Elements of Media

 Tiffany C. Schafer

ts998115@ohio.edu

Ethical Journalism Slipping Through the Cracks

    Journalism and journalists have had a severe case of keeping up with the Joneses. The ongoing race to publish sensationalist headlines in hopes of getting a click from a naive reader has led the industry down a path that would have them facing widespread public distrust. 

  Information obtained in the reading The Elements of Journalism shows that human beings from the most remote corners of the planet, to major urban cities, ultimately want to be aware of the events we cannot see, because these engender a sense of security, control, and confidence. When there are cracks in the trust of those with whom we receive our news, we wipe away those feelings of security, control, and confidence.

     Online platforms have put their net earnings above their morality, and have focused more on isolating individuals by their political beliefs, demographics, and a range of other divisive issues. Online platforms have made billions off of clickbait, and sensationalist headlines that lack review, editing, and verification. This has led to a good chunk of the population feeling like there is nobody left to trust and we are just in a cesspool of false media.

  Former President Donald Trump coined the phrase "Fake News" which was widely popular with his supporters because it spoke to how they feel about the media in general, and is now a term used by many on both sides of the political aisle. I believe this term gained such popularity because it was an issue so many Americans resonated with, but felt was going unnoticed by those in charge. 

Duties of Journalists

    In our reading this week we learn that Journalism's very first obligation is the truth. Truth is a complex word, and leads us down a road that often begs the question, what is truth? In the video linked below, Aiden White who is the director of the Ethical Journalism Network would rather use the word "accuracy" than "truth" when defining the first obligation journalists hold. This short video is packed with valuable information regarding ethical journalism. While watching this, compare it to your favorite media outlet, and see if you can identify ways this specific media outlet has strayed from the principles of ethical journalism discussed in the video below. 

What can be done?

Media accountability is a real issue, not just in the United States, but across the globe. The first step to solving an issue as widespread as unethical, biased journalism beings with us, the consumers. This article published by Louisiana State University, Fight Fake News details ways we can start combating the issue. 

In this article, they have linked a quiz where they test your ability to verify if a piece of published media is a matter of news vs opinion, or if the article is credible. The quiz is a fun, 3-minute way to see how good you are at recognizing credible news. After all, being aware that there is false news in circulation can help you find more credible sources and become a more informed consumer. If the media outlets feel a pushback to their sensationalist headlines, we can only hope it would encourage them to change their ways.