Thursday, October 28, 2010

Are you sure?

Last week's topic was one of great common sense. If we look into the world of the citizen, what do we want to know? Anyone? Anyone? Wait...I think I hear it, truth!

We, as a public, want to hear truth. We want the facts. There is a lot of distrust for the news person in these days. Could it possibly be because we hear so many untrustworthy stories that we don't know where to turn for the truth anymore? (That's a question for you to answer in the comments below)A great point was brought up in the class discussion, "Journalists provide information for public discussion, not the discussion itself." Can I get an amen on that?

If I have not been clear, allow me to clarify. Every story that is written needs to be verified to qualify as journalism worthy of the people who will be reading it. Without the verification, it just goes out as another rumor, spread by a paid writer. (or unpaid, as the case may be.)

When a story is verified, it follows the basic principle of having a witness to back up the facts. We all feel a lot better when there is more than one source reporting the facts. That is why we need to interview lots of people to get multiple accounts of events.

Sorry this isn't very insightful or deep. I suppose I just see this as a common sense topic. So how about we discuss this further together?

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