On Journalism

Below are a few thoughts on journalism that I've developed over the years.  I'll provide more detail on specifics in future posts, but wanted to share broad reflections today.

• Too often today's journalists are engaged in either too much self-promotion or irresponsible advocacy (open or hidden), with limited or no commitment to simply reporting the news.  In other words, too many media personalities either want to "be the news" or "make the news," rather than objectively report it.
• What is the primary motivation for students studying journalism at our nation's top schools?  Again, is it a passion to objectively and fairly report the news, or is it a far-reaching goal to impact policy, influence public opinion, or boost an ego?
• Extremely large corporations with expansive business portfolios now own our major media companies.  These companies pay a lot of money to individuals charged to report the news to the public (producers, anchors, reporters, etc.).  How do these business relationships impact the reporting and distribution of the news?
• I think we can all agree that public officials can be influenced by special interest money and advocacy.  Can the same be said about our media companies, personalities, and journalists?  If you were running a special interest group, would you see value in providing gifts and other favors to influential players within and throughout the media infrastructure?  If so, how likely is it that these media companies and individuals are influenced to bias their reporting?
• Should media companies hire individuals previously engaged in partisan politics to positions responsible for fair and objective journalism?  What's the impact if the journalist is committed to a certain political cause or ideology, or has an immediate family member engaged in partisan politics?  Even if there is no proven direct conflict of interest, should the perception of favoritism be grounds for media companies to not hire such individuals as objective journalist positions such as reporters and news anchors?  If considering a policy of public disclosure, what should be the scope and frequency of the disclosure?
• Journalism bias can be found in unfairly reporting the facts and circumstances surrounding a given story.  But even more pervasive and troublesome, in my opinion, is the bias involved in the actual selection -- or non-selection -- of stories to report.
• How does social media fit into this picture?  Citizen journalists now have a platform, can develop significant followings, and if credible, are able to convey to the consumer information without the mainstream media filter.  Tho consumer, in turn, can then further distribute throughout social media networks.

What does this all mean?

• Be a savvy consumer of the news -- include numerous outlets with varied backgrounds (even those publications that don't necessarily share your ideological perspective).
• Don't consume the news in a vacuum.  Share your thoughts with credible friends, family, and colleagues, and don't forget to genuinely listen to them.
• Should there be more of a commitment for all those directly involved in journalism to publicly disclose their financial, ideological, family, and other potential conflicts of interest?  What should be the consequence for failing to disclose?  Should conflict of interest standards also apply to commentators?