On the Media: March 26th

a.what did I learn about the practice of journalism and or expectations of journalists as described in the ten elements of journalism?
I learned that we should go back to the principles of journalism started by the forefathers of the profession and offer voice to the voiceless rather than focusing on celebrities and stars. We should also know what we are talking about, how can we tell the truth if we don't understand what is happening?
We need to always fact check, don't just get quotes from people making a crazy statement and leave it at that, get the facts of why they think what they do and also have facts to back up your story so it is truthful and not biased.



b.what did I learn about the ethics of journalism or an ethical challenge faced by a journalist?
We should avoid the sins of mischaricterization, such as saying their are large numbers of Americans for or against something, it misrepresents the public opinion, actual data should be used. We should cover all the points, views and groups, not just the groups we agree with. We should avoid point and laugh coverage which is where you find a group doing something crazy and make fun of it.
We shouldn't pay too much attention to when someone steps way over the line, you need to dig into the policy objection. So, if someone says something crazy you can't just put it in your story because it would seem biase, and you can't leave it out because it is biased as well, this is why you need to cover all the views and angles.


c.how can I apply what I learned from my chosen source this week to improve coverage of my beat or my future work in journalism?
What I learned this week can apply to my beat or future stories because it made me realize that I don't just need quotes from leaders, experts, and well-known people, I need to offer voice to the voiceless as well and tell their stories and opinions. I also learned that I need to be better about doing research and background information so I can know what I am talking about and be better able to share the truth.
I learned that I need to get more points of view for my stories as well so that I don't sound biased. I also learned to avoid and (ook for when listening to the news my self) the sin of saying this group believes this or the majority thinks this, without having good hard numbers to back it up.