Loyalty & Journalism

Sifting through media this week I found myself wondering...How much objectivity actually went into the latest movie review of "Social Network"? Was Macaroni Grill's review of shrimp pasta influenced more by it's "delectably zesty flavor" or by a purchased ad? How much of media altogether has to do with self-interest?

Amid all of these questions I found myself ultimately wondering...where exactly does a journalist's loyalty lie?

According to "The Elements of Journalism," journalism's first loyalty is to citizens.

The dictionary defines loyalty as "a strong feeling of support or allegiance." Loyalty is important in journalism because it gives citizens confidence in the press. When journalists put the people's interests above their own, citizens will build trust. Sadly, not all journalists make loyalty a priority. In today's world, journalists have been transformed to care more about "business" than "journalism." Worrying more about keeping budgets and attracting consumers (note consumers and not customers. News is provided free to the public.) tends to get in the way of seeking truth. Ideally, news and business should be separated as church and state. While I believe the money-making aspect of journalism is still important, I would hope that journalists would put loyalty to their citizens above all else.

I love the quote by Nick Clooney -
"If it ever comes down to a question of my loyalty, my loyalty will be to the person who turns on the televison set."

Norman Solomon brings up a several good points about journalism and loyalty in his article, "A Pledge of Loyalty to Journalism" that can be viewed by clicking here.

In class, we talked about "The Wall" of division between business and news that I also found interesting in regard to journalistic loyalty. The concept involves 5 key characteristics:

1. The owner must first be committed to citizens
-Owners ultimately decide the quality of the news produced; they set the standard of quality.
2. Owner's should hire business managers who also put citizens first
-"It comes down to selecting people who have good news judgment and experience in journalism and are sensitive to potential conflicts. I would prefer to have a person with sound judgment." Robert Dechard.
3. Clear standards must be set and communicated
- When everyone is on the same page, roles are more appreciated and conflicts are handled better.
4. Journalists have a final say over news
5. Clear standards should be communicated to the public
-Citizens should understand exactly how news organizations operate. Organizations should state values and standards. I think Forrest Carr's "Viewers Bill of Rights" that invited viewers to enter the newsroom is a perfect example of this.