Finally the Final!!!

Final Paper
Before I kick this thing off and start answering the final series of question, let me first tell you of my experience in this class. My expectations of this Intro to Journalism class could not have been more wrong. I came into class the first day expecting to receive a syllabus maybe a half a dozen benchmarked articles to write, followed by two midterms and a comprehensive final. The textbook I would never read, even if I did it would quickly put me to sleep, and a month into the semester I will be cursing myself asking why I wasted my money on another unused text book. The articles I would write would consist of some thoughtless mambo jumbo put together at the last second. The midterms would be taken after a two hour cramming session based upon a study guide handed out the week previously. Yep this class, so I thought, would be just as monotonous and any other class I have taken.
I found out quickly this class was going to be much different from others. We are expected to blog our articles, set up twitter accounts, and a netvibes accounts feeding constant rss feeds of our choice. This sounded pretty cool, but pretty scary. I was familiar with blogs, but clueless as to what a twitter, netvives, or rss feeds were, or where to find one. The class was told we are going to utilize “new media” in this journalism class. We were told that this was the first attempt at conducting and 239 class this way. I though it was nice we are trying something different, but on top of my horror of being asked to complete assignments using tools I have never heard of, I didn’t want to be in the guinea pig class. I wanted the comfort of a never used textbook, two midterms and a final.
Despite all of my anxieties the semester went on. With a little extra help I found that setting up a netvibes account was easy and amazing that all my internet interest media was delivered to my personalized page. Twitters turned out to be simple as well; the only hard thing was trying to fit a tweet into 140 characters. Soon as class began the anxieties of being a guinea pig wore off as I became assured that I can keep up with all this “new media” stuff. My blog started to fill up with entries and I was able to see all the latest developments of my classmate’s articles as I was linked directly to their blogs through netvibes. The conversations in class I feel where pertinent and worth wild. The class was able to share ideas, debate, and come to our own conclusions about issues in journalism. Our new ideas about journalism, what it is, who is a journalist, ethics, etc… quickly appeared on the class blogs to be shared and commented on.
I have really enjoyed this class. As a comms minor I will not be pursuing a career in journalism, but will find use for the things I learned in my daily life and news viewing.

