Called to Serve

Do you believe journalists truly serve you, the citizen? Why or why not? What should be done differently so that you, the citizen, are effectively served?

A journalist's first loyalty is to the truth? Perhaps. But a man's first loyalty is to support his family, and truth doesn't put bread on the table or pay for the kid's orthodontics. So journalists have jobs, and the truth is that in the end the journalist isn't serving you, the citizen- he's serving it, the company that's keeping him employed. And for a lack of a better metaphor, it's the carrot and the stick: the journalist writes his story, does a good job, and receives a paycheck, or he doesn't do his work and is subsequently fired. This makes the average reporter's day-to-day focus less on serving Average Joe Citizen and more about meeting the ever-present looming deadline. This is not to say there isn't good journalism out there- there's plenty of it, both print and broadcast- but at the end of the day, you aren't even the news company's primary customer. The advertiser is.

This guy had no idea.

 I'm being too harsh. Just because the journalist isn't necessarily serving the citizen (they're not waiters, after all) does not mean the citizen isn't being effectively served. With the advent of the digital era, we have access to more information than in any time previous. We are being served a veritable five-course meal's worth of reporting and news. Of course, this makes it even harder to discern who is dispensing veiled propaganda and who is holding their bias in check. Then again, as I learned in my Journalism class only yesterday, objectivity is essentially impossible. Even when an effort is being made to step past personal bias, the worldview of the journalist still influences their work.

So is the citizen being effectively served? Polls, like the one conducted above by the Pew Research Center, make it clear that the public doesn't think so. But is there any consensus as to what being "effectively served" is? Do we want pure logistical facts? Do we want commentary or punditry? Journalists ought to be lauded with praise for the job they do do, adapting and keeping the public informed at breakneck speed. Someone should offer them a carrot or something. Goodness knows they get beaten with enough sticks.

For even cooler looking graphs than the one above, check out the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. They've got something for everyone!

Do you believe journalists report the truth? Why or why not?

The legendary Johnny Cash once sang: "Can you blame the voice of youth, for asking/ What is truth?"

Pictured: the voice of a generation of truth seekers

Before asking whether or not journalists report the truth, a better question, perhaps, is what is truth? The answer is complicated- truth, especially when applied in the world of journalism, depends on sorting through the facts at one's disposal to tell the most accurate story of what took place. As more news is uncovered and more details come to light, the truth of a story may shift and change. Two journalistic goals, therefore, are correspondence and coherence: getting the facts straight while making sense of them. While its overall nature may be subjective, it's still important that truth remain the objective for all reporters to strive for. As those who essentially discover and direct what information we receive, dedication to providing accurate news (the basis for accurate opinions) should be their top priority. Is it?

Polls show trust in the media is at an all time low, and that journalists rank in the bottom tier of trustworthy occupations, hovering somewhere between bankers and politicians. Clearly, the public doesn't think so. Just turning on the television bombards the viewer with reporters slandering the coverage of other reporters, while talk radio is closer to "yell-and-bicker radio" than civil discourse. So apparently journalists don't think journalists tell the truth either.

Personally, I feel that journalists, in general, tell the truth. Or at least they intend to. Speaking generally, no journalist sets out to tell a completely fabricated story to the public. However, their human bias tints the perspective of any reporter, resulting in sometimes distorted accounts of what the truth is.

Truth is like Instagram, only slightly more filtered

So while I believe journalists report the truth, I also believe that truth's subjective nature sometimes makes it hard to judge it accurately. It's easy to point fingers and blame our news agencies for distorted truth while ignoring our own sizable biases. Thus, while journalists may strive to report only the truth, it takes extensive self-judgement to publish an unbiased truth.
Of course, some less than scrupulous journalists disregard this whole business of truth-telling and just straight-up lie. But that's a good way to end up, as Johnny Cash put it, "stuck in Folsom Prison."

Check out this link for the Edelman Trust Barometer, which measures the levels of trust in various institutions, including the media.

What purpose does journalism serve in your life?

"Never has freedom of information been so closely associated with democracy... The equation is simple. The absence or suppression of civil liberties leads necessarily to the suppression of media freedom."      -Press Freedom Index, 2011-2012

Journalism is essential to freedom, which in turn is essential to democracy. In totalitarian regimes, governments control the populace through a combination of media suppression and tightly hierarchal corridors of power. In other parts of the world, corruption and lawlessness leaves journalists fending for themselves, though this has begun to change. In the United States, we're blessed with a democracy that allows the people to elect their leaders. We have a Constitution that protects our basic rights and and grants us civil liberties. In other words, we're doing pretty good.

Pictured above: Journalism at its finest

So what purpose does journalism serve? The watchword of Peter Parker (aka Spiderman) was, "With great power comes great responsibility." As free citizens of the United States, we have both power and responsibility to make informed decisions when it comes to our country. How do we do that? Using journalism. Using the free press to stay informed, making intelligent decisions when it comes to the media we intake, and learning about the conflicts, politics, and events of the world around us. By the way, Spiderman's career when he wasn't fighting crime? A journalist! (More accurately, a photographer.) How's that for some symbolism?

Personally, I make it a habit to know what's going on in the world. Call me nosy, but I feel that to be an active participant in democracy needs to require a knowledge of current events, political happenings, and world affairs. And without good journalism, we'd have none of that. So what purpose does journalism serve? A better question, perhaps, is what purpose should it serve? We determine what media we intake, and we can make decisions based off of what we know. So make an effort to learn something today. Pull up a tab on the Internet and read a good article. With the wealth of information at our fingertips, it would be a shame to waste valuable time trawling through relationship statuses on Facebook or watching funny clips on YouTube. Learn something new today, because that's the purpose journalism should serve. With great power comes great responsibility.