Loyalty as a Journalist

      Objectivity in journalism has been destroyed because of the argument that no one can truly be objective. Everyone has their own personal biases and therefore, their work will in some way reflect that. I had a problem with objectivity recently when doing a story on the Utah illegal immigration debate. I found that I leaned a certain way on the issue, and before I knew it I had interviews lined up with people who were on my side, but no interviews with people from the opposing side. I caught my error and fixed it before the story aired, but I found it interesting that my first subconscious instincts were to talk to people on my side of the issue. Maybe I subconsciously did not want to have an argument or a confrontation with the person on the other side, and that’s why I avoided them. I don’t know what the reason was.
                Infotainment today does this. Some argue that Fox News or MSNBC are not “real” news organizations because they are not as objective as others. They present the facts in a sometimes distorted or sensational way. Hollywood does this as well. The book mentions an example of this, which I found ironic. Mike Wallace was angry at Michael Mann for Christopher Plummer’s portrayal of him in the 1999 film The Insider. Wallace is painted in this film to be an egotistical old phogie who doesn’t care about the objectivity or accuracy of CBS through fear of corporate threats. I found this to be ironic because I feel that Wallace, in his real career, no matter how invented or distorted his portrayal in The Insider may have been, has done this same thing with many of his interviewees. Newspeople today distort the facts to a small, almost unnoticeable degree, so as to avoid slander or libel charges.
                As a journalist, one can avoid trouble and loss of credibility by following the guidelines given in the book, such as:
1.       Never add anything that was not there.
2.       Never deceive the audience.
3.       Be as transparent as possible about your methods and motives.
4.       Rely on your own original reporting.
5.       Exercise humility.

Following these guidelines allow journalist to be loyal to the public and to their boss.

Journalism as a Profession

       Who is a professional journalist There are those who argue that journalists have a sole responsibility to the public and their interests, but in truth it is very difficult for journalists to maintain that responsibility to the public with corporate business people breathing down their necks. For example, Rupert Murdoch owns Fox News, and it has been very apparent in recent years that Murdoch’s political and social agenda is what the news organization pushes. This creates a conflict between Fox and its viewers. Those who do not subscribe to Fox’s viewpoints will change the channel. However, Fox’s ratings have been good enough in recent years, so the corporation probably doesn’t see a need to change their ways.
                In my opinion, it is near impossible for journalists to truly do their public duty because of news corporations. The corporations create revenue, which is important for the survival of the news organization; but that means sacrifice of journalistic values sometimes. Objectivity gets put on the backburner and viewers are left to decide whether to watch or change the channel.
                Ways to combat this are mentioned in the book, such as hiring business managers and journalists who put citizens first. Unfortunately when dealing with money, journalistic values aren’t always put first. In an ideal world, this would not be the case.