What defines objectivity and why is it an element of journalism? What is the place of opinion in journalism? As a journalist can you have your own opinions on the issues of the day, yet continue to practice objective journalism? Why or why not? How do you plan to handle objectivity?
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines objectivity as “treating or dealing with facts without distortion by personal feeling or prejudices.” Does objectivity truly exist? My personal opinion is that true objectivity does not exist. I think it is possible for a journalist to write an article or come across as objective, but, in the back of any persons mind is an agenda, belief system, and opinion. So, no, it is impossible to be completely objective. On the other hand, yes, it is possible to be objective in journalism. Our text “The Big Picture” further explains, “when absolute certainty is unobtainable, relative certainty is a value; being pretty sure beats being fairly sure and both beat utter confusion” (Scheuer, 70). Scheuer then goes no to quote Herbert J. Gans who makes a great point, he said, “objectivity is epistemologically impossible because the moment journalist ask question they select from a large number of possible ones” (Scheuer, 70)
This semester we leaned that truth is the first element and obligation of a journalist. The tough part of this argument is how do you define truth? How diluted or muddy can you make truth and still call it truth? In my opinion truth can get pretty darn filthy and still have some redeeming element of truth contained within it which will make it in some way justifiable.
Opinion in journalism has a place in certain kinds of publication and media. I feel that if you are running a news organization such as “The Daily Show”, theunion.com, or the “Colbert Report,” opinion is necessary and needed. These organizations are up front about being saturated with bias opinion, and make no attempt to sell their news as fact. On the other hand a CNN, FOX news, NPR, and other such organizations have no place for opinion as they sell their news as fact. The public looks to these organizations for reliable true factual news. As we have talked in class it is interesting and partly sad that most of the population is turning to these joke news sources like “The Daily Show” for their news. I feel that people think they are unable to trust convention news sources that subtly insert bias into their news. Those who turn to joke reports at least know that the journalism is being completely up front about their mockery of the actual news.
As a journalist I think, though not easy, it is possible to have you own opinion and report objectively. I feel that it is possible to put personal criteria on everything you cover to insure that your journalism appears unbiased and fairly representative of all sides of a story or situation. Some of these criteria may be making sure as journalist you are sure to collect comparable data from each side and as possible not to omit any information from either side of an argument. I feel this becomes most difficult as many media consumers are simply looking for news that is entertaining. The plain facts surrounding reports are typically pretty subdued and honestly boring. Once all opinion is gone the stories almost seem lifeless and mundane.
I feel the best say to handle objectivity in journalism is to be a good story teller, making me as a journalist both objective and entertaining. In class Dr. Cressman told us about what he calls “drive way moments” when listening to NPR and waiting till they are done telling a story about some insignificant potato bug. I think story telling is the key to successful entertaining objective journalism.
How do you define or identify excellence in journalism? Why are such aspects as independence and public vigilance essential? What evidence was present (or missing) in your semester-long examination of a newspaper or television station website?
I define excellence in journalism bye the service and objectivity of the journalism. I fell it is absolutely necessary that journalism serve society by informing the public with accurate and as objective as possible coverage of appropriate material.
Independence and public vigilance is essential to excellence in journalism. It is important for a journalist to stay true to his or her independent state of being while serving the public with respects to their quality and state of being. A liberal journalist wants to stay true to their independent vigilance, however they must fine a way to portray that vigilance in a way that will most effectively inform a wide audience of public with possible a different vigilant outlook.
While following “The Virginia Gazette” I feel that as a small local news paper the gazette had a lot going for it. The independent and public reader vigilance seems to be congruent. The Gazette as a small town paper has journalist that are local folk who walk to the same pace as the rest of the town. Growing up with the paper, the Gazette does not deviate much in its political, personal, or public vigilance.
What is “journalistic truth” and how does it differ from reality or absolute truth? How does it contribute to civic knowledge?
Journalistic truth is the credibility backbone of journalism. Without journalistic truth there will be little to no point to writing anything. In “The Big Picture,” Scheuer mentions that there are levels of journalistic truth. The first level he says is accuracy; he calls this “ground zero, where everything else begins” (Scheuer, 65). Scheuler goes on to explain he next level being facts, “like the law, must aim for the whole truth and nothing but he truth” (Scheuer 67). Being accurate here is not enough but must be followed by facts. Facts that are a human construct and therefore instilled to inaccuracy. This is where a journalist must find ways to put these peaces of fact puzzle together in an appropriate accurate way. Following these steps leads a journalist to becoming as objective as possible.
This journalistic truth contributes to civic knowledge as the basis for the knowledge. When an event happens not many people are there to observe the event. As such it is important for a reporter to tell the story of what happened. The journalists is responsible for accurately, factually, and objectively informing the public of what is going on with any given event.
Why are newspapers failing and television news operations downsizing? What implications might these conditions have for our country and for your career? What type of journalistic job would you have in 5 years from now? 10 years?
The reason television news is downsizing and news papers failing can be summed up in two worlds, New Media. America has become accustomed to getting exactly what they want quickly and effortlessly. Information that is offered though New Media channels is just that. As I explained in my introduction, I have been taught a lot about new media in the past semester. I now have a netvibes account that feeds me really simple syndicated messages from news sites of my choosing. These sites are not just sending me RSS feeds of all of their articles, but are sending me articles that I have specified to cater to my interest of entertainment and business only. No longer does anyone sit and read a hard copy of a newspaper, we now read the paper online. I get my news from AOL before I sign into my email account. I get a tid bit of the news and that is all I want. Things like Craigslist.com have replaced the classified sections of the news papers, and blogs have done away with many of the opinion sections. The news is just simply changing and news stations and papers are unable to adapt.
Implications this new way of doing media has for our country and careers are vast and unknown. New media is making our country more dependent on technology. This dependence is good and bad. We are able to access information faster than ever and be more productive an informed as such. New media is making it possible for more people to share more in a quick effortless manner. Implementations of new media in the job market are going to weed out all those who are not technologically trained. For me and others my age this will be to our advantage. In many ways what is coined “new media” is simply plain “media” to my generation; this is how we do media, online with twitters, pod casts, social networks, etc… I feel that for my career this is an excellent time to step into the market and make a name for myself. With all of this change in the way we do media there is a lot of opportunity.
In 5 years as a journalist I feel that I will have a job reporting it all as a one man crew. I feel that a news website would send me out into the field with a camera, set it up and steam live video of interviews, and coverage all done by me. I think new media is making it possible for one person to do it all. Maybe I could be a freelance reporter sending me feeds live to the highest bidder for my story to be posed on their sites. In 10 years it is hard to say what I would be doing. Maybe managing a web based news station, working in a marketing department finding new ways to advertise on our news site and sell more add space that interrupt our programming.
What personal code of conduct do you plan to live by as a journalist? (For those members of the class, what do you think a journalist’s code of conduct should be?)
My personal code of conduct if I was to be a journalist would be fairly simple. I would strive to be honest, objective, and to focus on serving the public. I feel no matter what complications, moral dilemma, calamity, or hard time arises, resorting back to these three personal code guidelines will solve these problems. It is hard to write a false story when your personal code says you are dedicated to honestly, objectivity, and public service. It is easier to walk away from a job that asks you to do something unethical when you have a presented code of conduct you have promised to follow.

