Independence and Journalism
As presented in class, independence from factions plays an intricate part of modern-day journalism. As journalist quoted in his blog, "
"The job of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." So said America journalist and humorist Finley Peter Dunne as he described the role of his press brethren at the beginning of the 20th century. (see: http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=5594). Reporters first priority of course should be to its audience. To ensure that, it is important for reporters to remain neutral their reporting. I believe neutrality is one of the core journalistic principles. Comments or expressing opinions in journalism should be left to the opinion and editorial section of a newspaper. If opinion is expressed outside of these boundaries, the article becomes a PR memo rather then a neutral article.
It's dangerous when so called independent journalists argue for a certain issue. Journalists such as Anne Coulter, and Bill O'Reilly who continually have a history of defending conservative platforms, will not be trusted by a large audience who know of their history. Recently Bill O'Reilly was called out for being too liberal by Rush Limbaugh, and the next day, Bill O'Reilly who calls himself a 'fair and balanced' reporter, went on his show and constantly bombarded the Obama administration. This would not look independent from any type of faction to a first time viewer. (see: http://mediamatters.org/blog/201002220050).
I believe that in order to get good ratings, you call yourself an independent reporter, and then lean your reports to a more liberal or conservative side. I believe that to be a good moral reporter, you need to ensure that you remain neutral from any political ideas, companies and other factions. By doing so, a journalist will gain trust from their audience.
Stephen Tanner
"The job of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." So said America journalist and humorist Finley Peter Dunne as he described the role of his press brethren at the beginning of the 20th century. (see: http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=5594). Reporters first priority of course should be to its audience. To ensure that, it is important for reporters to remain neutral their reporting. I believe neutrality is one of the core journalistic principles. Comments or expressing opinions in journalism should be left to the opinion and editorial section of a newspaper. If opinion is expressed outside of these boundaries, the article becomes a PR memo rather then a neutral article. It's dangerous when so called independent journalists argue for a certain issue. Journalists such as Anne Coulter, and Bill O'Reilly who continually have a history of defending conservative platforms, will not be trusted by a large audience who know of their history. Recently Bill O'Reilly was called out for being too liberal by Rush Limbaugh, and the next day, Bill O'Reilly who calls himself a 'fair and balanced' reporter, went on his show and constantly bombarded the Obama administration. This would not look independent from any type of faction to a first time viewer. (see: http://mediamatters.org/blog/201002220050).
I believe that in order to get good ratings, you call yourself an independent reporter, and then lean your reports to a more liberal or conservative side. I believe that to be a good moral reporter, you need to ensure that you remain neutral from any political ideas, companies and other factions. By doing so, a journalist will gain trust from their audience.
Stephen Tanner
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