Truth?

Truth and Media

What is truth? Who’s to say it is truth? And what role does a journalist play in producing the truth? These are all questions that a journalist must negotiate with themselves to be able to ethically deliver a story. In my opinion truth is multiple things; truth deals with context, truth deals with public discretion, and truth is evolving information.

Context is key when it comes to delivering the truth. Surely you could tell someone that a shooting occurred in your neighborhood this morning. But if you don’t put it in the context of the shooting being a be-be gun and two friends knocking cans down with every shot the person receiving the information is going to get an entirely different story. What you may have said about there being a shooting was technically truth, but put into a different context and the truth gets confused. It’s important as journalists to make sure the context of the story is clearly stated so that the truth being delivered is delivered as just that; truth.

Public discretion of what truth is occurs every day. When people read the newspaper, watch the news, or hear passerby speak of something that happened they decide in their minds which parts were truth and which parts were made bigger for the story. Journalists are supposed to give the right amount of information to allow the public to make inform decisions themselves. Oftentimes this could even mean leaving out a few things that we know to be true because it could bias the story or it’s simply not needed for the context of that specific story. As was stated in the book The Elements of Journalism, “Since news is the material that people use to learn and think about the world beyond themselves, the most important quality is that I be usable and reliable.”

Meaning that news is the way the average person gets information outside of their bubble of a life, and because this is the main way most people get their information it’s a journalist’s job to give them accurate and relatable material that they can then discern for themselves.

Our world is on demand now. Because anyone can get any information they want with the touch of a finger or click of a button it’s important for journalists to get the story out quick. However, to get the story out quick there’s always the possibility of giving out information that may change as the story evolves. Because of the evolving media we live in journalists aren’t discredited for writing or reporting something that later comes out to be inaccurate as long as they again come out with the correct information later. People have become very attached to what is going on right now, so news  and media get the stories out as quickly as possible and then verify new facts later, as long as there is no opinion or bias brought into the story this process is all part of truth in the media.

Ethics play a large role in the life of a journalist, much of that is how to decipher and publish the truth. Truth doesn’t have an exact definition, so each person must decide for themselves what truth is and what they’re willing to publish. For me I deem it necessary to put things in context, keep my bias and opinion out allowing the people to discern things for themselves, and always return to a story if the initial facts were misleading or incorrect.

What is Journalism?

Nicole Hillstead

Comms 239 Sec001

1/8/11

Words: 392

What is Journalism?

A word is merely a word without a definition. Definitions come in all shapes and sizes, according to its interpretation by each individual person. Some may hear the word journalism and think only of the newspaper or define it as “writing articles” to me, journalism is much more than “writing articles.” Journalism is a three step process; gather information, share the information, and create an art form out of the information.

            It’s a journalist’s job to gather meaningful and truthful information. It is not enough to hear it through the grapevine and publish it, that would be publishing gossip and there is plenty of that already occurring today. Journalists interview multiple people through a few different ways; person to person, through the phone, or via electronic devices such as e-mail. They must collect enough information to be able to write a compelling story, and they must be able to back up their facts as actual facts.

            Sharing the information with others is the reason journalists exist. People want to know what’s going on, how long it’s been going on, where, why, who’s involved, everything. It’s a natural instinct to be curious about the unknown, and as journalists we give them information to the unknown.

            Creating an art form from the information is where journalism gets trickiest. But good writing defines a good journalist. A careful choice of words can create a very large audience, and an assuming choice of words can hinder the amount of readers. Many journalists have their own unique writing style which appeals to different kinds of people. Some take on a sarcastic view, others a very factual, and some just want to make the reader laugh, but whatever style it is each one is carefully thought about and created to inform the public in an interesting way.

            Journalism is taking on many new forms these days. With the internet it is easier for the average Joe to be the one hit wonder of journalism. People are beginning to turn away from newspapers and are finding other outlets to gather their information, which is why some would say the world of journalism is dying. But those people are wrong. With each new form journalism takes on the three step process still exists; gather information, share the information, and create an art form out of the information.