"if it comes down to a question of loyalty, my loyalty will be to the person who turns on the television set..."
-nick clooney
two weeks ago one of the groups presented in our Comms239 class, and it was one of the most enjoyable presentations yet. (no, i am not just saying that because they are the ones grading these blog posts....). seriously, i really found the topic interesting. the topic they were assigned to was that of loyalty and journalism.
i began this blog post off with the quote about former journalist nick clooney's views on who he is loyal to because i believe that they closely parallel mine. when asked who a journalist is loyal to, some pessimist's may say:
-those who pay the bills by advertising in the paper or during commercial breaks, ect.
-those who have money and can give it to me if i do what they want, whether it be ethical or not.
-those who i know and somehow have a connection and lifelong loyalty to because we are friends.
maybe it's the fact that i am an optimist...or maybe it is the fact that i am only a reporter for kbyu news at BYU and therefore cannot be considered a REAL journalist in the eyes of the world because i am in college and do not get paid....but either way....i agree with nick. our loyalty is to the viewer! the viewer is why we have chosen the career as a journalist. the viewer is the one we are being a watchdog for . the viewer is the one who needs to know important information that only we can provide them with. the viewer is who we are loyal to. the end.
(***note: you can substitute the word viewer for reader, citizen, ect......**)
but not really the end. i now will back up why it is important to be true to the viewer. because citizens are NOT customers, we can consider the news a free public good/service that is issued to the viewers. the citizens who read our paper or watch our news shows may have to pay to get the paper or pay to get a channel, but they never have to pay for INFORMATION or unbiased opinions. those come with the paper and news shows.
one of the things discussed during class was how we can remain loyal to our viewers/readers and keep them happy. the group that presented gave us a list which i thought was really great:
1. the owner must be committed to the citizen first.
2. hire business managers who also put citizens first.
3. set and communicate clear standards with the company.
4. journalists have the final say over the news.
5. communicated clear standards to the public.
so many times, journalists forget to seek out the public's best interest and focus more on the big businesses that finance their station. in a perfect world, every news station and paper would follow these rules and the consumer would always have perfect information readily available. this is not always the case, however, i believe that we are really lucky to be living in america where we can say that, for the most part, we have incredibly balanced news stations and papers that put the consumer and citizen first. this is woven into the fabric of our society and democracy the founding fathers worked so hard for us to have! the first amendment clearly states that it is the RIGHT of the public to have equal and fair information. if you did not know that....then read this. it is awesome. and it is a link.
two summers ago i worked at Fox5 in las vegas. as we were discussing on how to put the consumer/viewer (in our case) first in class, i realized that Fox5 had something that they did that is a great example of this. it is called: THE RANT. basically, the rant is a little 5 minute blurb on the ten o'clock news hosted by one of the anchors, john huck, and has increased Fox5's viewership and ratings tremendously. what exactly is it?? it is a chance for viewers to voice their opinions on issues in las vegas. the station takes a topic that is current, for example, a politician who has done something to offend many citizens, and they let folks call in and leave voice mails ranting about it. or some people email their opinions and anger messages. it is both highly entertaining and very effective for creating positive change! the ranters watch to see if they made it on. the politician watches to see what he can do to get lost votes back. and the average joe schmoe at home watches just because it is funny to hear crazy over-opinionated people rant about their feelings.
the reason i believe this is the best 5 minutes of all the Fox5 news programs is because it involves the viewer. it puts the viewer first. before the writers, producers, reporters, news managers, station owners, and everyone else. they get to write the news, and it makes them feel POWERFUL! i love it! everyday i would go into work i would love hearing about the rant and reading some responses. for more information about the rant and to read some of the responses, click on this LINK:
this is a common practice on many news stations, nowadays. with twitter and texting so common, many news stations run a story and then ask the viewers to tweet/call/text/email in their opinions...some of which are read live on the air. this is a great way of making sure loyalties stay on the viewer.
when i go out and get a news assignment from my news director, and start working on my story for my news reporting day....the only thing i can think about when i am out there in the field (besides making sure i get enough footage and good interviews), is what my viewers are going to think of it. i happen to have a lot of family in utah who watch my show, as well as a sweet mom and dad who watch my show on youtube after it airs. although i have personal connections to these people, this example illustrates the kind of opinion every journalist should have. what are the viewers going to think of a story? if my story is unbalanced or unfair, i know MY viewers would let me know and rebuke me for it. i always keep that in the back of my mind, as i hope all other journalists do.
although some people may forget where our loyalties lie, i hope that i never do. i apologize that the bulk of this blog post has been focused on that subject, but it is very important to me, and i feel like it is the most important way we can keep our freedom of the press alive and well in this great country.
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