mg671817@ohio..edu
The popular quote from the well known movie Spiderman, represents not only all superhero movies, but also journalists. Peter Parker stated "With power comes great responsibility." Now this isn't only true in terms of superhero movies, this quote is true in many other situations other than live action movies, specifically in journalism. As journalists we embody more responsibilities than creating good entertaining content, we hold the authority of providing our audience with information that they will use to make decisions for the rest of their life.
It may sound dramatic but it's true. Our audience is dependent on journalists providing them with the right content so they can use that information to make executive decisions. However these decisions don't have to be exceedingly important, they can be as simple as deciding whether to be vegetarian or not, whether to support a new business/product or not. But in some cases these decisions can be life changing and critical, such as decisions on who to vote for in a political election, which side to stand by in controversial issues. Us, as journalists, have the power to sway the publics opinion, and that holds a substantial amount of responsibility.
 |
| Image via Digital Journalism Blog |
For this class, we discuss the multiple jobs that a journalist holds. Journalists do as much as: research, establishing and maintaining contacts, interviewing sources, establishing their credibility, verifying statements and facts. And although there are so many tasks that a journalist holds these jobs are seen in newspapers, magazines, press agencies, websites, radio stations, television companies and so much more. Though journalists are not limited to these tasks or establishments, they are just a few that a job as a journalist embodies.
Though these tasks listed above all are different they all share one similarity: its the process of creating informational content for the audience to be able to look over and have a clear understanding of the situation to then be able to form their own opinion and essentially form a decision of where they stand.
The American Press Institute wrote an article discussing the purpose of journalism, "The purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments (API, 2019)." We have expectations that are to be met, but we also have decisions that need to be made. By providing our audience with as much information as possible with the most accurate recent sources, we don't only gain their trust to provide them this information, but with trust they are able to feel confident in their decisions.
Credibility is such an issue these days in journalism due to controversies in credibility sources, biased writings, and unprofessionalism. Because of these constant mistakes people aren't as trusting with who they get their information from. Our audience is only getting smarter as generations grow and they will do their research before just assuming your article holds all the answers.
Even though journalists don't get to walk around in fancy costumes and capes saving the world, we still have power that calls for great responsibility. Journalists are super heroes in their own way as they are here to save the public in terms of informing them on what is happening locally and globally. There is no room for mistakes whether it is a misspelling or grammar or something bigger like unconfirmed sources or false information, we are responsible for avoiding these mistakes just as superheroes have to avoid any mistakes or failures.
We all have the same goal whether that be saving a damsel in distress or reporting on new election candidates. We hold the responsibility of protecting and informing our citizens in order for them to make executive decisions.
https://guides.library.uwm.edu/c.php?g=130826
https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/resources/publications/ethical-choices-journalists-war/ethics-safety-solidarity-journalism
https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/journalism-essentials/what-is-journalism/purpose-journalism/
No comments:
Post a Comment