Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Comprehensive and Proportion in Journalism

How many times have you opened up a newspaper or clicked on an article online, start to read, and after your finish, feel like you didn't learn or gain anything from the article? Everyone more than likely has. We live in a society where people want the most relevant information in as little time as possible. No one has time to read a long, drawn out article with difficult words. Therefore, the following rule is important for journalists to implement into their work:


Journalists should keep the news comprehensive and in proportion.

The journalist has to determine what is important for society to read, and what to just throw aside. Many times, journalists will find a story that really isn't important to write a big story about, but they will anyways because they know it will sell. I mean, how many times have Brad and Angelina been on the front of magazines, internet sites, and even newspapers? More than I can even count. Is the status of their relationship or how many children they've adopted really important to the well-being of society? Not at all. However, it sells, and so journalists will cover it. This is not right; Journalists need to write what needs to be said about a certain topic in proportion and then move on to something new. 

While it is usually up to the journalist to decide what is important, and what is not, there is room for biasm in stories. What one journalist might deem important may not be completely relevant to the vast majority of people. For instance, there are many religious topics that a journalist will find themselves drawn to, and may want to write a big story about. However, if the rest of the world doesn't share the same faith, it may be hard for anyone to want to read. 

In the book, Elements of Journalism, they talk about asking teenagers what they think the next big trend will be. The teenagers responded by saying that, it was the media's job to tell them. While this may seem like a big statement at first, it's very true. I can't think of very many trends that have started and weren't spread by flashy commercials or being featured in a popular show. The media has such a huge influence on what people want. They have a lot of power, that can be used for good or bad. 

Additional links on this topic:

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

http://www.journalism.org/about_pej/about_us

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_for_Excellence_in_Journalism


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