The Profession

When I first considered a career in journalism, I was quite naive. I thought, "It'll be fun to become a reporter and write interesting stories for the public to read. How hard can it be to report what I see?" However, as I have furthered my education and learned more of the profession, I have to come to realize what a complicated and intricate field it is.

Journalism, as a profession, is all about being a watch dog for the public and a gatekeeper for society. The number one priority is to inform citizens of what is going on around them. However, there are many rules and regulations that have to be considered before these stories hit the front page. Confidentiality, being separate from the public, not being biased. It is a complicated system.

However, there are many who don't believe that journalism as profession. On one website, an author wrote about why it is not a profession. The author, Sam Smith, stated that "the institution of journalism functions like all large institutions; it is is greedy, self-promoting, and driven towards the acquisition of power. The thing that has saved it has been the integrity and craft of individual journalists." While there are greedy and dishonest people within the journalism field, I disagree with Smith. Journalism is a profession. There are codes of ethics that need to be followed, and many rules and regulations. There is a type of "priesthood" that is commonly shared among journalists. Because of this, journalism is a profession, even though many abuse it.

In the following video, Dean Wright talks about ethics in journalism. In order for something to be considered "professional" certain ethics need to be followed.When they aren't, the particular work of that group or person may be discredited. There have been many issues with journalists making up facts or stories, but in the end they get caught.

In The Mind of a Journalist, the "priesthood of journalists" was is discussed. When I first read this, I was a bit put off. I started thinking of the priesthood within the LDS faith, and wondered how journalism was associated with that same order. However, as I read more about it, it began to make sense. As a basic definition, the book said that "journalist's see journalism as a kind of professional priesthood in which they, much like the clergy or even police officers, surrender to the higher calling of serving others." When I read it this way, I realized that there is a sort of "priesthood" within journalism, and while it may not be in the same realm as a religious priesthood, it has the same concept. Serving and protecting those around you.

There were four aspects within this "priesthood". The first one is called "The Fourth Estate." While this is concept is not very apparent in journalism today, it is a crucial aspect. In a sense it "provides counter balances and checks on the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government." This is where the idea of a journalists being "watchdogs" comes in. Journalisms have an obligation to inform the public and be a watchdog for society, and by acting as "fourth estate" this becomes possible. They can be the mediator between government and society.

The second area is that journalist's learn what behavior is acceptable, and which is not, by watching the triumphs and successes of other journalists. This practice is not just for journalists, and it is often taught that we should learn from the mistakes of others what we shouldn't do. Journalist's have many ethical codes that they need to follow in order to provide legitimate news. "Learning the Ropes" as the book refers to it, is something that all journalist's must go through. There may be times of uncertainty and mistakes will inevitably make mistakes, but this "order of the priesthood" allows journalists to gain credibility and become better reporters. I discussed this a bit earlier. Journalist's often learn the hard way that you cannot make up facts for stories. One journalism, Jayson Blair, is known for the fabrication and plagiarism of stories during his career. Journalist's can look at his "example" and recognize that making things up for the sake of a story will not get them anywhere, and will more than like ostracize them from society and their career.

Journalist's are often told that they need to be separated from society and the stories in which they report on. While it may be easy for journalists' to get attached to the people in which they are reporting on, it is wise to stay as emotionally detached as possible. This may come across as not caring about the story, but it also allows the journalist to have no bias on the story in which they report. The book also talks about how it is important to separate the social and work life of a journalist.

There are other aspects of the journalism profession that are worth noting. I found it interesting that there is often a limit on confidentiality and the use of anonymous sources. Often, a person will confide in a journalist who is reporting a story. This creates a moral dilemma for a journalist on whether or not they should honor that confidentiality or use the crucial facts in a story. Using anonymous sources in journalism often makes problems because of the legality of it because if something a journalist reported on needs to be viewed in a court of law, it can put the journalist in a sticky issue. Unlike clergy, they are not protected by law if they are asked to reveal the sources of information.

One last journalistic "principle" that I found interesting was the idea of worldview. It is the idea of what stories journalists find important and how they gather their facts. While many people may regard this as being "biased", it really is not. Journalist's are people to, and they gravitate towards subjects and stories that, because of how they were raised, ethnocentrism, and a variety of other reasons, draw their attention. It is good to have a worldview, but also to develop an eye for what is important for what all of society needs to know, not just one individual.

Worldview changes depending on where a journalist is from. According to the book, Western culture is all about timeliness, and what is going on now and in the moment, rather than well-developed stories. It used the example of high-speed car chases taking precedence over the nightly news. In other cultures, the importance may be placed on developing a story and having all the facts before viewing it. Depending on where someone is reporting, it may be necessary to change a person's "world view" in order to accomdate the desires and priorities of others.