Logan Leduc
ll504616@ohio.edu
It is human nature to want to be "in the know" with the world around them. Journalism and news in general is passed, analyzed, and critiqued. Its target audience fluctuates and evolves and so does journalism because of it. In Chapter 1 of Bill Kovach's and Tom Rosenstiel's The Elements of Journalism, the authors piece together the concept known as the Awareness Instinct, originally brought to light by Michael Stephens. It is a concept that eats at humans, the longing to be updated, informed, and well-versed.
In the reality that we currently live in, it is vital to inform oneself with updates regarding COVID-19 cases and new or dynamic ways to keep oneself safe. It is vital to recognize the trends of social injustice in order to diversify one's thoughts and beliefs. It is vital to follow the political race so that one can figure out which candidate supports their morals and viewpoints. Journalism encompasses all of this. News is written to help people get informed, to help them recognize, and to help them follow a certain path. Journalism alters one's decision-making and here lies the Awareness Instinct.
It is true over any platform or any topic. From politics to sports and everything in between, humans always want to see what's going on and what's happening next. Rarely do we worry about what has passed, we look toward the next generation of news, to the future. In a YouTube video, Tom Rosenstiel elaborates on a quote his friend and writing partner, Bill Kovach said, "Every generation invents its own journalism." In an article titled, Distinguishing Between Factual and Opinion Statements in the News, a study was conducted and found that "Republicans and Democrats are more likely to think news statements are factual when they appeal to their side -- even if they are opinions." This proves that journalism is evolving and so do ideals, especially in the current landscape where many people are divided and tend to side with their news outlet rather than hearing out each others' opinion.
Tom Rosenstiel continues on stating, "Professional journalism rose from Enlightenment so that information once held by few could be shared by many."Any one person can create their own content and promote their opinions and facts to the masses. As one scrolls through Twitter, one can notice the mind-boggling amount of different news sources and how everyone has an opinion. It is journalists' responsibility, from an ethical standpoint, to dive into those opinions and decipher what is factual and of contribution to society. The world has this awareness instinct and it is a great tool to have, but it is also imperative that the many people who take in this news are taking in real value.
Image Courtesy of digitalresource.center
In A Free Press Needs You, Thomas Jefferson states, "Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle." This was centuries ago and yet we still have this notion of "fake news."
It is important for people to retrieve and understand the news in the quickest way possible. We all want to be aware, but it is our duty as journalists to not only push awareness on many ideals, but that we are pushing awareness on the facts. Quality over quantity ultimately leads to a more unified society because then society is "in the know" on the correct information.
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