The most memorable part of the lecture last week, besides him amazing ring tone going off, was when the presenter told us that he wakes up every morning asking himself “what is truth?” or something unto that. Most people wake up and first think about coffee of their children or how to make more money. But journalists do have a different perspective on life and the presenter made that clear.
Now, in reference to the book when it said that journalists are secluded and have no friends and should have no friends for the decency of their work… well that is just not true. Journalists are not so strange and different so that they can’t have friends, and they do not need to set themselves apart from personal interactions for the sake of their stories. A journalist writes to the people, and what better way to know how to write to the people than to talk to these people every day.
The presenter gave the example that he could not write about his son’s high school because it is his son’s. Even if he writes with no bias, other people can point and say, “Well his son goes there,” if they do not agree with the content of the article. So while being a part of the community is crucial, we need to not let it get in the way of our writing and our seek to find and share the truth.
Though it is strange as a member of the Church to hear journalism called a priesthood, I guess it is sort of true in a more worldly manner. More than a “priesthood,” I liked when the text referred to it as the fourth estate. Because ever since the start of this country, journalism and the press has been called to serve for the country. And all journalists see it as their duty to share problems or corruption that they find so that wrongs can be made right.
This is an article that discusses how the future of journalism and the technology today is destroying the priesthood behind journalism. It was written about a conference of journalists speaking about the topic journalism's future.
Connecting also to a topic we discussed a few weeks ago, truth vs. fairness. This is an article that discusses journalism’s higher calling and to not always produce equal sides to a story because there may not be equal sides. It was interesting to hear a newspaper talk about themselves and print a story assuring their audience that they do in fact have a higher calling to serve the people. So no matter what you call it, priesthood, fourth estate or something else, it is important to our society.
1 comment:
I like how you pointed out that journalists can have friends too! We talk about it in a sort of joking way, but I think it is a real concern amoung those going into the journalist profession. Although it's true that journalists need to separate themselves and their sources to a certain extent, I believe you can be amiable and friendly without compromising the quality of your story. Becoming a hermit with no social ties is not part of the job description.
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