Journalists Staying Independent

It is important for journalists to stay independent from the things that they write about because if they are too close to the subject, than that is personal. So it can easily turn into either PR love or hatred.

The debate we had in class was tough. I was put on a side that I did not agree with initially. Arguing that people should not have to disclose personal information. It really made me look for the reasons behind this argument, because naturally I would not come to that conclusion.

My major question was, well how much information is enough? Where people grew up, how old they are, if they had siblings, what cities they have lived in, where they went to school, if they have kids, if they are vegetarian… everything influences our point of view and therefore our writing. In class, some people made the argument that if you are vegetarian, that won’t influence the way you write about marriage. Though the majority of the population will agree with you on that, there are some people who will disagree. So do you only divulge enough information to satisfy the majority?

Giving all background information on a journalist will probably never happen. So is it better to give some than none? The risk with only shedding some light on their life is that it doesn’t give the full picture, and that can easily mislead people. This decision full of grey areas and I am glad I do not have to make it.

This CNN article talks about how journalists were told not to voice opinions but now some are asked to share. The reason? Money. Money is the reason they did not give opinions, and now it’s the same reason that they are. It asks the question, do people really want unbiased articles now or do they want a bias they agree with? If we disclose all information about journalists, than readers can easily find bias that they like.

This is a video talking about an NPR journalist who was fired for making “racist” comments. There was a lot of talk around this specific issue and trying to determine if this man was a “journalist” and should be held to that same standard. This journalism standard is what makes everything so hard. It’s not always clear. So when trying to figure out how to disclose information and how much, it’s just a guess. And everyone feels strongly about their own idea.