The Public…They're Onto Us

Ben Clos
bc494010@ohio.edu

What Some Actually Think

There is news that happens every day. It becomes an issue for journalists to get the story out first, accurately and with an edge. There are many times that you will learn later, as more information is gathered about a news story, that some news is reported wrong.

Recently, there was a Facebook post from a friend that was regarding the shooting at LAX airport. It was never said what news station this was in reference to, but the opinions stand the same about the media.

I love how the LAX story went from "he shot 10 rounds" to "he came in and opened fired". Really? Hmmm sounds like another over dramatic media spin. My thoughts? We should make carrying a gun in airports illegal to stop the criminals. Oh wait...... 
Also! "Assault rifle" apparently means 'large, black, scary looking guns that go bang' to the media. Please, let me educate you on what said rifle really is:

"The translation assault rifle gradually became the common term for similar firearms sharing the same technical definition as the StG 44. In a strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle:
-It must be an individual weapon with provision to fire from the shoulder (i.e. a buttstock);
-It must be capable of selective fire;
-8It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle;
-Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable magazine rather than a feed-belt.
-And it should at least have a firing range of 300 metres

Rifles that meet most of these criteria, but not all, are technically not assault rifles despite frequently being considered as such. For example, semi-automatic-only rifles like the AR-15 that share parts or design characteristics with assault rifles are not assault rifles, as they are not capable of switching to automatic fire and thus are not selective-fire capable."

BOOM (or should I say BANG?) Now you know....

Obviously this is a person who feels that the media has a knowledge of how guns should be referred to and she is wise of what the media is trying to do. She feels as if the media is using the term "assault rifle" to make the thought of a public shooting more fearful.

The topic I believe she is most accurate on would be the description of the shooting. It happens in stories all of the time where a scene will start off as, "A shooter walked into the building with a gun in possession" to something of the effect that "A shooter walked into the building and immediately started shooting victims in the face." Now those are times that make you wonder, did that actually happen or does it just make a story sound better?

People's Lives in Our Hands

Another issue with reporting quickly and inaccurately is the fact that journalism has power. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but words themselves can have an incomparable amount of force behind them. In this article from July of this year, there is the story of what became a witch hunt for the Boston Bomber.

A user on Reddit posted a side-by-side photo of the released suspect photo from the FBI and a photo of Sunil Tripathi. This side-by-side photo soon went racing around the Internet and was an incorrect accusation of Tripathi. Now think of it this way, you wake up out of bed in the morning and get on your computer to check your typical sites and all over Facebook people are sharing a side-by-side photo of you being portrayed as the bomber from the Boston Marathon. 

This is where people's lives are in our hands as journalists. The public will believe what we tell them, at least for a while, until someone corrects you. If something is published and the facts are not checked, this can cause a stir for some time by the inaccurate news being spread around. When reporting stories about a person being involved in a crime, it is a huge issue if certain facts are not reported accurately, as this can become defamatory information used against a person. If found liable the author could be sued for damages. While journalists are not doctors, they can heal or hurt people's lives through their reputation. 

Everyone's a Journalist of Something

What most people don't realize is that when they post information they are being a journalist. Whether it is a blog, newspaper, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit or other social media, people do read things and they will take into consideration what you write.

Writing has been a tool since the founding of our country and even before. Writing is the topic for hundreds of years that has angered people because no one likes something reported on them negatively but, furthermore, inaccurately.

Everyone who writes on social media are acting as journalist. What needs to be done is taking the further step to act as a journalist and check the facts. Because the public is onto us and they are not going to stand for error.