Issues in Journalism

1. Weeks 1-7 Study Points from The Elements of Journalism lectures Issues in Journalism

2. Week 2: Truth: The First and Most Confusing Principle Issues in Journalism

3. Ch. 1 review • What was the situation in U.S. journalism in 1997 that convinced Tom and Bill to convene a meeting of journalists and later do the research that evolved into The Elements of Journalism? • Define the Awareness Instinct and briefly discuss how you think it dictated coverage of Hurricane Irene. • Describe the “primary purpose of journalism.” • Discuss journalism’s obligations to citizens and tell how it fulfills those obligations as outlined in the section of the text examining the “primary purpose of journalism.” • How does government use digital technology to discredit journalism and dilute its influence?

4. Ch. Review • Define the theory of the interlocking public. • List the “three major forces” Tom and Bill say are eroding journalism’s ability to fulfill its primary purpose and mission to society. • How has journalism’s traditional role of gatekeeper of information changed in the wake of the Internet and digital technology?  • True or False? Journalists can still stay relevant if they provide information, feedback and support for the “I-reporters” and “We Media” citizen news efforts springing up on the Internet. • What’s the problem with huge corporations with no experience owning news organizations --like Disney acquiring ABC-- getting into the news business?

5. The Elements of Journalism Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth… (p. 36) But what is truth? Is it accuracy? Verification? Context? Perception? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXoNE14U_zM

6. What is truth? Ask Johnny Cash • http://youtu.be/S0KQWTBljjg

7. Truth: The first principle • The definition of news sometimes leaves “truth” in a muddle. • News is what ever is newsworthy on a given day: Tom Brokaw. • Failure by journalists to define what they do leaves the public with the notion the press is hiding something or deluding itself. (pg. 41)

8. Pew Research Center survey

9. Truth: The first principle • “[Journalists] are in what we call the reality-based community…That’s not the way the world works anymore …When we act, we create our own reality.” (page 30 TEOJ)

10. Political cover stories • …in public life perception is reality (pg. 37) • http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/bret-baier-gets-best-weiner-interview.html

11. Truth: The First and Most Confusing Principle

12. Oil plume lingering in Gulf, study confirms • THE NEW YORK TIMES • Published: 8:19 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010 • New research confirms the existence of a huge plume of dispersed oil deep in the Gulf of Mexico and suggests that it has not broken down rapidly, raising the possibility that it might pose a threat to wildlife for months or even years. • The study, the most ambitious scientific paper to emerge so far from the Deepwater Horizon spill, casts some doubt on recent statements by the federal government that oil in the Gulf appears to be dissipating at a brisk clip. However, the lead scientist in the research,

13. WASHINGTON | Tue Aug 24, 2010 5:25pm EDT • WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Manhattan-sized plume of oil spewed deep into the Gulf of Mexico by BP's broken Macondo well has been consumed by a newly discovered fast-eating species of microbes, scientists reported on Tuesday. • These latest findings may initially seem to be at odds with a study published last Thursday in Science by researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, which confirmed the existence of the oil plume and said micro-organisms did not seem to be biodegrading it very quickly.

14. Anatomy of a lie • http://biggovernment.com/abreitbart/2010/07/19/video-proof-the-naacp-awards-racism2010/ • http://www.naacp.org/news/entry/video_sherrod/ • http://biggovernment.com/abreitbart/2010/07/19/video-proof-the-naacp-awards-racism2010/ • Fox coverage: • http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/23/fox-news-shirley-sherrod_n_657512.html

15. Journalistic truth • Facts are subject to revision and journalists realize that… but that’s the “truth” we are seeking – a functional or practical form of truth. • “It is not truth in the absolute or philosophical sense. It is not the truth of a chemical equation. Journalism can– and must– pursue the truths by which we can operate on a day-to-day basis.”(pg. 42)

16. Journalistic truth • To find truth journalists sort it out… realize it’s a process sometimes… it takes time to parse true and false… lies and facts… • We must follow procedures and ethics regarding coverage. • A transparent process and training reveals the “functional truth” (pg.42)… the facts of an arrest, the outcome of an election…etc. • But is accuracy enough?

17. Journalistic truth • Accuracy is not enough. Though it may be the beginning, it’s just the start of a process. • “It is no longer enough to report the fact truthfully. It is now necessary to report the truth about the fact.” (pg 42) • For journalists this means getting the facts straight and making sense of the facts. • It should be about finding meaning, not just data.

18. Journalistic truth • That doesn’t mean that accuracy doesn’t matter. • Accuracy is the foundation for: Interpretation, context, debate and all of public communication (pg. 43). • If those debating, arguing, talking have the wrong facts, the outcome is flawed. • That’s the problem with cable news shows and talk radio… and websites devoted to “interpreting” the news.

