The Journalist and Faith

Journalist should really reconsider thinking about putting their personal opinions in an article on a topic of a particular sect of faith, because the article may have information that is skewed due to the journalists personal believes that are against another religion or faith. One must remember as a journalist it is not our opinion the people wants to hear, but the the truth with factual evidence backing up one's claim.

Some may believe that our personal faith can have evidence of affecting the way a journalist reports his or her story on religion. Whatever an individual might do is some form determined by his or her religion. As a Latter-day Saint, my actions and choices are influenced by my standards and values as being LDS. I want to choose the right in all my choices that I make, and most of all I want to do what our Heavenly Father wants me to do. I think it is true that religion can affect a person's point of view when telling a story of a religion different than their own. Thus, it is important when writing a story of another religion to start with an open mind, that you are here to write this story to let the audience know the truth about the religion.

It was interesting in the presentation that a lot of Americans are taught popular knowledge through the news. If this is the case, then I think we have a responsibility to not take sides in any story, but to report all sides of a story. For example, if a journalist is assigned to write an article on a Jewish rabbi who was caught stealing, you wouldn't want to go about interviewing people who hate the Jewish faith, but maybe someone who is apart of the faith who might of known the rabbi.

I think it is true that there are more articles about religion within the text relating to someone who is apart of a particular faith than articles based primarily on a specific faith it just doesn't happened as much in the media. Society tends to relate others based off of religious affiliates nowadays.

The quote: "Journalism and religion is a tough mix. Religion depends on faith, and journalism demands proof." This is a great quote, because when journalist write about religion it is just something that one must really be careful when writing or reporting in the media. Another tip may be when writing about religion maybe it is best to write as one in that particular faith, study and learn the doctrine interviewing people of the faith, that can give a better insight of what the religion really practices and teach its members. I have found that this is true, especially when the media portrays Mormons as just polygamist which is not true of course and our church get the blame for it. For example, my mom is a school teacher in Dallas, and some of the faculty at the school came up and ask her if she was apart of the Mormon church in south Texas with all the polygamist. She had to clarify and let them know our church has nothing to do with the polygamist in south Texas.

Again as a journalist, I think it is crucial that we don't sell short a religion of what they truly believe and practice. If someone wrote in an article that the Mormon's baptize the dead, what would the people think? Probably not good things, so it is important to give all the details and information to the people. In the LDS Church, they performs baptisms for the dead so the deceased can have an opportunity to be baptized in the Lords church and to receive the Holy Ghost according to their believes. Of course that would not be in the media hopefully, but my point is to not leave out information that may hurt any faith's name in society. It just is not ethical for the journalist to make his or her claim on what religion is right or wrong.


Video's of Religion in the Media:

Journalism as a Public Forum

Are journalist really doing their job in presenting the facts to the public and not just reporting for their self interest in obtaining fame in the public forum? I think that journalist should use the media in their best interest when reporting, remembering the audience first before their own opinions that they have in their stories.

Today we have the advantage to use the highest form of technology that is changing the history of journalism as we know it. The introduction of the Internet has made news became instant, and before the Internet, breaking news might take a while before its out to the public, but not with instant broadband and camera phones it can be live streaming right as a breaking news event is happening. One can even write a story and post it on the web in seconds, so breaking news coverage has really become instant.

I am currently interning at ABC 4 News in Salt Lake City, and it's crucial in news to have the story first, and already posted on the web before the rest of the competition. It also makes the news station you work for look great because of having the news first.

Even blogs are becoming another form of journalism, but to many reporters think this is not the best way of communicating to the audience, because it is more opinionated based rather than the facts giving in reporting from journalist. It is true that blogs may hinder the facts in the aspect of the truth because one must realize that a blog is more of a personal outlet for viewers to reconcile your opinions on a matter. It just seems that everyone is considering themselves as journalist who have blogs but it's not the case when they don't have the ethics and background knowledge as a trained professional journalist who can share a story with truthfulness and accuracy with sustaining data.

I agree with the book when it mentions The editorial pages of the newspaper, the opinion columnist, the talk show, and the point-of-view magazine essay, bloggers, and anyone else have every right to be opinionated. That is their mission. But if their authors want to call themselves journalists, then it follows that they should not misrepresent the facts that they should hold to the same standards of truthfulness or allegiance to public interest as any other part of the profession. Elements of Journalism, p. 167

These forms of media have the right to be opinionated, but for journalist our job is report the facts with data not expressing a bias opinion, we just give the facts. If they want to be considered journalist then they really need to reevaluate they way they report, because a lot of those types of forms of media are just to capture audiences attentions, and to obtain ratings to increase profit. One may say he or she does not go into journalism hoping to be rich but rather to make a difference in the world by reporting the truth.


It may all come down to having a voice in society that whatever story we may produce it will help the people in a way feel they to have a voice that can decide what is ethical in a sense of making self governing decisions.


Videos of forms of media portrayed as journalism:

Watchdog Journalism

Watchdog journalism is a form of investigative reporting of finding the truth in a confidential story, by searching beneath the surface and finding out what is really going on, in political or economical issue that our government may be withholding from its people.

