without there being any problems for the source; however, there are situations that require anonymous sources. We talked about crime lords and political scandals as being appropriate situations for anonymous sources and I agree with this statement. I think that the more anonymous sources your story has the more unreliable it is. http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/columns/imperialcity/12025/

I was also thinking that before I took this class I'm pretty sure that all my inside information about the journalism profession was from Newsies, Harry Potter, and various movies. How sad is that. Now I love our man Denton and all, but really I don't think he counts as a credible journalist.

Oh Newsies, possibly the worst movie ever made. Anyway I was just thinking important it is for news agencies and journalists to let people know what they stand for as far as news quality and integrity goes. Journalists have a pretty bad reputation and it's important for us as news consumers to know that we can trust what we are taking in.  http://www.cjr.org/about_us/mission_statement.php

Pew Media Study

I thought that this article was very interesting. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/business/media/pew-media-study-shows-reliance-on-many-outlets.html?_r=1&src=tp I agreed with most of the information presented. I think that the younger generation are looking to new mediums for their news.

One thing that I think that the article didn't really talk about was that most people look to more than one source for news. My parents watch the news every night, they also read the newspaper every morning. On the other hand most of the younger generation simply read a couple of websites and call it a complete understanding of current news.

I think that this is going to cause problems in the future. The television news and printed news are geared towards two slightly different things, so you are getting slightly different information. You are also learning about a large range of things, meaning that you generally know what is going on in the community and world. The new generation however is simply reading what interests them. I think it is a problem that we aren't exposed to all of the news that our parents are. Whether that is because we simply haven't gotten there yet as far as age and maturity go or simply that the news industry is drastically changing I just don't know.

Journalism loyalty

I thought that class last time was very interesting. It was interesting to hear the idealist view of how journalists operate. I agree 100% that that is how it should work, however I don't think that is a reasonable statement that journalists are first loyal to the public.

I think especially where bloggers and other unchecked writers are concerned. Their first loyalty is to them self and their own statistic of hits to their blog. Most will stretch, manipulate, or make up facts to encourage people to read their blog.

 In the case of serious journalists who are working for major publications, yes they are loyal to the public. They are also accountable to their editors and it is rather simple for the public to check these facts and figures. http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonianopinion/2008/01/sandra_duffy_journalisms_first.html

I remember a couple of classes ago one of the groups showed a clip from the new movie "Contagion". This movie was about an outbreak of a new disease. In it was portrayed a internet reporter and how he created mass hysteria by making outrageous claims about effective medicines and government conspiracy during a national crisis. In the end he was arrested and charged with crimes. 

I think that it is risky for the public to automatically assume that a all journalists are being totally objective. In this era of mass media and unlimited information we as the public need to constantly analyzing the information we are receiving.