Truth in Journalism

It is clear that truthful information is elemental for societies. I find it interesting that as journalists our quest is to find the truth and report it, yet news and truth are not the same thing. News is reporting of the facts from sources in order to signalize an event. But what differentiates news and truth is that the facts from the sources may not be truthful facts. According to the reading, “Truth it seems, is too complicated for us to pursue. Or perhaps it doesn’t even exist, since we are all subjective individuals. “ I will leave that up to philosophy majors and stick to the definition of truth as the truth of what the sources tell me.

Journalisms existence is absolutely paramount in order for societies to have access to credible and reliable accounts of events pertaining to them. Truth in journalism provides individuals with the information necessary for them to govern themselves. According to the reading, Journalism is after a practical or functional form of truth. It is not truth in the absolute or philosophical sense. It is the truths by which we can operate on a day-to-day basis. It is fundamentally important that journalists report truthful information because entire societies operate on the information journalists submit.  

http://www.journalism.org/resources/principles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syZMnIwij0s

http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

The Mind of a Journalist

Journalism’s main purpose is to bring information to the general public so they can make informed decisions based on truth. The way I see it, journalism is a key foundation to society. In order for a democracy to function properly, people have to know the truth about what is going on. A common knowledge of current issues builds communities and nations by getting people involved. Journalists are professional truth finders and storytellers.

As the reading puts it, “Journalism is a medium that provides citizens with information to self-govern their lives.” I feel like journalists have a responsibility to be creative enough to get people to care about things they otherwise may not care about. The mind of a journalist is a curious mind, eager to get down and find out what really happened. Journalists serve as watchdogs to the government. How often do we hear the phrase, “we can’t do that cause if the media discovers it, it will cause a total uproar?” If anyone steps out of line in a significant way, you better believe journalists will be there to report it, and in this way it seems journalists keep individuals and more importantly, the government in line.