I tend to interpret Watchdog journalism as a balance in the media of uncovering the truth behind crooked and greedy people. Theirs always records and evidence of anything that goes on in the government, but it is up to the journalist to find it. If something doesn't seem right and you can back it up with the data then go for it, start investigating and find out what is really going on, that may be a breaking news story that will put the government or whomever in check.

The example in the book of Watchdog: "Watching over the powerful few in society on behalf of the many to guard against tyranny."

As journalist, we are to watch, listen, and point out the facts with evidence, backing up our information within each story. It is important not to report freely upon suspicion or allegation but rather on actual facts. Of course we are going to have some kind of suspicion about someone, but without reliable accurate evidence backing up our claim against someone, we can be suspicious all day and it won't make a difference without the data.

Our goal as a Watchdog journalist is to help the people, by prosecuting and finding criminals. In order to do this we must research and investigate each story. One of the biggest governmental kept secret that the press uncovered was the Watergate Scandal, it was then that journalist had truly broke the barrier of the press and state. The Freedom of Information Act in 1966, passed allowing the press to obtain government records which helped the Watergate story.

This can open the door to numerous amounts of stories that are available. My professor told us about opensecrets.org it has information on any private or government organization available to the public. For example, a reporter was looking into a private school and noticed the school was lacking funds, but was donated the means by various donors. The reporter soon found out from records that the principle was using the money in his own interest from taking vacations, and buying new cars. The information is out their, but it's up to us, as journalist to investigate and find the truth.

If you are researching a company, organization, or person and you find some unusual information, find out what's really going on. You may be on top of a huge scandal story that the people should know. As journalists we are to report the truth by any means including interviewing and researching all files and data. A good example of finding top secret data would be in the movie Erin Brockovich, where she found data supporting that a chemical plant was dumping chemicals in the water which caused many in the community to get sick and die.

From taking investigative reporting class, I didn't realize how much information is available to the public and the more private information you just have to request a GRAMA or FOIA, depending upon what you want to know about the organization or person. We had an assignment of finding who lived at a location and all kinds of information was online that included: The school district, the taxes of the home, sex offenders in a one mile radius, previous owners, the value of the home, and its current market as well as if the owner has been paying their bills. Again, all the information we need is available to us, but we just need to learn how to obtain it.

I find it interesting that during the presentation they showed clips of various news stations and their investigative breaking news. It seems that you never know who could be doing something illegal in a high political position. For example when the press uncovered the top secret Pentagon Papers of political involvement in Vietnam of expanding the war that our President was involved in.

It is important to realize that investigative reporting is not opinionated journalism, because with facts and data it is not the journalist opinion anymore. We may have assumptions towards someone or organization, but without facts it's not a story.

From the book, I like the quote, "In the end, all reporting is investigating." This is true, because we must search and study each story before writing it, obtaining as much factual data as possible going through old records and evidence. By doing so, you can come across an amazing story that the world hasn't known and for you to reveal to the people.

Clips of Investigative Reporing:

Journalists as Ideologues

Journalist tend to report from ideologues based off a set of aims or ideas to obtain one's goal. In reporting you often have a vision of what you want to report first, and a lot of those come from our own experiences.

We all see the world in our own perspective according to culture, religion, traditions, and political stand points. It is just in our nature to have an opinion on most things that can control our reporting in the way we present a story. For example, if a reporter isn't as familiar with a certain group of people, the reporter may report the story only through personal experience or what we have seen or read through the media,which is not always the best way to report news.

I know that we all have opinions, but it is important to not let our opinions effect our reporting. It should be more based on facts, evidence, and human sources we interview to make a great story, and try not to skew a story in a particular way that it seems bias.

journalist main focus on objectivity is reliance upon truth. It is more of a practical truth assumed that journalist have opinions, of course they do they are human, but since journalist has access to report news to the people it is critical that each journalist follow the guidelines of fairness, balance, and accuracy in every story. And not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice, but again based on facts.

I agree with the presentation that the golden rule of journalist is to be fair, balanced and accurate in every story, but a journalist cannot and should not block out his or her biases, experience and gut-level emotion. I think it is what makes the story more personable that the people can relate to, not saying to take sides and report only your opinions, but just report the truth in all that you do, you can still report the truth and add your experience to the story. For example, if the reporter is reporting a story on a political campaign and the journalist has experience and relations in the political circle then yes, use it in your reporting. People want to rely on the people who knows what they are talking about and not just someone who is stating a fact, but to add in depth statements to help make the story so much stronger.

Passion and emotion only should fit into journalism when their is meaning behind it. It's not to obtain more fans or viewers, for example Anderson Cooper he has become known in the media for getting involved and who shares his emotions to the audience. It seems he has become more of a celebrity type figure than a journalist. I understand things are emotional, Cooper has been to war zones, seen people dying, but I think their is a time to report and a time to cry. I'm not saying don't have emotion in reporting, but not let it overpower your story that you have become less reliable in your reporting. It is up to the reporter to stay strong for the people and to share with them when a disaster has occurred that you are being strong like the people are as well.

To become a stronger journalist it is important to know the key elements of journalism, and to know our role that we are here to report the truth and what really counts in society. We can make a difference in the world if we are ethical and accurate in our stories.



Emotional Anderson Cooper: