When talking about news reports, as soon as people start to throw out phrases like “fake news,” liberal brainwashing,” liberal media manipulation,” I suspect that the person knows nothing about journalism, journalism education, news reporting or news ethics. It is akin to calling doctors shamans because one does not understand the extent of medical training doctors receive or the Hippocratic oath that they take. The misconceptions in news reporting may in part be to the rise in television news commentators, most of whom are TV personalities and not trained journalists, not understanding the difference between news and opinion articles, and a president who denigrates journalists at every opportunity and calls them “the enemy of the people.” Trump, however, has both an agenda and a lack of understanding about the field.
Journalists are trained carefully in every genre published in newspapers and periodicals. A news article has specific criteria for both structure and content, and it must be factual and backed up by documents or reputable sources. (Donald Trump knows this well because he has in the past sued major newspapers for publishing what he alleged were false statements about him.) When newspapers publish incorrect facts, they either follow up with retractions or corrections.
Newspapers also print opinion pieces. Most newspapers place opinion pieces in a separate section. In some cases, the author’s name indicates it is an opinion piece as many of their authors are regular columnists.
Television news commentators are separate from printed news sources. While many commentators are trained journalists, personalities who host daily shows on news networks often offer more opinion than facts while local nightly news broadcasts usually lean more towards facts.
Journalists do not take a Hippocratic oath, but they are professionals guided by a code of ethics. The preamble states: “Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. An ethical journalist acts with integrity.
The Society declares these four principles as the foundation of ethical journalism and encourages their use in its practice by all people in all media: 1.) Seek Truth and Report It, 2.) Minimize Harm, 3.) Act Independently, and 4.) Be Accountable and Transparent.”
You can find the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalism here: https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Stop denigrating journalists. Learn what it is that they do and why they do it. In 2017 alone, their commitment to truth caused over seventy journalists to be murdered or killed worldwide while reporting, covering an incident, or because of their status as a journalist. Journalists deserve better. They truly are the guardians of our democracy.
List of journalists killed in 2017: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_2017
Note: I am not a journalist. I am a citizen who appreciates honest reporting.
dottieriley 