truth and JOURNALISM!!!

in the student presentation last week in Comms 239, we talked a lot about presses and democracy, and the USA's versions and methods of journalism compared to other nations versions and methods. it was very interesting. it also made me thing. a lot......

we are really lucky. we have the most open, free, fair, and balanced press system in the world! we have a government that allows and insists that the press be a gatekeeper, watchdog, and information system for a free democracy to rely on. i found it really interesting what other kinds of press systems different nations have, so i am going to include some information about them on this lovely blog:

1) LIBERAL MODEL:

this model is most common in america, canada, australia, new zealand, and other democratic and free nations. it focuses on the production of mass media for the purpose of informing the public. it encourages the media as a watchdog. it encourages a high level of professionality from ournalists, meaning, they need to be balanced, truthful, and fair. this is what makes america so great. our journalists are truthful. sure, we have networks like FOX and NBC that are openly either liberal or conservative, but that is what makes us a liberal society. we have stations that are OPENLY either right or left. we know what we are getting! the governemtn does not use the media as a toold to get the people to think how they want them to think or vote how they want them to vote. the government needs the media to get information out, not the other way around!!!

2) POLARIZED PLURALIST MODEL:

this model is common in southern european countries. the polarized pluralist model took me a while to understand, mainly because it is not that different from the liberal model. the main difference in the two is that the polarized pluralist model has more government intervention when it comes to content of the media. the published media is meant for the upper class and educated readers. the government uses the media as a tool and publishes through them. the newspapers, magazine, and televised news shows are highly politically controlled.

3) DEMOCRATIC CORPORATIST MODEL:

the democratic corporatist model is the most interesting, in my opinion. it is found most commonly in northern european countries such as norway, denmark, and switzerland. the democratic corporatist model means that nations publishes lots of widespread media to their citizens that are highly politically swayed. the media has no shame when it comes to publishing things that favor a certain political party or group. i found this section of the presentation very interesting, mainly because i went on a study abroad to london from january-april of this year. during one of those weeks, 4 friends and i went to copenhagen, denmark. while i was there, i picked up some literature from the train station. i got some newspapers and magazines to read during a long train ride to one of the many danish castles we were visiting. i had my translation book with me, and, to entertain myself, i began translating. even before i knew a single thing about any of these journalistic models we have read so much about in this class, i noticed that their published materials were very political. and, just as we read about in class, the journalists themselves did NOT have to be fair at all. they were not the watchdogs or gatekeepers. they were political players and campaign advocates for a certain candidates or subject. it was so strange for me to read that, and made a huge impression on me. i brought those magazine and newspapers home with me and still have them. my own little piece of the democratic corporatist model. here are so shots of us in copenhagen denamrk. never ever have i been so FREEZING. never ever visit denmark in mid-february. brrrrr.

the famous "little mermaid" statue.

the copenhagen temple.

so that is a very BASIC overview of the three models of journalism.

the other subject we discussed and read about for last week's class was that or TRUTH and what exactly that means. in our book: ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM by bill kovach and tom rosenstiel, TRUTH is defined as the "first and most confusing principle" of journalism.

in the book, they state:
"truth, it seems, is too complicated for us to pursue...."
why is it so complicated? because truth can change. truth can be debated. what is true for me might not be true for YOU.

example: i know the church is true. most of us in this class know the gospel to be TRUE. but what about the other people randomly walking around on the street with us mormons? if we asked them if the church is true, would they agree? most likely not at all. we might be able to convince them, but they would not think the church is true. does that make it any less true for us?? no. this is why it is also tricky for journalists to define exactly what TRUTH is.

tom brokaw, one of my favorite reporters from NBC said:

"journalism is a reflection of the passions of the day. News is whatever is 'most newsworthy on a given day.'"

so true! what is true today may be false tomorrow. that is the beauty of news. it is ever changing. in this blog post, i would rather not debate about what is true and what is not true, but rather just state as a matter of fact that i don't believe we will ever know exactly what is true and what is false. the most important thing for me to do, as a journalist, is to get the facts straight and accurate. these two goals put together are the closest we can get to truth. if we report what we know in a professional and factual way then that is all that we can do, and that, in essence, is truth.

i remember as a little kid i used to sing this song in primary. i think it's an appropriate song that we as journalists can sing. it speaks of truth and being fair and honest. and it does so in a catchy, fun, cute, and retro-throwback way. enjoy. and remember: NEVER TELL A LIE.....