Independence & Journalism

I’m the kind of person who stands in the awkward silence of the elevator with the old man bustling to work and I wonder what his story is. I’m the kind of person who, when sitting at a stoplight, sees the cute couple in the car to my right and I wonder what their story is. I’m the kind of person that loves digging into life’s stories. I’m a story-listener and a story-teller. Even more than that, I’m a journalist. The hardest distinction between the two roles is separating a story from myself--Learning the importance of independence in conjunction with journalism.

I almost always develop a love for stories I discover, and I tend to want to get involved with them. As a journalist, I need to be more conscious of that. You can still be a journalist and have opinions – you’re readers/viewers need to be aware of what opinion you have. I believe it is a journalistic duty to disclose your beliefs to your audience, especially if the story could be a potential conflict of interest.

As a member of the LDS church, if I was asked to report a story on Mormonism, I think it would be only fair to disclose my affiliation with the church to be fair to my viewers. The same goes for political views. I think it's ok for a journalist to be affiliated with a political party or politician as long as they're honest about it. It's an American right. As discussed in previous blogs, taking an independence in journalism, I believe, coincides with transparency and honesty. Regardless of what is being reported, it is important to remain as objective as possible while maintaining an independence.

Group 7 talked about William Safire, a speechwriter for Nixon who was recruited to the New York Times, who was a conservative. The NYT staff had a hard time accepting him at first because he wasn't a "homegrown" journalist, but after saving a co-workers child at a company event, he came to be accepted. A point that was brought up in class was that as long as he was willing to abide by journalistic standards and he has the talent of being a good writer...why couldn't he be a journalist? I think he was a great example of independence and transparency because he didn't hide who he was and what he stood for. Safire had opinions but he disclosed them and made himself transparent. (click here to read columns by William Safire)

Another question in group 7's presentation was "Can we rightly call opinion journalists, journalists?" Of course they are! They're still writing things that are news and include facts. Fact gathering and verification are required despite opinion output. Facts don't change whether you have an opinion or not.

"Having an opinion is not only allowable, not only natural, but it is also valuable to the natural skepticism with which an good reporter approaches a story. But a journalist must be smart enough and honest enough to recognize that opinion must be based on something more substantial than personal beliefs if it is to be of journalistic use. It is not about believing in people...It is a craft based on reporting, learning, understanding and educating. Creating barriers to this process of discovery is, in the end, being disloyal to the public." - Elements of Journalism

I found this interesting article about journalism vs. opinion - http://blog.us.cision.com/2010/11/are-journalists-and-influencers-two-separate-groups/

No matter what a journalist's medium may be, it's important to be a people person, no matter what your background or bias may be. Maintain an independence and still be a "jack of all trades".