ciaraw74@gmail.com
In this country, we can enjoy the freedom to dive into various media outlets and channels where we can take in news and gossip at our leisure. For some, the world of journalism is a very serious matter, and those folks are usually really careful with what they say, how they say it, and who they say it to. While on the other hand in this new day, anyone can be a journalist and those self-proclaimed journalists don't always care what they say or how they say it (or even who they say it to). In the book The Elements of Journalism, Kovach and Rosenstiel tell us that the original intent of journalism was to provide the public with all the information we need to be free and self governing. But, has that agenda changed over the years? Are the duties of journalists evolving as the idea of journalism has evolved? I like to think that journalism is a pretty easy field to wander in to these days, simply because everyone has an opinion and a platform that they can speak on, and we all know there is power in words. With media like Instagram and Facebook, we now have live coverage and around the clock action at our finger-tips day in and day out, from normal everyday citizens who have never had a real desire or passion for journalism. But we are exposed to opinions, criticisms, and debates over every topic you can imagine, all thanks to the evolution and the power of the media.
Robin Roberts, African American journalist and anchor
What we find today is that the news is more opinion-driven than it is factual anymore. Journalists who come to fame for their controversial topics and racist rants on national television like host Tomi Lahren who frequently criticize liberal politics on national television. At a point, you want to stop and think, "does this journalist not realize how controversial her statements are, and does she even care?" It is at that point where we realize that all journalists aren't in it for the true intent to serve the public with the information they need to be free and self-governing. It is those journalists who use their platform to engage and trigger audiences from various backgrounds in an attempt to increase ratings with their controversial standpoints, instead of engaging in a positive or educational manner, they prefer to disseminate and discredit the greatness of anyone who does not stand on their side. Thanks to platforms like Twitter, anyone can be a journalist and use tweets to raise awareness and combat journalists that tell "fake news." But is fake news, indeed fake? Or is it just the personal opinions of journalists that aren't true journalists? I listened to this ted talk where they discuss Journalism being a "noble calling". Listen here:
https://www.ted.com/talks/ann_curry_how_to_restore_trust_in_journalism?language=en
So what can we do to restore the true passion of journalism? Do we take away public access to their social media? Because the president would need his access revoked first. Spreading "news" and sharing topics via social media has become more powerful and dominant than news-casting. I say it will only get worse and the media and the public access to the media continues to grow and evolve. But, I am not a journalist...yet.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/12/fake-news-is-real-ai-is-going-to-make-it-much-worse.html
No comments:
Post a Comment