When writing news reports, it is a journalist’s job to tell the facts in a truthful and objective way. According to Tickle, "the preamble of the Australian Journalists Association section of the MEAA Code of Ethics opens with 'Respect for truth and the public's right to information are fundamental principles of journalism.' However, the fundamental principles of journalism are often forgotten in the 21st century. This is because, according to Tickle, journalists face "time pressures, market forces, law, work culture and practices." Within this, comes the fact that news values, or what is in the public interest has disappeared and been replaced by news organisations attempting to produce the story first. This has comes about because of the continual rise of the internet and citizen journalism. In this instance, what we see in the news is interpreted in many different ways. Some will see it as being truthful, while others will not. Of course, journalists are still very important when it comes to reporting events, but they are not as trusted as they once were.
With this in mind, it is important to discuss what makes a good and trustworthy journalist. Amabile and Tighe suggest that in order for a journalist to succeed, they must have a level of expertise in the domain. This includes, “basic intelligence for doing work in the domain, as well as knowledge acquired through formal and informal education.” A journalist must know the field before they enter it, because they must have the necessary skills, including how to conduct interviews as well as being able to write for each form of news media. Robert H. Giles and Robert W. Snyder believe that the journalists “will be more formally educated and more inclined to be independent thinkers who cannot be easily duped or manipulated” in the future Journalists with strong analytical skills will be better able to uncover new facets to their stories, thus promoting independent and original thinking. According to Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi and Damon, a managing editor who trains many young reporters told them that every good journalist must develop “a method of systematically talking to everyone about something, and going back and going back, building for knowledge… figuring out what other people say happened, checking and cross-checking, absorbing others’ motivations and putting it together in stories.” This therefore points to the fact that the only way to have truth and objectivity in the media is for journalists to be trained to do so.
In addition to this point, according to Bowman and McIlwaine, suggest that there are several phases of story development. "Each stage requires a different focus from journalists seeking to provide a truly comprehensive coverage." This includes the research and interviewing stage. As Bowman and McIlwaine state, "this theorisation allows journalists more readily to access the type of enquiry that is needed, and in turn, the sorts of interview questions that are appropriate." Essentially, there may be a number of stories from the original topic.
The second stage is known as analytical reporting. This is where journalists look for the answers to the how and why. They ask the institutions and authorities involved in the event. In this stage, journalists want to know who was responsible, who is to blame, or praise for their actions. In the Melbourne Storm scandal, journalists uncovered that the former CEO, Brian Waldron and fellow executives were involved. All of this can be seen to be in the public interest, as the Storm of a sporting team that is always in the public spotlight.
Finally, the third stage is that of reflective reporting. Here, journalists dig deeper and look for the negligence of officials involved. With the Melbourne Storm, it immediately became apparent that the executives were attempting to keep all of their players at the club. This can also be said to be a broader social trend, as Rugby League clubs are always attempting to keep their star players. However, it is impossible to do so because of the salary cap. Also, within this stage, those involved were forced to resign from their positions.
Another interesting point is the fact that there is evidence to suggest that news organisations are influenced by news agencies. According to Nick Davies, this happened when "BBC News 24 on 21st November, 2005 ran a story about the Ministry of Defence agreeing to pay five million pounds compensation to the family of a banker who had died landing his private plane after an RAFF helicopter flew onto the runway." Apparently, the story had already appeared on the BBC's website three days earlier. It had been filed by Strand News. The fact that Press Associates did not publish the story beforehand stopped the channel from reporting on it earlier. In this instance, it can be said that information is copied by other agencies, and thus, may not be truthful and objective.
Propaganda also becomes an issue in the media, as doctored, faked and/or manipulated material has begun to hit the news bulletins. It is all about getting viewers and provoking emotions. Once the news is proven to be false, the general public loses more faith in journalism.The first stage of enquiry is that the event is happening, or reactive reporting. This is where the journalist reports on the events and observed facts connected to the event. These may be a combination of lives lost, property damaged, times and places. In this stage, the information is provided by people, whether they be media conferences, or documents. An example of this is the recent Melbourne Storm salary scandal. The journalists involved in breaking the story were able to report on the allegations of how much they were over the salary cap, as well as obtain information about how long it had been occurring and those who were allegedly involved. They were also able to obtain information from the NRL on the punishment handed down (stripping of their minor premierships and premierships during the years, all points they had earned being stripped, as well as the team not being able to acquire points.)
