The Journalist's Creed and FAITH
My adviser broke up our Blue Jay Journal TV staff into teams one day this past fall. Within our teams we were given the task of reading and discussing The Journalist's Creed.
The Journalist's Creed was written by Walter Williams. He started the world's first School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Williams didn't just pen an ethical document, he founded the school I will be attending in August. As I read through The Journalist's Creed and discussed it with my fellow staff members, I realized that the words Williams penned still ring true today. Too many journalists produce content for their audience with the mindset of being the first source to put out the information, but too often the information shared isn’t true or only presents one side of the story. This bothers me greatly. I firmly believe one of the most important aspects of journalism is to be accurate and balanced. The Journalist’s Creed supports that belief when it states “accuracy and fairness are fundamental to good journalism.” In my journalism class, I have been taught the FAITH acronym that originates from Al Tompkins' book “Aim for the Heart.” He presents a question for journalists to ask while reporting a story: Is it fair, accurate, interesting, thorough, and human? I keep FAITH in mind as I produce stories to ensure they accurately follow this foundation. I desire to produce stories that connect with the audience and serve their best interests, which is another point Williams asserts in the Journalist's Creed. Doing all this allows me to produce stories that embrace the Journalist's Creed and relay valuable information to my audience in an ethical manner. |
Multigenre First Amendment Project
When I was given an opportunity to select any topic for a cumulative multigenre project in my College Credit Composition I class, I was instantly drawn to produce a body of work over the First Amendment as it applies to Journalists.
Once I gained teacher approval, I began brainstorming which genres I wanted to use to convey my information in the most effective way possible. So I decided to write a news report, a question and answer segment with a journalist, and a satirical article, along with my essay. While brainstorming, I had the idea to make my essay layout resemble that of the United States Constitution. In addition, I had to include a repetend throughout my project, so I decided to incorporate the five pillars of journalism. My excitement for this project was through the roof because I could research a topic that would educate me as a future journalist and show my creativity in a new way, as well as earn a grade for a College Credit course. I started my research by using credible sources to gain better background knowledge. I wanted gain a deeper understanding of the Fourth Estate because it would help me understand my role as an American Journalist. I explored many Supreme Court cases and personal experiences from journalists to gain a different perspective and truly understand multiple scenarios Journalists face regarding the First Amendment. |
The amount of information I obtained about the legality of journalism from this project is invaluable. There are many different regulations and rules a journalist must follow. I would have never known all the intricacies if it wasn’t for this in-depth project. I have gained greater insight into the ethics of a journalist under the First Amendment, and I will cherish this information as I proceed further down my chosen career path.
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The Foundation of America
The freedom to express is one of the underlying principles that create the foundation of the United States. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution contains the five freedoms our country was built on—freedom of religion, assembly, petition, speech, and press. This amendment has great authority for all people of America, but especially in the career of journalism. Many journalists have come under fire for violating the First Amendment and fabricating “fake news” to the public, but shouldn’t they be entitled to a free independent press? It’s not black and white for journalists; there are many factors that impact what a journalist can and cannot do; the limits of a free press have been heavily debated by the public for many decades, causing journalists to preserve their rights in an evolving country.
A journalist’s job is to specifically publish news that “serves the public’s interest.” They are the messengers for society, but recently, the public has thought of journalism as “fake news” due to the false representation of some information. When a journalist grants fallacies to the public, he or she loses the relationship and trust built, which can lead to further allegations (Anderson). The public’s faith in journalists is one of the biggest battles journalists face today. Furthermore, in the 1970’s three-quarters of Americans trusted the press, whereas today the confidence in the news media has “dropped to its lowest level” in history. There are many causes of this statistic, but the distrust public figures showcase for journalists is one of the most influential factors. Since Donald Trump has been elected President, “fake news” and the public’s reliance and trust in journalists has declined. Trump constantly declares journalists “the most dishonest human beings on earth.” His recent assertions actually weaken the legal protections for the press in today’s world. Before Trump became President, a system between the press and government officials was utilized and heavily respected under the First Amendment. Reporters used to rely on politicians for access to information, and politicians used to rely on the press for the public’s attention; it was a corresponding system. This relationship guaranteed that the press would never be completely shunned, but with Trump’s threats and his turn to social media to connect with a vast majority, the public no longer utilizes the established news media as a primary source to receive information (Jones and West). This creates a sense of uncertainty for journalists in the United States because they aren’t perceived as useful assets to their country from the President’s viewpoint, but ultimately, it’s the public that greatly suffers when it comes to eroding ethical standings for the press. |
The First Amendment guarantees the press “limited protection.” Journalists themselves attain little to no superior constitutional rights under the First Amendment (Jones and West). In fact, “reporters have the same First Amendment rights as everyone else” (Peters). Two characteristics that do not fall under the First Amendment limited protection are slander and libel. Slander is spoken while libel is written, but they both involve defamation--the use of manipulated words to intentionally to damage another’s reputation (Rome). In the 1964 case of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the New York Times published false statements regarding the racial conditions in Montgomery. The slurs greatly affected the Montgomery Police Department by damaging their reputation, so the police commissioner, L.B. Sullivan, sued the New York Times for libel due to the fallacies’ repercussions. As a result, the Supreme Court declared the First Amendment protects “the publication of all statements” unless they are intentionally published with “actual malice” (Willsey). This landmark court case helped define libel and established a physical proof of a journalist’s evil intentions, which favored many journalists because they won’t get sued over misconceptions.
