#4: Journalism, Defined. (A Closing)

In America, the President reigns for four years, and Journalism reigns forever and ever.

Oscar Wilde 

During the first lecture in Journalism 1, Mr. Miller discussed the definition of journalism. He explained the 9 principles and 7 yardsticks. He explained how journalism must act as a watchdog over governments, companies, and corporations.

Sadly, we didn't get to talk much about examples of journalistic valor. I feel like this needed to be discussed more on account of how meaningful some of these stories are. Journalists have done some amazing things to shape our world today, and I wish we would have been able to discuss that more in class.

The Watergate Scandal, Zenger's Publick Occurences and its trial, and many more have shown just how far journalism and democracy have come. They are inspiring stories of journalists who inform the public of what is lurking under the bed. A world without journalism and these journalistic events seems impossible to imagine.

Critique: Unsafe and Unverified Twitter

Even with its new tool called "Alert" to notify users of "warnings of imminent dangers," "evacuation directions," and "crowd and misinformation management," Twitter can't seem to shake its notorious habit of unverified tweets. Just this past April, Twitter couldn't stop spreading misinformation during the devastating Boston Marathon Bombing-- and it wasn't just the amateurs. 

CNN, the Associated Press, and the New York Post are noted as some of the most respected news organizations with accounts on Twitter, yet they weren't exempt from the misinforming tweets. Each had spokespersons trying to justify the mistake, saying that "at the time" there were credible sources for the wrong information. "We reported what we knew to be the case or what we were told at the time," says Paul Colford, spokesperson of AP, "and it came undone. We issued the correction which the AP religiously does." 

And it is true that it isn't just Twitter that sparks misinformation, although it's commonly blamed. But with Twitter's array of gadgets, you'd expect one for unverified information. 

Another mishap on Twitter that shook the world in April was when the Associated Press' account was hacked and published a false tweet, alerting that the White House had been bombed and that President Obama had been injured. This was false, of course, but Wall Street plunged for several minutes due to the hacker's tweet, showing just how much power lies in the information given on the social media site. 

If nothing else, blasting off "news" on Twitter in a race to report first defiles several of the 9 Principles of Journalism. A journalist's first obligation is to tell the truth to the audience; the second is loyalty to the audience; and the third is verification. By reporting unverified news, not only these journalists need to be honest in their reporting due to ethical reasons, but not giving truthful reports can only hurt the public. Mis-informing is a dangerous and irresponsible error. 

Not only are these journalists ignoring their duty to tell the truth, but they have seem to have forgotten their obligation of loyalty to the audience. Being loyal requires reporting information the audience can rely on, just like telling the truth. If it wasn't shameful enough that these journalists are not telling the truth, it's downright degrading how disloyal they are being to their audience while reporting via unverified tweets. Journalists are meant to be watchdogs, alerting the public of wrongdoing. Now, the public is forced to serve as the watchdog over journalism. 

With all their gadgets, Twitter should just simply add one that alerts that the certain tweet is or is not verified. It already uses a checkmark beside account names to verify that they are, in fact, who they say they are. Why not have this checkmark beside the tweets that provide verified news reports? Although, even with this suggested adjustment added, the problem might never be completely solved. 

Twitter, however, should be doing more, considering how many are relying on its site for information about the world around them. And with the New York Times, CNN, and AP all on the social networking site, who can blame the public for looking for news online? There should be information that Twitter users can rely on to be accurate. Whether this means a tool to notify users or making some kind of policy for the news organizations that report on the site, the spread of information on Twitter must end. 

#3: Magazines are Awesome (A Snippet)

On September 17th, Mr. Miller gave a lecture about magazines and their history. Included in his lecture was a brief note on what separates magazines from newspapers. Before this, I hadn't fully understood why magazines were so revolutionary compared to newspapers. I understood the general difference, but it made me think of newspapers as something besides celebrity gossip and fashion.

The Difference between Magazines and Newspapers

• Magazines come out less often. Where a newspaper would come out every day, a magazine may come out only weekly, monthly, or even annually. 
• In magazines, the information was evergreen-- when you picked it up a month or two later, the information in it (take a recipe, for example) would still be relevant. 
• Because magazines had longer deadlines, Muckrakers came about. In magazines, you could have more depth. There was not only more time to work on a piece, but also more space you could use. 
• Magazines were the first national medium. They were made available to everyone. Even in 1879, magazines were found to be so important that the rate was a penny a pound. This made it affordable so that it could be shipped across the U.S.

All these are facts that I certainly hadn't realized. But it gets better.

Magazines were also the innovator of many things that seem common-place to us today, but that I at least did not expect to come from newspapers. 

