Da Final: Blog Edition

1. The Question of Objectivity
News judgment is a complex and mysterious process of triage that is left to journalists to perform
“The Big Picture, page 69

I had a particularly interesting experience with this idea firsthand while writing the benchmark article a couple of weeks ago. Without going into too much detail, I had a hands-on lesson acquainting myself with the need to be fair and balanced on the benchmark’s subject matter.

One side of the issue was, to me, laughably ludicrous. So, at first, I found it difficult to phrase the descriptions of that side without showing bias. I took a step back and realized that Professor Worsham and whoever else wrote out the explanation for the Benchmark probably felt the same way I did. However, they did all they could to present the information in such a way as to help us write about it objectively. I do not believe they would have assigned us this particular topic for the benchmark if they did not think we could be objective about it.

With this perspective in mind, I put my personal differences with the opinion aside, and wrote what I believe to be an objective article. I suppose I’ll know by the score I receive on it and whether or not I get into the program. Regardless, I feel a lot more confident in myself and my objectivity after the assignment.

That’s the way I hope it will be out in the real journalistic world. I hope that whoever assigns me my stories will know who I am and know what I am capable of. Since I am seeking to enter the sports journalism world, I know that objectivity will be key. So many national sports analysts are accused of “homerism” or rooting for the teams they either played on or are from. I want to try and avoid that perception on air, but that doesn’t mean I can’t root for my Cubbies.

2. The Question of Excellence
Ideals of excellence exist to raise standards of human achievement, or at least to keep us from slipping toward chaos or depravity.
“The Big Picture”, page 129

A lot of people, as “The Big Picture” points out, connect excellence to the sheer number of people who visit a web site, subscribe to a magazine, or pay to see a movie. For example, the #1 movie at the box office this past weekend was the remake of “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. It received almost universally bad reviews, particularly when compared to the original. Yet because it sold $31 million worth of tickets over three days it becomes, as movies.yahoo.com reported, “an environmental as well as a political statement" according to Chris Aronson, Fox's senior vice president of domestic distribution. Huh?!? Since when did Keanu Reeves make any kind of statement beyond “I know kung fu” or “I am an F-B-I agent”?

I thought the most profound aspect of defining excellence in journalism comes from what “The Big Picture” described as “The Three Graces of Journalism”: Truth, Context, and Independence. All three are interconnected and inherently dependent upon each other. In any case, vigilance allows each of these to be amplified in order to use journalism as a means to its principal end: to inform the public of what is going on around them and allow them to decide what they will do about it. Excellence in journalism, I feel, must do both, even though most modern journalists only focus on the former nowadays.

In observing the website for KUTV Channel 2 in Salt Lake City throughout the semester, there was nothing to necessarily distinguish it as significantly “excellent”. There was the news of the day. There were polls seeking viewer input. There were blogs from the sports anchors and meteorologists (although none from the regular news anchors…hmm). But the thing more prominent than these to me was the ads. Ads were everywhere: big ads, small ads, ads as big as your head. Obviously, the businesses advertising on the page see it as excellent, otherwise they wouldn’t advertise there. Again, that excellence seems to be driven more by the number of visitors to KUTV’s site than the regular everyday news content of the site. Does that mean excellence is defined in our day by the number of ads a publication or newscast has? If so, heaven help us.

3. The Question of Truth
The most obvious precondition of good journalism – or even of mediocre journalism, for that matter – is truth.
“The Big Picture”, page 45

There’s an old-timey hymn in the LDS hymnbook which I really like, but we hardly ever sing. It’s Hymn 272, which is called, “Oh Say, What Is Truth?” I quote the second verse:

Yes, say, what is truth? 'Tis the brightest prize
To which mortals or Gods can aspire;
Go search in the depths where it glittering lies
Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies.
'Tis an aim for the noblest desire.

Since it’s in an LDS hymnbook, it’s safe to assume the “truth” referred to should have a capital “T”. Absolute truth is a concept we Mormons feel like we have a pretty good grasp on.