A common misconception about the First Amendment is that it applies to everyone and everything; it doesn’t. The First Amendment only pertains to government action and not private actors like social media. Broadcast journalism displays an evolving position in the world of journalism due to the increase of technology. Private actors are taking more action and control in the media and poses a threat in broadcast journalism because the government feels obligated to overpower its corporate-owned broadcast systems (Peters). One individual who understood the political damage an unrestricted broadcast system could induce was Franklin Roosevelt. When the New Deal was enacted in the United States, Roosevelt and his administration consistently fought to censor anti-New Deal broadcasting, but the courts disregarded many of Roosevelt’s convictions. Although Roosevelt’s ideas were never activated upon, he sparked a new way for politicians to advocate their objectives to the public. Many political leaders have taken advantage of the Federal Communications Commission to “favor broadcasters who supported them and to punish those who don’t.” This political programming had to adhere to the Fairness Doctrine, which stated Republican and Democratic parties must be given the same amount of air time (Anderson). This regulation led to many disputes, causing the constitutionality of the doctrine to be upheld in the 1969 case of Red Lion v. FCC. |
Red Lion v. FCC involved a conservative preacher, Billy Hargis, who broadcasted acrimonious attacks on a journalist named Fred Cook. Cook asserted he was entitled airtime to respond to the situation because of the Fairness Doctrine. The Supreme Court stated, “the government has a right and a duty to influence the presentation of ideas and issues over the airwaves.” In the end, the Court invalidated the value of individual opinion and commended the “objective of adequate presentation of all sides”; The FCC repealed the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 due to its violation of the Constitution. This case defines the flawed logic behind the Court for broadcast journalism: the Court doesn’t delay to use scarcity as an excuse for “minimizing First Amendment Rights,” but in Miami Herald v. Tornillo in 1974, the publishing outlets’ scarcity strongly reaffirmed the value of an independent press for newspapers (Anderson). The Court’s paradoxical views of the First Amendment originates from the belief that outlets in journalism are more different than similar. Hopefully, the Court will understand the difference and discover a balance between the channels of journalism.
One of journalism’s most imperative characteristics is that it implements a Fourth Estate for the United States government. The press controls the three branches of government and is a mechanism to force accountability on the government. According to TED Talk enthusiast Trevor Timm, “the First Amendment is the safety valve of [America’s] democracy” and is the reason for the United States’ existence. During the American Revolution, many individuals conveyed their opinions through different journalism outlets—speeches, pamphlets, newspapers—anonymously or under pseudonyms. The freedom to express was such a critical factor in order to overthrow British rule, so the Founding Fathers made sure to protect that right, with others, under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. A free press was so crucial to a specific Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson, that he explicitly proclaimed “were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” Jefferson’s perspective holds true to a democracy. Independent press associations guarantee that citizens of America stay informed about all aspects of their government and is essential for a healthy democracy to function (D'Arcy). Americans are entitled to ensure their government is reliable and it’s a journalist’s job to regulate the government. The First Amendment guarantees the press protection in various ways that many individuals are unaware of. Even though the First Amendment doesn’t allow journalists themselves more power, it allows for the freedom to share information with honest intentions, which not many other countries attain. Citizens of America, especially journalists, must continue to utilize the rights bestowed upon them by the First Amendment because, in the end, freedoms are only as strong as the people demand them to be. |