Where does the J go in life?

Sara Shookman
sshookman@gmail.com

It’s an issue that has recently been plaguing me as I transition into the role of working journalist. Where does the J go in life? How can I be a great journalist, but first a great person?

Conflicting interests
Conflicts of interest in journalism start with that inability to be a journalist free from being a person. Being a person is messy and complicated. We have wants, needs, feelings and innate preferences. Journalists shouldn’t have those ties. Journalists should be objective.

But conflicts of interest are not a question of objectivity. The notion of objectivity is skewed. It is not the journalist who is objective. We can’t be journalists without being people. Objectivity is in the method.

Truth in transparency
As a person who aspires to be a journalist, I see conflicts of interest as a lesson in transparency.

While it might be impossible to be objective, it is responsible to say what we are. In broadcast journalism, we are inviting ourselves into the homes of our viewers daily. We are asking for their trust. As people, how can we trust those we do not know? Being transparent allows us humanity while still reaching for that higher goal of fairness.

Buying the news
News is not only a service. It’s a business. It is easy to see the wrongs of “checkbook journalism,” but not every issue is so clear. As media companies are increasingly owned by public companies, investors have a right to know an objective truth about what they are buying.

In a business world, there is no free lunch. Nothing is gained without expectation. Although that exchange should rarely be monetary, what do we owe our sources? What do we owe our viewers? What do we owe ourselves?

One answer is transparency. The other is truth.

In the most difficult stories, I try my best to help those involved to realize the benefits of truth in the open. Sharing that goal with others starts with me.

A transparent truth won’t make me a great journalist. But I can’t to be a great journalist without being truthful about my intentions and my affiliations.

Related Links:
The New York Times Company has an entire section of their ethics code devoted to "On Our Own Time."