Freedom of the Masses

This started out as a Tweet.  Then I realized I needed more characters to convey my thoughts.  So then I decided to turn it into a Facebook post but I realized I could alienate groups of friends from all over the political spectrum.  So I decided to post this as a blog entry and limit the potential backlash since far fewer people will actually read it this way! 

To begin, I have three unfinished blog posts in my documents folder explaining my stance on gay marriage, what I love about Korea, and even a letter to Karen Klein, the bus monitor who was bullied by a group of middle schoolers in New York State.  But I have ADHD and all of those blog entries will remain unfinished in my documents folder until the day I die.  This is not a tragedy.  Today I will finish this blog entry.  Not because it’s more important, but because three is the limit of unfinished posts I’m willing to harbor on my hard drive. 

There is something called “ethics in Journalism.” Opinionated citizens simultaneously throw their two-cents' around about how biased our news sources are and--at the same time--post articles with deplorable journalism standards or lack thereof.  Let’s be honest: we like articles that agree with us whether or not they are truthful, researched, peer-reviewed, or unbiased.  Without thinking twice, we’ll click the “share” button on Facebook and circulate any article that slams our opponent on any issue about which we feel passionate!  When we do this, we are merely contributing to the degradation of the press; First by allowing for lower standards to support our point of view, second by circulating and providing exposure to articles that do not meet even the minimum criteria of a free and responsible press. 

According to Journalism.org (2012, Project for Excellence in Journalism), there are nine principles of journalism.  They are “1. Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth. 2. Its first loyalty is to citizens. 3. Its essence is a discipline of verification. 4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover. 5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power. 6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise. 7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant. 8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional. 9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience” (2012, Project for Excellence in Journalism).

As private citizens, we are free to circulate any nonsense we want simply because it strikes our fancy or makes us laugh or cry. I will support your right to voice any opinion you want in any medium that is available!  But consider this—when you circulate an article simply because it says something you agree with but is lacking in the minimum requirements for responsible journalism such as credit to the writer, quotes from those in attendance, free of opinion, or that panders to a certain point of view, do yourself a favor and DO NOT repost it!  YOU are now a component of the press if you have and use any social media!  YOU are responsible to understand the requirements of a free and responsible press.  If your point of view is really that valuable, then you will have no problem finding and circulating articles that at least meet the minimum requirements when sharing any document that support your beliefs. 

And if you do choose to continue to circulate articles that don’t at least meet the minimum criteria, do not make it your habit to cry “foul!” when you see a posting, especially one that does follow the above stated principles of journalism, that supports an opposing viewpoint.  Your side of the fence deserves to have thoughtful, responsible, researched, and relevant propaganda that verbalizes its viewpoint accurately and truthfully, doesn’t it?  Don’t make yourself and your opinion look foolish by circulating garbage. 

Reference:

Project for Excellence in Journalism, (2012), Principles of Journalism, journalism.org, retrieved December 19, 2012 from http://www.journalism.org/resources/principles.