Journalism- A Test of Character

Gabrielle Albright

ga210814@ohio.edu

Everyday, thousands of journalists have the responsibility to discover and relay the truth. Everyday, they also have a choice to ensure that truth, is in fact- true.

Journalism isn't like any other area of work where reality can be altered, stretched, or entirely disregarded to the consumers. Society’s perception of the world depends on the skills of each journalist to seek and discover the story and to clearly communicate it.

What People Want Out of Their News

From ancient civilizations to present day the public has desired the same combination from their news sources- whether that be from a man who had just run 20 miles back from the neighboring village, or the New York Times. They need the information to be accurate and engaging.

Truth Requires Integrity 

As any journalist will know, there is always a varied level of effort that must be put into a news piece to ensure its accuracy. From finding the bones of the story, to the names of those involved, every detail requires effort. It is the choice of the journalist and publication to elevate each of these details to be important and correct.

There are two ways that gathered information can false- either through being honestly mislead, or through a blatant stretch to improve the story and to personally benefit the writer.

A current obstacle that news outlets are facing right now is the temptation to gain information from previous writings posted on the internet. A positive shift with journalism moving online is that it has created a larger platform for the work to be fact-checked. People from all over the world now have the ability to see mostly any newspaper out there- large or small, and the voice to call them out on any "fake news”. In the case of Jayson Blair the editor of a local California newspaper was able to email the The New York Times to report his plagiarism.

Unfortunate events like Blair’s continual plagiarism in a major newspaper damage the reputation of journalist across the globe. Their reputation is also being threatened by the massive amounts of information- true or false- which is being spread on the internet.

The Drawbacks of the Internet and Social Media

Sometimes the work of highly renowned and hardworking journalist is blurred and blended amongst other sites and posts that are provide false information. It has become somewhat difficult for the public to determine the difference between them since they may both appear to be reliable and professional.

Society at large depends on news for feeling savvy, informed and connected, which has led to the trend of people "sharing" news clips (credible or not) on social media. Thus, it is very easy for false information to spread.

How Journalists Should Move Forward 

It is no secret that there is very little trust towards journalists in the current age. Writers can either choose to address this upfront and move forward, or we can succumb to the "fake news" bashing and spiral.

Integrity and honesty is something that has always been important and integrated into this profession, but now more than ever it is important to be translucent.

With the internet allowing virtually anything to be able to appear as reliable and fact-checked news, the professionals must stand out and stay the course.

The Hill posts a screenshot of text tweeted by Donald Trump which says that The New York Times produces fake news.