Journalists as Ideologues

Everyone sees the world through different "lenses" - and journalists are no different! In order to have objectivity as a journalist, it does not mean that I need not have opinions on the world around me. Certainly, the fact that I was raised where I was, by parents with certain political viewpoints, in the LDS church, etc. affects my personal beliefs. Objectivity in journalism can be more accurately described as being able to see the world through other lenses, as well as my own, and report accurately on the facts I have collected. Ignorance of other viewpoints and "lenses" in journalism can lead a journalist to lack credibility.

An important part of the lesson focused on journalistic values, and how they influence the stories we cover.

* Altruistic Democracy
* Responsible Capitalism
* Order
* Moderatism
* Leadership
* Small-town Pastoralism
* Rugged Individualism

These values influence the stories we choose to cover because they are the values which we try to reflect - as they are similar among most Americans. Are these values "Liberal?" To some people, they may seem that way, but in fact they are more accurately described as "reformist" values.

Some things that a journalist should NEVER do are to infer what people are feeling or thinking, and to make judgments on if a person is right or wrong. This goes from the fact that revealing your sources is imperative to achieve credibility. If we start making assumptions about when a person is angry or what they are thinking we might as well be fiction writers!

As far as politics go, I thought it was interesting that the distribution of journalists among political parties is similar to the distribution of Americans among the political parties. I also thought an interesting part of the lecture was about which associations and clubs are okay to be a part of and why we should stay away from close involvement with too many groups. This is something I want to consider on my own more in the future.

Click HERE to see a video of Anderson Cooper helping a child that was hurt during the looting after the earthquake in Haiti. I think this is an interesting video because it falls right into the discussion of whether or not it is okay for a journalist to become involved in the stories they cover. I think it is natural for us as humans to feel when we cover the news. I don't think we should be involved in EVERY story that we do, but I do believe we have a right and a responsibility, just as a dentist or a lawyer would, to help out when we can in a disaster. I am not suggesting that we make ourselves the center of the story - but turn off the camera and see what you can do to help. Another VIDEO shows Anderson Cooper's frustration as he tells a journalist that they should not just cover a story of death and destruction without even lifting a finger to help out in the situation. Feeling emotions is not a bad thing - in fact, it can fuel our desires to get the story right. There is a fine line, though, in becoming too involved in the story so that we cannot tell it accurately. I think decisions should be made situationally, a journalists needs to choose which battles to fight when it comes to the objectivity versus advocacy dilemma.