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!