Ethics in the News

I think the news industry should hold the highest code of ethics. If people hear about something on the news, they automatically assume it to be true. News networks rely on society's trust and I think they should ethically earn our trust. Although there are time deadlines and limited finances, journalists should always try their best to present the truth to the public. Journalists should also never stage the news. In Salt Lake City, a news reporter was accused of asking a group of high school students to come to the school parking lot and chew tobacco in front of the camera. Even though he was asking them to do what they did on their own on a regular basis, he was still charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. I agree with the fact that he should have been charged. Although the students chewed tobacco anyway, he should not have asked them to do it then just to make his story look better and more believable to the public. The news industry has to realize in a scandalous world full of celebrity divorces and CEO's who are fired for embezzlement, the news is where the public turns to for truth and accuracy. The industry should do its best to accommodate us while keeping ethics in mind rather than what would make the best story.

News Gathering Rights

News gathering rights help the news industry to report on such things as government officials and school district meetings. Sunshine laws, or open meeting laws, allow the press to report on public meetings because they are required to have open sessions. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that requires federal agencies to list all of their documents and provide them for news agencies on request. However, "top secret documents" or documents that would violate private laws are off limits to the public. Shield laws are designed to ensure confidentiality of news sources. The aspect of news gathering rights that most concerns me is the Freedom of Information Act. This is a very significant law, as it has uncovered such things as unsafe conditions at nuclear power plants and the presence of poisonous wastes in drinking water. The FOIA will allow me to gain access to important pen documents that society deserves to know about, such as where our tax dollars are really going. I intend to be a reporter someday and I obviously want to provide the most accurate news to the public about things that affect their lives, which will often involve the government's cooperation. Several government agencies have resisted FOIA actions, making it difficult for journalists and citizens to get the information they request. I will have to prepare myself for dealing with such agencies if I want to be a confident reporter someday.

Agenda-Setting Theory

I agree most with the agenda-setting theory. The agenda-setting theory is the belief that mass media influence what you think about and your perception of what is important. I agree with this statement because after watching even one news segment, people begin to think about things they never would have thought about on their own. People sometimes will continue to think about these new ideas for days simply because they feel like they should since the news said it was important. For example, the OJ Simpson trial (again) has been the topic of many family dinners over the past few months. Why? It seems that an average Joe would never care about such a thing because it does not affect the every day person at all. But because we could not turn on the TV for about a week without seeing something about OJ Simpson, it became a topic that stuck in our minds and we were forced to think and talk about. Another example is the way the war in Iraq is presented on a lot of news networks. Even if someone had never watched the news and was extremely opposed to the war, it would be very hard them to continue to oppose the war if they saw pictures of Iraqi woman and children being killed by Iraqi troops who were controlled by Saddam Hussein. The way that the troubles in Iraq have been presented over the years in the media leaves little room for anyone to protest the war or consider it insignificant. The agenda-setting theory definitely makes sense when you consider issues like the ones I mentioned.