With this in mind, it is important to discuss what makes a good and trustworthy journalist. Amabile and Tighe suggest that in order for a journalist to succeed, they must have a level of expertise in the domain. This includes, “basic intelligence for doing work in the domain, as well as knowledge acquired through formal and informal education.” A journalist must know the field before they enter it, because they must have the necessary skills, including how to conduct interviews as well as being able to write for each form of news media. Robert H. Giles and Robert W. Snyder believe that the journalists “will be more formally educated and more inclined to be independent thinkers who cannot be easily duped or manipulated” in the future Journalists with strong analytical skills will be better able to uncover new facets to their stories, thus promoting independent and original thinking. According to Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi and Damon, a managing editor who trains many young reporters told them that every good journalist must develop “a method of systematically talking to everyone about something, and going back and going back, building for knowledge… figuring out what other people say happened, checking and cross-checking, absorbing others’ motivations and putting it together in stories.” This therefore points to the fact that the only way to have truth and objectivity in the media is for journalists to be trained to do so.
In addition to this point, according to Bowman and McIlwaine, suggest that there are several phases of story development. "Each stage requires a different focus from journalists seeking to provide a truly comprehensive coverage." This includes the research and interviewing stage. As Bowman and McIlwaine state, "this theorisation allows journalists more readily to access the type of enquiry that is needed, and in turn, the sorts of interview questions that are appropriate." Essentially, there may be a number of stories from the original topic.
The second stage is known as analytical reporting. This is where journalists look for the answers to the how and why. They ask the institutions and authorities involved in the event. In this stage, journalists want to know who was responsible, who is to blame, or praise for their actions. In the Melbourne Storm scandal, journalists uncovered that the former CEO, Brian Waldron and fellow executives were involved. All of this can be seen to be in the public interest, as the Storm of a sporting team that is always in the public spotlight.
Finally, the third stage is that of reflective reporting. Here, journalists dig deeper and look for the negligence of officials involved. With the Melbourne Storm, it immediately became apparent that the executives were attempting to keep all of their players at the club. This can also be said to be a broader social trend, as Rugby League clubs are always attempting to keep their star players. However, it is impossible to do so because of the salary cap. Also, within this stage, those involved were forced to resign from their positions.
Another interesting point is the fact that there is evidence to suggest that news organisations are influenced by news agencies. According to Nick Davies, this happened when "BBC News 24 on 21st November, 2005 ran a story about the Ministry of Defence agreeing to pay five million pounds compensation to the family of a banker who had died landing his private plane after an RAFF helicopter flew onto the runway." Apparently, the story had already appeared on the BBC's website three days earlier. It had been filed by Strand News. The fact that Press Associates did not publish the story beforehand stopped the channel from reporting on it earlier. In this instance, it can be said that information is copied by other agencies, and thus, may not be truthful and objective.
Propaganda also becomes an issue in the media, as doctored, faked and/or manipulated material has begun to hit the news bulletins. It is all about getting viewers and provoking emotions. Once the news is proven to be false, the general public loses more faith in journalism.The first stage of enquiry is that the event is happening, or reactive reporting. This is where the journalist reports on the events and observed facts connected to the event. These may be a combination of lives lost, property damaged, times and places. In this stage, the information is provided by people, whether they be media conferences, or documents. An example of this is the recent Melbourne Storm salary scandal. The journalists involved in breaking the story were able to report on the allegations of how much they were over the salary cap, as well as obtain information about how long it had been occurring and those who were allegedly involved. They were also able to obtain information from the NRL on the punishment handed down (stripping of their minor premierships and premierships during the years, all points they had earned being stripped, as well as the team not being able to acquire points.)
Five documentaries, entitled Pallywood, which clearly shows a fierce battle between the Palestinians and Israelis is one such example. There are numerous casualties, including a man who is hit in the leg.
In this instance, an ambulance quickly pulls up. However, it does not pull up right in front of the injured man. Instead, the man is dragged back to the ambulance, where he is loaded onto a stretcher (on his right leg). There are no cries of agony from the man, suggesting that the whole scene has been staged. There are also many other such scenes, meaning propaganda is destroying journalism in that it is not truthful and objective anymore.
With all of this in mind, it is clear to see that journalism has to quickly address this issue if it wants to return to be a trusted profession.
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