19. Journalistic truth • It’s best to understand journalistic truth as a process that takes time. It takes subsequent stories and efforts to refine the facts and correct errors and impart meaning. • It takes experience, a sense of history and knowledge about a subject and the courage to uncover the story, wherever it leads. • But can it be done?

20. Truth: The first principle • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0KQWTBljjg • “The Truth … was a complicated and sometimes contradictory phenomenon, but seen as a process over time, journalists can get at it.” (pg. 44)

21. Journalistic truth • The payoff in pursuing the truth with a clear objective, experience and desire to get the facts straight: “Getting news that comes closer to a complete version of the truth has real consequences.” (pg. 45) • The public begins to form attitudes as news is broken given the context in the way the facts are presented. • So accuracy is key. Then meaning.

22. Journalistic truth • Is the substitute for “truth” fairness and balance? • Both terms are difficult to define. At least truthfulness can be tested on several levels. • A “balanced” story may be unfair to the truth. • It could lead to a distortion of the facts. • Global warming. The anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. All examples of story that could include unfair balance.

23. Journalistic truth • What forces are working against a journalist’s professed search for the truth? • In the continuous news cycle, journalists are shoveling out information without sufficient time to check things out creating a journalism of assertion rather than verification. • The pursuit of big stories to gain mass audiences at the expense of context and clarity. • The rise of news sites that aggregate stories and let the public sort out rumors, speculation and spin.

24. Journalistic truth • The instinct for truth today is crucial. • Paradox: Even with all the outlets for information at our disposal, finding truth in some ways takes more work than ever before. (pg 48) • The press needs to sift out rumor, spin and the insignificant so people can know what to believe and to trust. • So it’s verfication first and interpretation later is a good way to answer the question: Where is the good stuff?

25. Truth and the Lee Kent mystery http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011109020326 http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011109030310 http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011109050317 • Blog posting 1: Deadline: By the start of class on Monday, Sept. 12 • Directions: Go to the class website and read the stories posted regarding the disappearance of Lee Kent. You may also google Lee Kent and read other media accounts about this mysterious story. • In 250-350 words, with paragraphs containing no more than three sentences, analyze how the journalist who wrote the stories searched for the truth about Lee Kent’s disappearance.

26. The first story: Aug. 31 • Missing boater search called off • 41-year-old man not seen since Saturday • Richard McVay • rmcvay@pnj.com • The Coast Guard on Tuesday called off its search for a Gulf Breeze man who went fishing alone in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday and never returned. • Lee Kent, 41, launched his 37-foot Boston Whaler, the Monkey Bar II, from an Orange Beach, Ala., boat launch and intended to fish south of Pensacola Pass on Saturday, according to Lt. Israel Parker with the Coast Guard's Eighth District. • A family member issued an overdue vessel report Sunday morning. Parker was unsure whether a vehicle and trailer were found at the launch.

27. More… • Coast Guard crews covered more than 28,000 nautical miles in 47 hours by air and sea in the search. • Crews from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater and Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile searched by air, while an 87-foot Coast Guard cutter searched by sea, along with smaller boats from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. • The Coast Guard issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast to nearby boaters. • Parker said Kent's boat did not have a transponder or a distress beacon. Parker wasn't sure whether the boat had a radio.

28. More… • "We were not able to confirm what he possibly had on board that day," Parker said. "This is why we encourage boaters to make a float plan and to let people know where you're going." • A Lee Kent is listed as living at a Gulf Breeze home.  • Parker said while the Coast Guard's search is suspended, local authorities will take over the investigation of the missing man. • Officials at the Orange Beach Police Department and Alabama Marine Police were unavailable Wednesday evening.

29. Blog posting 2 • Part 3: (20 points) • Blog posting 2: Deadline: By the start of class on Monday, Sept. 12 • Directions: The 10-year anniversary of 911 is Sunday. Write 250-350 words about how three websites engage in the the journalism of affirmation (pages 46-47) “whose appeal is not in verifying facts … but in affirming the preconceptions of the audience.” • Visit these websites in the days leading up to the 911 anniversary and on Sunday. Look through the stories, videos and blogs that appear on the websites and see if you can find examples of the journalism of affirmation at play. • In your posting, tell us a little about the stories and why you think they were posted to pander to the audience’s fears, likes and political beliefs. • Make sure to tell us what you believe is the audience for each of the websites given the material posted on them. • The websites are: Drudge Report, Huffington Post and Rense.com.