Insanity...

As journalist we are always told to make our stories engaging for our readers. Many times when we do this, we forget the most important part of the story, making it relevant.  The Elements of Journalism states the definition of journalism perfectly here, "Journalism is storytelling with a purpose. That purpose is to provide people with information they need to understand the world." If we try too hard to make our story engaging, it will lead to sensational journalism.

As I was reading this chapter this idea came to mind: Sensationalism has spurts of popularity, but the real hard news will always have its place and need in society. Think of it like the Harry Potter verses Twilight war on websites like http://mlia.com. Twilight is popular every time a movie comes out or whenever the guy who plays Jacob Black takes his shirt off, but Harry Potter will always be important to the readers.

The point is that we need to be wary of this type of journalism. If all we do is give them celebrity gossip stories, that is all they will want to hear about. We need to find a way to make real hard news an important part of the readers life. So how do we tell a story, make it engaging, but still keep it relevant? The book gave us several ideas of how to do this:

1. Do a profile- on the people, place or event behind the story. The National Geographic did a profile piece on the first African American to explore the North Pole. It was a super interesting article. http://tinyurl.com/6uzd78u

2. Do an explanatory piece; why something happens, how it works. "When bugs fight back" was a Pulitzer Prize winning article about bugs and pesticides I read in the Library. I can't find it online unfortunately.  

3. Issues and trend stories- on things like crime, or the economy, or health. http://tinyurl.com/nksw
This article explains very interestingly about how different sleep positions affects your health.

4. Investigative- look into a wrong doing. The New Yorker did an investigative work on the religion of Scientology. Super interesting. http://tinyurl.com/3f3qhek

5. Narrative- A story with a character- http://tinyurl.com/7gvu9sn

6. Descriptive- A day in the life type of story, like this interesting article about the day in the life of a tour de france bike, written for a bike magazine. http://tinyurl.com/6notukc

7. Voice or perspective- Tell the story in a unique way like Q&A. http://tinyurl.com/7aqhdep

8. Visual- spices it up with charts, pictures, video bits. Because of this article I can actually understand the European debt crisis (http://tinyurl.com/84stayx).

If we feel that hard news is losing to sensational journalism and there is no way to change that, our attitudes are wrong. This would be, as Albert Einstein said, Insane. Insanity is doing something wrong over and over again but still expecting the same results. If our stories aren’t selling it isn’t because the readers aren’t interested in hard news, it’s because they are bored. The burden falls squarely on us as journalist to spice things up. We need to be creative with our work. If we dedicate ourselves to make our work true, accurate, and interesting, there is no way we won’t have readers.

Don't Get Naked!

Citizens’ main requirement for journalist and the media is to be able to trust what they are being told. Too often as journalist we forget about our relationship with our readers. In The Elements of Journalism we learn, "The key element of credibility is the perceived motive of the journalist. People do not expect perfection. They do expect good intentions." We need to build a bond of trust with our readers. As long as we have this bond, our readers will stay true. How do we build this? According to Harvard's recent study on Blogging, Journalism, and Credibility (http://tinyurl.com/blbcvs) we must be completely transparent with what we aim to achieve in each article or story we right. Without transparency it is impossible to build that bridge.

The recession has scared many media companies into pursuing a path called sensational journalism. An example of this type of journalism is my title. Using grabbing titles, doing excessive reporting on scandals, turning from hard news to soft news. This type of journalism has become so in demand that, according to this New York Times Article (http://tinyurl.com/6u8as9l) journalist are putting personal ads in newspapers to find "exclusive, sensational news." Many newspapers or broadcast stations search for sensational news during times of financial uncertainty believing the exciting and guilty pleasure headlines will draw in more customers. While this may be true, the new readers will soon leave or the old readers will be disgusted with the sudden change and leave. Sticking with the original plan of the company and reporting on hard news will always be the best option. If your company is struggling, you can use tactics like the following found from the experts in the book:

"Find out what the community is doing... Once you get those answers you can design coverage that responds directly to the people you are trying to reach." -Butch Ward

"To rarely do people in news companies think about what citizens' needs are." - Valerie Crane

This is truly a simple answer. If you want people to read your newspaper or watch your television show, find out what the people need and give it to them. In my Student Development class this summer we discussed the issue of finding a way to make a living in this economy. My professor, Alberto Puertas reputedly told us that the best way to make a living was to, "Find a need in the community and fill it." I believe this statement is what we need to do with journalism. While this may mean not always doing hard-hitting stories, it will always mean serious journalism that will mean something to a reader out there.