The quest for “journalistic” truth, although different, should inspire the same level of urgency. But we ask ourselves, “Oh say, what is journalistic truth?” In “The Big Picture”, truth is described as having two faces: getting it right and getting it all. Without it, there is no such thing as news; we merely engage in gossip, rumors, etc. Trouble is, we find ourselves in a news world appearing to be more concerned with viewership than depth of truth.

Another bout between truth and modern journalism is the willingness of the modern news viewer to act upon the “truth” they are given. If one merely allows news to come to them and nothing is done with that news, there may be an increase in knowledge, but not necessarily intelligence. Intelligence is defined in chapter five of “The Big Picture” as “our relative ability to assimilate, store, process, and apply knowledge” (85). Since the spectrum of “news” has been broadened (or lowered, if you’re a Koppelite), the modern news viewer’s knowledge likely follows the same pattern. The trouble comes with regards to the depth of this truth, and how it inspires change. When was the last time you or I were truly motivated to act by a news story we saw? What about for the regular John or Jane Doe?

4. The Question of the Future
The reality is that the abundance of news and ubiquity of choice do not necessarily translate into a better news environment for consumers.
“A New Model for News”, page 37

Old media is dying. There’s no getting around that. As we covered explicitly in class, the internet is the considerably less-than-silent killer. As the rising generation gets more tech-savvy, their news-gathering potential is limitless. However, though the generation itself is rising, some aspects of it are not. Rather than intimately connecting with an artist through a whole album, we pick only the song or songs we want from iTunes or Pandora. Instead of reading a whole newspaper or magazine, we head to Huffington Post, NYTimes.com, etc.

In the process, the depth and breadth of journalism is drying up, leaving behind it a shallow reservoir of headlines and recycled updates. I found the study in the AP’s “A New Model for News” eye-opening as I considered my own news viewing habits, particularly since I began this class. For whatever reason (perhaps you, Dr. Cressman) I started getting the Daily Herald delivered to my apartment at the beginning of the semester. At first, I was pretty excited getting the newspaper because I loved getting the paper at home growing up. However, I surprised myself when I hardly picked it up. When they started to pile up, we threw them out. When I wanted my news, I got on my handy laptop or (after Election Day) on my BlackBerry. The newspaper I once ran out to get every day was now just a nuisance.

What does this mean for my future? I still feel secure. Web sites still need people to write their content, after all. In fact, having done a lot of web writing this semester between my 239 blog and my e-magazine for my 101 class, I’ve come to enjoy it. I could comfortably write for a web site after experiencing what I have this semester. A quote from “Journalism 2.0” (page 8) really helps fortify these optimistic feelings:

This is a book about people, not technology. Sure, there’s a lot of technology in
the pages to follow, but if you boil it all down to its core, its essence, you’ll find
people trying to extend a noble and grounded craft into a new and unpredictable
landscape. And it’s the people who matter, not the latest software or Web site. If
the people in this equation learn how make technology work for them, the rest is
just details.

Amen, paragraph from a book I downloaded as a PDF. Amen.

5. The Question of Conduct
Ideology is a complicated blend of personality, experience, and principle.
“The Big Picture”, page 124

*I will always remember that I represent myself, my family, Brigham Young University, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

*I will respect and admire the history of journalism, and seek to capture the vision of those who pioneered its virtues.

*As a sports journalist, I will recognize that truth is just as much what happens off the field, court, or rink as what happens on it. The quest for both is essential.

*I will seek to be loyal to my readers, my employer, and my sources.

*I will remove myself, whenever possible, from covering a story in which I could not escape blatant subjectivity or which would compromise my moral standards.

* I will be flexible and receptive to the changing innovations and advances in technology with respect to how it impacts journalism as a whole and my job as a journalist.

*I will seek to live up to a quote by the late journalist and author David Halberstam: “Being a professional means doing your job on the days you don’t feel like doing it.”