2. What do you think about use of anonymous sources in American journalism today?
I think it is so cowardly. I am a sports fan, and this kind of stuff happens all the time, and it is so annoying. I am a Jets fan, and recently "anonymous" sources claimed that there was a huge rift between certain players and that the team was falling apart. Of course that was told to reports by a player who just didn't want to be the bad guy in front of his teammates. IF you have something to say, then claim it.
As with other branches of journalism, I think they are also weak. I think people need to be behind what gets spread into the media, so that people can ask further questions to that person, so that we don't have to hear people just speculate on the subject. That may be my biggest problem with anonymous sources; they leave everything up to speculation. When speculation enters into the field, many people make comments that can lead opinion in just absolutely incorrect directions and spawn completely false ideas. The last thing this country needs is an anonymous source telling them something that will completely be taken in the wrong light.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Modern Journalism
How well do you think modern American journalism tells the truth, and what thoughts or suggestions do you have about how that can be improved?
I think they tell the truth for the most part. The thing that I think may be up for a little discussion is how they may be leaving out critical parts or analyzing only part of the truth so that they can advance their own thoughts and agendas. This may not be the case on all sorts of journalism, but I believe that this is what is going on with modern day politics, and ancient politics for that matter. A suggestion that I have is that people when writing an article for whatever they write for, they should indicate before the article even starts what their political bias is, and in what direction they plan to spin this topic. Let me give you an example: for the most part, I enjoy watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Some days, they are clearly way way left, and it makes me angry what jokes they do and what they talk about. I'd rather be warned right away that they are going to be making fun of Romney, and praising how much Obama has done. I'd be sure to miss that day instead of wasting that time and not caring at all or agreeing about what I am hearing. Or when reading an article in the Wall Street Journal, I'd love to kn ow that this particular writer wants to show how Mitt Romney is just showing how good of an American he is by releasing his tax returns. There are several different ways to look at every single occurrence, and I just want to know which side I'm reading before I read it.
I think they tell the truth for the most part. The thing that I think may be up for a little discussion is how they may be leaving out critical parts or analyzing only part of the truth so that they can advance their own thoughts and agendas. This may not be the case on all sorts of journalism, but I believe that this is what is going on with modern day politics, and ancient politics for that matter. A suggestion that I have is that people when writing an article for whatever they write for, they should indicate before the article even starts what their political bias is, and in what direction they plan to spin this topic. Let me give you an example: for the most part, I enjoy watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Some days, they are clearly way way left, and it makes me angry what jokes they do and what they talk about. I'd rather be warned right away that they are going to be making fun of Romney, and praising how much Obama has done. I'd be sure to miss that day instead of wasting that time and not caring at all or agreeing about what I am hearing. Or when reading an article in the Wall Street Journal, I'd love to kn ow that this particular writer wants to show how Mitt Romney is just showing how good of an American he is by releasing his tax returns. There are several different ways to look at every single occurrence, and I just want to know which side I'm reading before I read it.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Daily Universe to weekly issues
The BYU newspaper went online recently. Along with this decision, they are reducing the Daily Universe to a weekly publication, no longer daily. This is good news, in my opinion, because the material that was being published daily was not the best news reporting I've ever read. The sports section was awful, incredibly biased as well. I guess that comes with living in a particular region, but only hearing about BYU sports and the woes of the Utah Jazz was annoying, at best. This is an opportunity for the students to take a little bit more time and get each article to a higher standard that will be enjoyed by a greater majority of the newspaper readers. It is quite sad that the Daily universe will be dead after decades of daily publications, but I guess the way that everything in the media is going online, it isn't the worst idea to follow that path. I am pretty excited to read the weekly papers, because I had lost most of my faith in the daily publications.
Who are Journalists?
According to our book "The Mind of a Journalist" journalists are people who: love to read and write, have an intense curiosity, have a desire to contribute, are independent, are on the inside, and like the challenge of going deeper. Yes, I just took the headings of each topic of the first chapter and said that those are journalists. But I believe those things, and I believe that they are more than that. I believe journalists are people who are concerned with getting the truth out into the open. Why do they do it? Maybe they want to be a famous journalist? Maybe they just like being someone who informs? It is different for each person, but the bottom line is for each and every journalist, there is a person who wants to inform. That should be the key for every journalist. IF they aren't informing, then they are doing it wrong. Being a faulty journalist is wrong for the people out there who do not know the truth.
What is Journalism?
Being a wonderful college student in the fine year of 2012, the first place that I go to to answer this question is the mighty Wikipedia. They give me the following answer:
"Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and business, journalism also covers cultural aspects of society such as arts and entertainment. The field includes editing, photojournalism, and documentary."
Thanks Wikipedia! You helped me be a journalist, and a fine one at that! I investigated my question and reported the event in a timely fashion! On a more serious note, I think that journalism is a wonderful part of our society. We all live our lives and have things to do. While that may be true, we are still concerned about other things that happen all over the world. We rely on journalists to get that information to us to help us know what is going on in the world. I am an avid sports fan. I love the LA Lakers. Living in Utah, I can only watch the games on national TV, but I care about more than just those games. I rely on journalists giving up to the second information on every game. (thank you Twitter!) I am glad I have that opportunity, unlike the people 30 years ago who had to wait for the newspaper to report on what happened in each game. Now I don't have to wait, and I love that about my generation!
"Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and business, journalism also covers cultural aspects of society such as arts and entertainment. The field includes editing, photojournalism, and documentary."
Thanks Wikipedia! You helped me be a journalist, and a fine one at that! I investigated my question and reported the event in a timely fashion! On a more serious note, I think that journalism is a wonderful part of our society. We all live our lives and have things to do. While that may be true, we are still concerned about other things that happen all over the world. We rely on journalists to get that information to us to help us know what is going on in the world. I am an avid sports fan. I love the LA Lakers. Living in Utah, I can only watch the games on national TV, but I care about more than just those games. I rely on journalists giving up to the second information on every game. (thank you Twitter!) I am glad I have that opportunity, unlike the people 30 years ago who had to wait for the newspaper to report on what happened in each game. Now I don't have to wait, and I love that about my generation!
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