In Morning Glory, the age old battle of sensational journalism verses hard news is the core issue of the story. Finding the mixture of the two eventually saves the company. Not an incredibly accurate film, but one worth watching for those who like journalism and production.

Let's Get Ethical!

This past weekend I went to an Abba tribute concert. It was fun and exciting, but when they sang their song about money, it reminded me of the last lecture in my communications class. Is money really funny in a rich man's world?

 We had a pretty heated discussions about what is ethical and what is not for a journalist. You ask, "Why? What's ethical is ethical, follow the guidelines and you will be fine." This is where being a journalist can get a little messy. There are no set rules to follow. Everyone personally defines what they will and wont do, cover, say, attend, etc. Yes, you must follow the rules at your specific network or station, but as a profession as a whole, there has yet to be made a concrete law. This is where the Society of Print Journalism Code of Ethics, (http://www.spj.org/), helps out. Read around the web page to get an idea of what is the ethical trend right now.

In this debate, we talked about the Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska in 1989. I wasn't very sure about what it was, so I did some research(http://tinyurl.com/7bxhur4). It was one of the biggest environmental disasters at the time, spilling more than 10 million gallons of gas into the icy Alaskan waters.

This video shows the impact that is still found today because of the spill.

We were given a situation and had to decide how we would deal with it. In Alaska, most of the money made is made by the extraction of oil. They call it "Oil Money." So when a tiny News Radio company, struggling to survive, is offered a thirty-two thousand dollar grant from Exxon to cover oil related news it didn't seem like a big deal. But it was. The company decided against taking the grant, and eventually went out of business.

This didn't make sense at first. Most of the money in that part of Alaska was being made from oil companies anyway, so why couldn't they accept the grant and allow the company to survive?

The answer is because it wasn't ethical to take the money. I agree with their decision. Even though Alaska is full of "Oil Money" this money was going to be given to them as a "gift" if they would cover the oil spill. If they had accepted the gift, they would have had to cover the oil spill in a light that positively reflected Exxon, because they were now obligated to support the company that supported them.

It all comes down to your worldview. What you view as right or wrong is different from the person next to you. When you get stuck in situations like the little news radio company in Alaska, you have to have made solid decision on what you believe is right. You need to make your own code of ethics and stick to it, no matter the situation. Now is not the time to be a fair-weather journalist.

We've got a mystery!

When trying to decide how I could best explain Watchdog Journalism, I brilliantly thought to myself, "Let the experts do the talking!"

So I will. This clip explains how a journalist can perfect his watchdog journalism skills. This is the Associated Press Washington bureau chief Ron Fournier and Accountability Editor Jim Drinkard.

Now that we know how to do watchdog journalism, we should expound on the deeper question of why. Rex Smith of the Times Union said, " I’m convinced that a focus on watchdog journalism is not only the right thing to do journalistic, but also a smart business strategy." To read his whole article, click here : (http://tinyurl.com/3umeu6m) Investigative reporting builds trust with the readers. When you become an activist, reformer, and and exposer, your readers will have faith that you are trying to get the truth out the best you can.

I was impressed when the presenters in my class last week talked about D. Todd Christofferson and his role in the Watergate scandal. In a speech to Duke University, Elder Christofferson talked about Sirca's decision on the case,“Nobody knew how that was going to turn out, [Sirica] could have been a goat as well as a hero and had his head handed to him on a platter by the Supreme Court. But he said ‘This is right,’ and he signed the order.”(Emphasis added)(http://tinyurl.com/3jbcve5)
This is what watchdog journalism is all about, telling the truth. Who better to teach BYU students this lesson than an apostle of God? We need to do the right thing to give our readers the freedom to decide for themselves what to do in any situation. We must give them the correct information, despite the retributions that may occur. It reminds me of when I was little, watching the detective Mary Kate and Ashley Videos, they searched for the truth and told it no matter what the cost!