Innovations of Magazines

• Magazines began photojournalism. This new form of telling a story became wildly popular. As time has worn on, people have grown more and more fond of this way of reporting. Some magazines, such as National Geographic, are widely known for their photojournalism and take pride in using it more than actual stories. 
• As stated earlier, Muckrakers came from magazines. Watchdog journalism had to start somewhere. I am personally shocked that it wasn't from newspapers; then again, my obscure mental picture of magazines did not include investigative journalism or long articles. However, it's true! With longer articles and fewer deadlines, Muckrakers were bound to spring from magazines. 
• Personality profiles got their start in magazines. Like the muckrakers, personality profiles were longer articles, and therefore needed more room and time then a newspaper could allow. Ergo, magazines were their canvas.
• Magazines were the first national medium. That in and of itself is amazing. Whether it was the serialized American literature or the work of Muckrakers, magazines managed to become a national hit. They were something everyone could read and everyone could talk about. 

These innovations and differences from newspapers really made me wonder about magazines and just how different they were. Though there might not be as wide-spread of a tradition as with newspapers, magazines certainly did much to aid the spread of national news and awareness. I realize now that the world would be a very different place without magazines. 

Comment #2: Emily's Blog

Emily's blog can be found here. The post I'll be talking about is here. 

On September 24th, Emily made a post on her blog reviewing Mr. Miller's lecture over books. However, she wasn't so happy. "I agree with him that books are an awesome invention," she writes, "but we seemed to only talk about what books did in the past." She goes on to ask the questions swirling around in everyone's mind: what will happen to books now that there are ways of putting it into digital form? Emily points out that the future of newspapers was discussed in another lecture, and that she "would liked to have (talked_ about that with books." Emily does a good job of pointing out improvements while still pointing out the good in Miller's lecture. This definitely made me think beyond the lecture we were given. I think this post definitely is a job well done.

Comment #1: Stephanie's Blog

Stephanie's Blog can be found here. The post I'll be talking about is here. 

Stephanie is a freshman in the J&C magnet and was also assigned the blogging project by Mr. Miller in Journalism 1. For her media critique, she talked about "rape culture" in media. She covered the yardsticks and principles missed and did a good job of it. Not only that, but she followed the yardsticks and principles herself: she made the important interesting, provided a forum and explanation, as well as shed the light on the newsworthiness of the fault of the media. Stephanie's critique also used two sources that are well-respected, and it shows that they, too, can be biased. This thorough media critique definitely deserves an A+.

#2: A Hope for Newspapers (A Snippet)

It seems that lately all the news surrounding newspapers is that their value is cascading in a rapid decline. However, during his lecture on newspapers on September 11th, 2013, Mr. Miller gave his White 2 Journalism 1 the reasons why newspapers are still around and are able to survive and remain on mass media's map.

Why Newspapers Are Still Around

• Newspapers are affordable and convenient. 
• They contain diverse content.
• They're easily portable and low tech.
• There's a certain tradition surrounding newspapers. 
• Newspapers are physical objects; they're sharable and savable. 
• Newspapers contain your mom's favorite: coupons!
• Newspapers are non-linear, meaning you don't have read chronologically.
• All the factors of why they're still around work together.

Hearing this might have easily lifted the weight off everyone's shoulders. There's no doubt that newspapers still have a lot to worry about, but it's a relief to hear that they have reasons to stick around. And because the factors all work together, they ensure the survival of newspapers. This can be proven by the countless number of Louisville residents that still purchase the Courier Journal, whether out of tradition or out of the curiosity about current events.

With all the different mass media out there, newspapers have felt threatened. Although many have said that they are dead, newspapers lived to tell the tale. After television, cable, and the Internet, newspapers have been able to survive; it can be ensured that newspapers will last at least for a while longer.

#1: Libel's Brief Appearance (A Response)

During his lecture over newspapers and their history, Mr. Miller briefly mentioned to his Journalism 1 White 2 class slander and libel. He gave a limited description of the two, but only spent a minute or so on the topic. However, slander and libel laws are important things to remember as a student and as a journalist. 

Though they are complex and can be tedious, it seems as though maybe a minute or five more should be devoted to these topics, especially libel laws. Slander laws don't apply as much to journalism or academics, but libel laws most certainly do. Libel is, according to Google, "a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation." It seems that, especially in journalism class, libel would be treated as equally serious as plagiarism. Libel can have just as harsh of consequences and be just as academically scandalous.

Sometimes, there's a deadline that is fast approaching, and as students, or as journalists, we can be tempted to copy and paste or look up synonyms just to fill in. But we can also be tempted to make up things just to get it done. While writing an article, twisting the words of someone's quote, or not bothering to verify the quote, can be quite tempting. Libel is a major cause of lawsuits, and should be taken just as seriously as plagiarism.