Blogging and Big Business

The other day I had to write an abstract for my intro to public relations class. The abstract had to do with public relations and technologies influence. As I searched for an article that interests me I found a lot of stuff that had nothing to do with public relations. Finally a found an article that spoke about blogs and the need for companies to be more transparent. As I read I found that this effects more than just a companies PR department but ties right back into the media.

The N.Y. Times article form November 5th 2008 states that, “During past downturns, layoffs were mostly private affairs. Big companies tended to issue press vague press releases filled with jargon about “downsizing,” and start-ups often gave people the pink slip without telling world anything at all.” However this is just no longer the case as The New York Times’s Claire Cain Miller states, “In the age of transparency, the layoffs will be blogged.”

It turns out that companies must be the first to blog about their layoffs. If big companies are not the quick to announce their layoffs on the company blog, others hear rumors and start circulating the news in the blogisphere. This information spreads so quickly that soon after rumors are circulating main line news and media sources start picking it up. As a result companies must be the first to announce their bad news as to insure the correct information is being circulated.

For example, Tesla motors, a leading manufacturer of electric cars in California, was rumored to have some upcoming layoffs. Before it was officially announced Valleywag, a Silicon Valley gossip blog, started publishing the news of the layoff. Before Tesla motors new it their trash was being talked about on the evening news, and the information was not correct. As such the company quickly blogged about their upcoming October 15th layoffs, to clear the rumors and be sure all information was correct.

Truth in Jurnalism???

The definition of “truth” as defined by the Merriam- Webster dictionary is, “sincerity in action, character, and utterance.”

In journalism how is this definition to be applied? Does this definition seem ridiculously broad to anyone else other than me? What is sincerity in action, character and utterance? Where is the pure and simple objective truth and can it be found in Journalism? I don’t think it can.

No matter how scholarly one may consider them self it is impossible to escape all bias. We as people have a remarkable ability to think for ourselves, develop opinions, and rationalize our own definition of truth how ever we see fit. With this being the case what is truth?

I say that truth is subjective and is found neither in white or black realms but in the gray area in-between. Some arguments are stronger than others, facts are more accessible on one side of an argument, and many times there are multiple sides to a story, and so on. What are we to make of this complicated search for truth and objectivity we are seeking?

I suggest for the good of our minds and our personal sanity that we all simply look at the arguments present, collect all the facts that you can find and look toward the middle. Find out what is important to you and what carries more weight in your own personal scale of truth and find the balance.

I am sure it will rarely be completely in the white or completely in the black, but in some various shade in-between.

Interview with a young Journalist

Derek Stell got into Journalism through his high school journalism class where he ended up becoming the Editor-in-Chief of his high school paper. After Derek’s mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints he “came to BYU and decided to combine my love for sports with my need for (semi) gainful employment”. Derek got his break with an internship at the Daily Harold by simple luck. Derek was completing a writing assignment, waiting for spring football practice to end when he meet a young sports editor for the Harold, Jason Franchuk. Jason mentioned the Harold was looking for an intern to help cover high school sports. Jason got Derek in touch with sports editor Darnell Dickson who sadly did not have any opening at the moment but kept Derek in mind for any later openings.

Derek defines good journalism simply as good storytelling. “To tell a story well you have to understand and know the characters and events well.” Derek goes on to explain, “For sports, you have to know the number and represent the people well.” Derek feels that the Harold, as a whole, practices good journalism. “The Harold covers Utah County. It serves that community by telling its stories and helping people feel connected.”

When asked about recent movements in journalism such as, community, civic, citizen, and public journalism Derek does not like how “non-professionals” can determine the news. Derek explains, “I think civic journalism is when the paper doesn’t tell the reader what to think, but the readers tell the paper how to cover an issue. Why have educated professionals if they are going to be guided by armatures.”

Derek is the first to tell you that he has been affected buy the hardships papers are facing these days, he is finding it harder to find jobs and the earning potential is not what it used to be. Derek does however count himself lucky since he is a sports journalist, “sports is not as quickly affected by those things. People always are looking for sports news. Its value is higher.”

As for Derek’s advice for all those aspiring journalist out there, “Be prepared to not make a lot of money. Also make sure you have a lot of skills, don’t pigeon hole yourself.”

The Media... Objective or Bias?

