Truth & Journalism

"Journalism's first obligation is to the truth," says Bill Kovach and Tom Rosentiel in their book Elements of Journalism. However, even in my short life, I have seen truth being interpreted differently. What does truth even mean? Patty Calhoun, the editor of the alternative weekly paper Westword, says, "you cannot be objective because you're going in with certain biases." I see the world differently than Adolf Hitler would or Saddam Hussein. What I see as fundamental truths, others may not. I believe the underlying problem is how liberally we use the word truth. Truth should not be subjective. Lynn A. Mickelson, a LDS religious leader, said in an address to the world-wide church, "Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come." Truth should be unchanging. For example, the law of gravity is a truth. No matter how or when you test this truth, the result is the same. What goes up, must come down unless acted on by another force.

Some may use news and truth interchangeably. Even Walter Lippmann did so at one point. However, later he wrote in his book Public Opinion, "News and truth are not the same thing.... The function of news is to signalize an event, or make people aware of it. The function of truth is to bring to light the hidden facts, to set them into relation with each other, and make a picture of reality upon which men can act." We must not forget this distinction. To obtain truth, we must strive to throw out all preconceived notions. We must compensate for our subjectively in our writing. We must explore all points of view. Only then may we obtain the facts and find the truth that lies beneath it.

The Future of News

I find it difficult to make a prediction for the future regarding almost any topic. There are so many variables out there that it seems silly to even try. If we just consider the development of transportation and communication during the last 50 years, we have made huge bounds in technological advances. I feel like I am one of the people that thinks inside the box. I am fortunate to be alive during a time where the world has become such a small place. This facilitates even more advances in any and every area you can think of.

With regards to the news, I believe we will continue to see more digital news. I could see people discontinue reading hard copies of newspapers resulting in newspaper companies going out of business. I believe that laptops will phase out of popularity and people will begin carrying Ipad size tablets which will contain their whole life. People will no longer want to be bogged down by a traditional newspaper when they can access anything they want through their touchpad.

I believe this will cause more and more people to become narrow-minded and less-educated on world events. People will only search out news that already interests them and reenforces their views. People will not be subjected to news that they don't feel is applicable to them.

I imagine social skills will also deteriorate as a result of technological advances. I could see people mainly communicating electronically. It is fast and effective. People can also think about what they want to say beforehand.

On a religious note, I think satan will gain a strong hold on technology and use it against us. I think we are close to reaching a point that we no longer need technological advances in communication. Instead, we need people thinking up ways to be more environmentally conscious (inexpensive energy-efficient cars). More than ever, we need people to figure out better ways to filter out the filth in our lives.

Only time will tell what the future holds in news. I just hope we progress as a people and remembers what's important in life.

What is Journalism?

When faced with this question my mind is swept away into stories of "breaking news" captions of newspapers I've read, television broadcasts I've watched, and radio stations I've heard. To me, journalism is the press. As defined by Dictionary.com, the press is the "printed publications collectively." Journalists are those who write for the press. I understand that some are of the opinion that anyone can be a journalist, especially these days when creating a blog is only a few clicks away. I would have to agree with that opinion, but I must emphasize the word can. If an individual publishes news through their blog or other means, I would consider them a journalist. To be considered news, the information published needs to be pertinent to a large number of people. It would be hard for me to define my opinion of how big that group needs to be. If I were to delve deeper into defining more words I do believe I would lose the reader. When I read about the purpose of journalism from "The Elements of Journalism" by Bill Kovach & Tom Rosenstiel I find that it is intended to "provide cititizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing." That does not seem like the easiest task to do. This is precisely why anyone has the capability of being a journalist, but most of us are not.

Considering today is September 11, my mind is already turned towards the news and journalism. I still remember where I was when I heard "the news" of the airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center. I'm sure everyone does. Like the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, 9/11 will forever be "a date which will live in infamy." My heart goes out to all Americans who were directly affected by this tragic act. I am not talking to those Americans who are disgruntled by the fact that they no longer can get through the security lines as fast at the airports. I am talking to those people who lost their husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, kids and grandkids. To them I give my deepest condolences. For them I will continue to pray every year on this day.