Gotta check the facts

Class discussion this time was about journalism of verification. According to The Elements of Journalism verification is the essence of journalism, meaning if you don't check your facts and make sure you are telling the truth... then it's not really journalism.

Journalism of verification requires checking and double checking your sources, quotes, facts, information, everything.  That is the ideal... don't report it just for the sake of reporting.  But, we know that journalists are on a time constraints and there is the ever present pressure to be the first one to get the news out.  This is where journalism of assertion comes in.  There's an interesting article  titled, Journalism by Assertion Rather Than Verification. The article talks about this pressure and how unfortunately, immediacy sometimes wins out over fact checking.  It says:
.   "For airline industry officials, the immediate action seems plain enough. When a big-time safety-related story breaks, the cooler, more professional heads in the media are likely to be outnumbered by transient amateurs chasing what Shakespeare called "the bubble reputation." Officials staring at a packed roomful of reporters and banks of television cameras are advised to err on the side of caution. Stick to known facts, not presumed, assumed or purported facts."

The article is suggesting that journalists should only report the facts and not worry about getting a big reputation.  Lakia showed a good example of this with the clip from ESPN radio.  The announcer didn't report what everyone else was, because he 1. figured it wasn't true and 2. the facts weren't out.  This announcer saved himself a lot of embarrassment by not giving in to the pressure of reporting just because everyone else is. 

How does this affect bias? I don't know if there really is a direct connection between verification and bias.  I guess if you are sure that you have your facts right and are really really trying to report just the facts, then that could assist you in being more unbiased.  However, we talked more about managing your bias and making things more balanced.  When you are aware of your biases(?) then you can see where you are showing more bias than not.  Sounds great on paper, but can it really be done?  One reporter named John Stossel wrote an article about his experiences called The Double Standard About Bias in Journalism. He talked about his career and how he figured out how to be more profitable, "Then, gradually, I figured out that business, for the most part, treats consumers pretty well. The way to get rich in business is to create something good, sell it for a reasonable price, acquire a reputation for honesty, and keep pleasing customers so they come back for more."  Later he recounts how this changed when he changed his way of reporting. "
My reporting changed. I started taking skeptical looks at government—especially regulation. I did an ABC TV special, "Are We Scaring You to Death?" that said we TV reporters often make hysterical claims about chemicals, pollution, and other relatively minor risks. Its good ratings—16 million viewers—surprised my colleagues. Suddenly, I wasn't so popular with them. I stopped winning Emmys."  He said there is a bias in journalism as well as a double-standard.... this leads actually into the topic of showing intellectual humility...

Elements says, "Journalists should be humble about their own skills."  It goes on to describe the meaning... saying they need to be skeptical about what they see and hear, but also be skeptical about their own ability to know what it really means.  Also that you are open-minded enough to accept the next person that you talk to.  I'm assuming that when you are humble enough to know that you aren't the greatest thing since sliced-bread (why do I think of Top Gun?) that you will be able to have more well-rounded stories... and who knows... maybe you will even get a whole new twist to a story, just because you were humble.  No wonder it's also a christlike attribute.

How can media best serve democracy?  This is the wonderful thing about being a journalist in America! Due to the wonderful  first amendment, we have the freedom of speech, press, to assemble, religion, etc.  The media can report on what is happening in our government and call the public to action!  The media can bring awareness to the public it serves.  In class we also talked about it being a two way communication between the leaders of the country and the people. Just think back to the 2008 elections (ok so I'm not the expert as I was in another country on a mission away from news or TVs)... but I can only imagine that the election was kind of a big deal that took up a lot of air time.  Here's what CNN was reporting.  Without the media... getting out campaign promises, information about the candidates, etc would be extremely difficult! People even like Stephen Colbert wouldn't even have a medium to give his little spin on what Colbert Nation should do. (How do you post videos?.. just click on Stephan Colbert to see it).  Anyway, the media plays a big role in democracy in that it gives the voiceless a voice.  It has the ability to call people to action, to make a difference and to bring awareness to all.  They can be the watchdog for the people they serve.  Media plays a huge role in society today.

P.S. Big thanks to Don Hudson and Professor Nelson for taking time to come and give us the real life application!!