Is the media objective or bias? Does the idea of balance distort the news? I guess it all depends on who you ask and who you are referring to. NPR’s Jeffery Durkin says readers want an opinion that is their own reflected back to them, when that does not happen people get angry. Durkin goes on to say that journalism, to keep clear of this anger, present two sides of the story and step back. “A lot of journalism tends to back off from drawing conclusion for fear of in sighting the wrath of the listener’s, viewers and readers, but I am not sure that the listeners viewers and readers are well served by that attitude.” Is this a service to the public? What if there are more than two sides to a story, what if one side of the story has more facts and is much stronger? Does this make a news station seem bias when they are simply reporting what they know from each side of an argument? When asked about reporting on both sides of the story Jeffery Durkin said this, “I get it from both sides… its really a case where people who are on the left say they are outraged when they hear a point of view from the right, and they of course accuse MPR of caving, what ever that means; and then people from the right saying I am hearing people from the left on NPR with just confirms my suspensions that NPR is bias to the left”. Whey has the public become so cenacle with the media? “ The public has less patience and trust in the media overall, and they often assume the worst of us they assume we have an agenda and we are going to flog our personal ideas and that they intuit that curtain reporters or host have a political view that they are subtly or not so subtly inflicting on the public. This is not the case on public radio but this is seen certainly on talk radio and public television,” says Duikin. It is easy to see what has made the public so cynical when it comes to the news coverage. You can look to networks such as MSNBC and Fox News and see an obvious bias, echoing the point of view their target audiences wants to hear.
Why can’t we just fix some of these bias networks and in turn slowly change the public view of the news? That sounds easy enough, right? Wrong, Brent Cunningham, Managing Editor at the Columbia Journalism Review says, “The question of balance is a lot more complicated and a lot more slippery than comes across in most debates.” The problem is objectivity and balance tends to be over simplified. Cunningham goes on to explain “Traditionally to be an objective journalist requires you to write a balanced story, my problem with that is that the world is not a balanced place.” One of the hardest challenges facing journalism today is “when journalist say “all we do is present facts” that is misleading” says Jay Rosen a Journalism Professor and director of the Project on Public Life and the Press at New York University. Rosen goes on to explain that “that view of "everybody else but us is highly partisan" is itself an artifact of the ideology or doctrine of objectivity.”
The point is objectivity is near impossible to define in journalism. Even if you think you as a journalist are being objective at times your subject matter does not allow you to do so. You may not have all the facts; you may not have enough information to adequately tell both sides of a story. Objectivity and truth is more often then not lingering in some gray area that no one is able to quite tap into.

Media in Business: Press; Fairness, bias and judgment: grappling with the knotty issue of objectivity in journalism.
William Glaberson; New York Times; December 12, 1994
Media: Talk of The Nations; NPR April 17th 2006 With Jeffery Durkin; “Balance vs. Bias in Journalism”

Economy!!!!

I am definitely no economist, but I do know enough to know that the American economy is freaking me out! Bail outs, new legislation, huge companies going under, plans to spend $700 billion on a bailout package, where did all this come from? What is causing these problems? Where does the $85 billion for AIG and the $700 billion for the new bailout package come from and who pays for it? How are these big companies allowed to get so big that our economy cannot function if they go under? The buzz says sub-prime lending is to blame for a majority of the financial crises, or in AIG’s case it is insuring these ridiculously risky loans that have gotten them in trouble. I hear plenty of explanations in the news and all I can gather is that “holy crap we are in a lot of trouble”, the rest is all confusing gibberish.

In my personal assessment we have an economy that is supposedly led by the invisible hand principal. Whatever is needed will be supplied to the economy by someone stepping in to capitalize on the current need. From the latest snap shot of the economy is impossible to see past the giant invisible hand. The hand seems to be anything but invisible; instead it is in full view. I personally feel great with the hand looming lightly over our economy, regulating the size and actions of corporations that are large enough to destroy our economic well being. What I am not a fan of is the current heavy hand sweeping in to clean up what it has neglected to be prevent. I feel like a moderation in all things approach is what is needed here, neither heavy nor invisible hand but more of a warm and lightly soothing back rub kind of a hand. As Benjamin Franklin has said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

What is Journalism?

What is Journalism? I don’t know if there is a right or wrong way to answer this. I don’t think I possess a text book answer but I will attempt to answer what journalism is in my opinion. In my novice opinion Journalism is the honor and responsibility to report and inform the public of pertinent news in the community, nation, and world. This responsibility, I feel, should be taken seriously and not haphazardly handled. The ability to report on an event requires objective writing and storytelling, and must as free as possible from personal bias. I feel that journalism must be committed to the truth and the community of readers or viewers they serve. This commitment I am sure can prove to be difficult to remember in times of questioned job securities, personal biases, or even the possibility of bribes.