Rh972116@ohio.edu
In Elements of Journalism chapter 10 it is stated that, "In the end Journalism is an act of character." Most journalists have good intentions despite the current state of the media portraying journalists otherwise. This quote is an important tie-in because the public will view journalism as a whole based off of their perception of the journalists good or bad faith. If the public thinks a journalist has bad intentions then they will not trust the media and will not take journalists seriously no matter how good their work may be. However poor journalism can even be viewed as better in the public's eyes if it stems from what is perceived as good intentions from the public.
There are so many good examples of the media holding the government accountable throughout history and exposing them of doing some not so good things. Even the founding fathers knew that journalism acted as another set of checks and balances on the government, forcing them to be transparent with the public. In the New York Times article The Free Press Needs You, it reminds us that Thomas Jefferson stated that, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
The table has been turned against journalists in their fight to deliver the truth to the public. Some members of the public believe that journalists are all corrupt and working deviously to take down enemies. This downplays all journalism and presents a threat of security as it allows the government to get away with whatever they want. This issue is more important than it is given credit. Without truth in journalists there is no way for the truth to get out and without the truth a democracy is nothing.
As journalists we have a responsibility to act on character and good intentions. A journalists purpose is to reveal the truth. From a local level it is a journalists responsibility to treat respect to those they are involved with and rather than attack groups, give them a fair chance to represent themselves in a story. If one journalist fails to live out this truth the whole group is negatively affected. We can reverse the damage already done by supporting good journalism. Sharing journalism from some of the incredible authors who have put time and effort into creating meaningful, truthful pieces. We can also help by not supporting or sharing clickbait stories, which only add fuel to the fire for anti-journalism feelings.
As a student journalist I am just as responsible as a large publisher to hold true to these values. I could be reporting on something as small as a local coffee shop. It is my duty to seek out the truth, respect the people involved with the story and to make sure I am covering the story on all angles. One person's bad experience with a journalists, even if it just a student journalists from a local college, adds up to all the difference between gaining back the publics trust in journalism.
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