The Controversy Continues

Megan Carnahan

mc054910@ohio.edu

Blog 3

The Controversy Continues

It never fails that there are conflicting ideas and beliefs about the media. We, as journalists, are in control of how we report. And from reading all of these articles, it shows that we can do a way better job of how we conduct ourselves. What happened to our core journalistic values and ideas? They are NOT supposed to be thrown out the window just because we want to be the first to report.

Respect the People

In the article “How the Media Treated Me” by NewsLab, we read about ordinary people being thrown into the media spotlight because of tragedies. It is clear that though this article started with a story that shed the media in a positive light, the rest didn’t seem to follow suit. We, as journalists, do have a tough job, as we must find the balance between telling hard truth while minimizing harm to our subjects.

Ethical reasoning is something that should be learned worldwide by reporters. In the article “Newtown and News Media: Mix of Tension and Gratitude” by Michael Malone, the title pretty much says it all. Though some residents of Newtown and other nearby places were happy with how the media handled the reports of the shootings, others were very upset. The few media outlets that were left waiting outside of Jessica Reko’s funeral received mostly negative comments from those that saw them there.

"I understand you have a job to do, but show some respect," said a young woman after the funeral.

She’s exactly right. We do have a job to do. However, we MUST be ethically reasonable in our reporting and be sure not to cross the line.

Photo courtesy of karen-keller.com

                                                        Technology vs. Tradition    

The article “Crime Coverage Now Requires Constantly ‘Feeding the Beast’” by David J. Krajicek made me realize just how important and massive the usage of the Internet has become in our journalistic endeavors.

This can either be a good thing or a bad thing. With our crazy appetite for stories comes the tolerance of “thinly sourced, incompletely reported stories.” Yes, the Internet is a way for us to get news out there right at the exact moment something happens. But the Internet allows anyone to report something, via the likes of Twitter and Facebook. And with multiple reports, comes the likelihood for errors and false information, ultimately lowering journalists’ credibility. The danger of providing false information is noted in this article about how speed trumps accuracy on the world wide web.

Don’t Point Fingers

                
Sometimes the media takes a hit in how well we gain or don’t gain the public’s trust. The article, “Want to Stop Mass Murder? Muzzle the Press!” by Christopher Hanson poses a huge controversy over whether the media gives too much attention to the perpetrators who have conducted the mass shootings that our country has seen over the years.

Journalists’ obligations are sticking to the hard facts and to report the truth. If we do not put information about the prime suspects in these mass shootings out there, the result will be even more questions and controversy from the public. Reporters need not to sensationalize these mass murders, but we should never stray away from harsh facts. World News Publishing Focus has posted an article that gives ideas on how to rebuild and gain back public trust in the media.

Photo courtesy of activewebgroup.com

So…

                
Journalists need to try to ignore the pressures of being first and not fall victim to sensationalizing certain stories. It is problems like these that have resulted in a decrease of the public’s trust in the media. We must do our best to keep up with the new technologies are being created while still sticking to our main values. We are in control.