February 22, 2012

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Is the Media Truly Unbiased?

The Kindle New York Times

Image by B.K. Dewey via Flickr

Have you ever considered where you’re getting your information? The goal of journalism and news reporting is that the information presented is supposed to be unbiased. All information is to be presented, so that the public is left to form an opinion from that information.

The problem is that too much of the information is filtered. News comes from basically five corporations who control the newspapers, news broadcasts, etc. How do we know that the information we receive is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Sure, it’s important to keep some information private. Leaking some information could lead to soldiers being harmed, for example, because their location was leaked.

But for the most part, the public has a right to know how the government is being run, where tax money is being used, and so on. Whether news stories are being edited for the “public good” or to create sensationalist stories that will be more interesting, this type of news reporting is unacceptable.

Reporters and journalists need to be held to a high standard. Instead of skewing the news to fit their own agendas, the real information needs to be released so that the public can understand what is going on the world and do something about it. Creating fluff pieces that have no meaning or making something seem worse than it is is not true reporting. Truly, it’s a disgrace to journalism everywhere. Unless it’s an opinion piece, clearly stated, keep your opinions out of the news.

Filed Under: Media Tagged With: , ,

Are Bloggers Journalist?

These days anyone can claim to be a writer or journalist. The Internet gives every one an opportunity to write. Many blogs are written and maintained by journalists as a means to get their work out to the public. There are millions of blogs written by every day people that do not have an education in journalism or any formal writing training. Some of these blogs are news blogs, in which the writer provides commentary on published news events.

The Merriam-Webster definition of journalism is:

a: a person engaged in journalism; especially a writer or editor for a news medium

b: a writer who aims at a mass audience

By this definition, bloggers are journalist. However, they may not be good journalist. The Internet has changed the way we do many things. It has also changed journalism.

The majority of bloggers would never consider referring to themselves as journalist or at least not a professional journalist. Many bloggers do appeal to a mass audience and are quite successful. Many journalists may actually envy many of the successful bloggers.

Most people relate journalists with news reporting and few people would consider bloggers as journalists. In addition, most bloggers typically offer commentary on a journalist’s story. It is rare that a blogger breaks a news story to the public.

The Internet blurs the line between blogger and journalist. It also provides the vehicle for people to become writers and for journalist to publish work in the hopes of landing a great job. The Internet provides a place where everyone and anyone can express and opinion or an idea. Publishing on the Internet is a favorite past time of millions of people.

You only need to search once on a topic to realize the millions of articles that are on the Internet. Most will never be read since most people rarely advance to page two of search engines.

Filed Under: General, Journalism Tagged With: , ,

Yellow Journalism

Yellow Journalism is a term that was coined back in 1897 when two newspapers battled it out for a larger share of circulation. As the newspapers compete against each other, the use of outrageous headlines increased.

Many of today’s gossip rags are considered yellow journalism. This type of journalism is rarely based on solid facts. The stories are dramatized and written specifically to entice readers to purchase the paper. This is like fiction under the guise of real news.

Yellow journalism papers will print any story they believe will increase circulation. It matters not that the story is almost a complete fabrication. The point is to sell papers and sell as many as possible.

Many yellow journalism papers resort to outrageous headlines that often use scare tactics to engage readers so they will buy a paper. These types of newspapers do not spend time on fact checking or verifying sources. This is a different level of journalism that is only interested in making money selling their newspaper.

Millions of people find some of these yellow journalism papers entertaining. The stories are ridiculous and the average person realizes the story is fabricated. Most people do not take any of these papers seriously. However, there is a great deal of yellow journalism on the Internet.

Many people are unable to distinguish the validity of some of the stories that appear on the Internet. Unfortunately, many people believe much of what they read even though the story is not verified in any way. The story may be a valid news story; however, yellow journalists will interject information that is not factual to promote an agenda.

Yellow journalism is alive and well in some of the nation’s most popular gossip rags and on the Internet. It is only harmful when it presents itself as authentic news.

Filed Under: Journalism Tagged With: ,