Monday, September 14, 2015

7 Yardsticks of Journalism

There are certain things journalists should always keep in mind when publishing news stories. 
Is the news newsworthy?
People love hearing about what Justin Bieber has done to get himself in jail for the third time, but is that information actually newsworthy? Newsworthy information are stories that are useful to people. Newsworthy stories provide people with information that may effect them and their lives. This also leads into the concept of local relevance, because journalists need to be aware how the news effects the audience. So before publishing a news story, make sure it has a specific purpose rather than interest.
Is the news story fair?
When publishing news, you should never be bias unless it is an opinion column. If you are trying to inform the reader of a certain event or situation, they deserve to know the full story in order to develop their own opinion. They should receive the big picture rather than an isolated version, receiving all sides of the story. Adding onto that, you as well should receive information from more than one source to ensure your story is valid, and you are not conveying false information to the public. You should always remain truthful and want your readers to believe you are providing them with valid news.

This lecture reminded me of the prompt I chose as an audition for the Journalism and Communications magnet. The prompt was asking whether or not we should lower the voting age to 16. I was in favor of the proposal, and one of my ideas was that politics should be taught in school, but from unbiased standpoints so the students would have a chance to develop their own beliefs and opinions, and use them when it came to voting for president. I made it very clear that the teacher should in no way sway the students to voting how the teacher wants them to vote, and they should be taught to teach both sides of why a candidate would be best fit or least fit for president. The teacher in a way is a journalist, because they have to provide the class with valuable information. They need to get their information from valid sources, and teach the big picture instead of specific viewpoints. 

1 comment:

  1. I totally agree with you! You did a really good job describing what is newsworthy and what is not.

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