Presses, Democracy, and Political Parallelism

As we discussed presses and democracy in class this past week, a thought occurred to me – are we, as the readers of media, bringing upon ourselves the corruption of truth that it presents?  When we read the news, we expect to receive reality.  We expect the journalists to tell us what is actually going on in the world.  We must, however, also factor in what the desire.  Due to human imperfection or unrealistic thoughts of a perfect world, we want the media to tell us what we want to hear.  We want to read stories with the extra frilly embellishments that give us that extra sense of reality, even if it isn’t actually there.  Therefore, when we receive realism, not necessarily reality, do we have the right to criticize the media? Or, did we give the media the right to give us that decorated story?

Our class also discussed the so-called issue of growing political parallelism in the United States.  I, however, do not see political parallelism as a problem.  Political parallelism is when a reporter reports from an obvious point of view and they state their point of view.  For more information on the definition of political parallelism, refer to http://www.parallelism.org/.  Some would argue that as political parallelism arises in society, our ability to form our own opinions will diminish as we simply adopt the opinions of the writers that we read.  To this, I would say that this is an insulting point of view.  I believe that we, as an American people, are generally intelligent enough to recognize that, whether we like it or not, there will be a bias in everything we read.  Political parallelism will simply make these biases more blatant so that we no longer have to try to convince ourselves that there is no bias or determine what that bias is.  Political parallelism will open our eyes to several different viewpoints, allow us to easily compare multiple perspectives, and permit even more creativity in our writings. 

In the article on http://www.hkja.org.hk/site/Host/hkja/UserFiles/File/journalist/journalist2007nov/5-6.pdf, political parallelism in China, where it is very strong, is discussed.  It is said that some of the journalists “positioned themselves as protector of local interests and based their deeds on professionalism and neutrality.”  If political parallelism allows journalists to protect local interests as they deem necessary, then what is the problem with its’ growth?

The Future of News

According to the video on Newseum (http://www.newseum.org/programs/future-of-news/index.html), the “massive transformation of journalism” is just beginning.  The video continues to describe print journalism as in “crisis” and discusses the issue of who is trustworthy online – even referring to the “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire” awards given by some websites.  This issue of credibility is what I would like to discuss as it becomes more prevalent in the evolution of news.  As group 2 pointed out in their presentation last week, over one half of online news consumers use their social networking sites for news.  While this is just fine and dandy for social news – no one knows more about the relationship drama of Bill and Susie than Bill and Susie themselves, for example – an issue arises when one is dependent upon social networking for state and world news. 

An article on http://tinyurl.com/248mt5o offers a definition of citizen journalism.  One part of the definition states that citizen journalism is “independent online publications with amateurs doing original reporting.”  Note that it uses the word amateurs.  Citizen journalists are not professionals, nor should they be treated as if they were.  Many people, however, do accept citizen journalists as professionals and trust their information wholeheartedly.  So, how do we remedy this situation and bring credibility and reliance back to the professional world of news?

The movie mentioned earlier also states that “we have to reinvent ourselves and continue the revolution [of journalism].”  To me, this means that we must embrace the changing world of media and conform to it so that professional journalism simply appears in different ways.  Another point made by group 2’s presentation was that people want news outlets that are interactive.  Most big companies have begun doing this through things such as NewsMixer.  The issue that needs to be addressed now is making these professional news outlets more desired and trustworthy than the social networking sites for issues that ought to be addressed by professional news.  To all those aspiring journalists out there – may we find this remedy and accept the challenge of the changing world of media and make the news business better than ever before!

Purpose of Journalism

Ask me what I’m afraid of and I’ll tell you, with a slight blush in my cheeks, that I’m afraid of the dark. I’ll do whatever it takes to get out of the dark – turn on lights, seek out a flashlight, wait for sunlight, and so forth. Likewise, I think it is fair to say that no one likes to be in the dark. This is a large factor as to why journalism is so important for a well-functioning society.


As a group in my journalism class puts it, without journalism, you are in the dark, and when you are in the dark, you can be taken advantage of. In a country in which citizens are permitted and even expected to be free-governing, it is crucial to be well informed. The key purpose of journalism is to inform society of what they need to know to be free and self-governing. I particularly appreciate how this article highlights the purpose of journalism and how journalists should handle their job: http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Why-Journalism-Important/128572.

Look around you. The world is constantly changing, and we are all a part of this change. In order to find success and make proper decisions, we must be educated, and journalism places this education into the palms of our hands.

What is a journalist

Anxiety pours out of you as sweat covers your palms; stress twists your stomach into knots as you don a façade of confidence, walking into your first day at work. What does your boss demand? What will the clients expect? Will you please those you work with? For many jobs, these questions are simple to answer; however, these questions plague the journalists’ society more than others, as the old question of “what is a journalist” has yet to be clearly answered. In my opinion, a journalist is an educator. They are expected to keep the citizens updated on all the essential happenings around the world. Among the many epidemics filling society, one of the worst is apathy. It is the job of a journalist to evoke emotion in their audience, to give them a reason to care. In this age of modern technology, many argue that we are all journalists. While this is true to a point, not everyone can have access to top news conferences. Not everyone can travel to other countries and study the political and social activities there. A journalist has opportunities not offered to the average citizen to experience events that are still pertinent to the average citizen. Therefore, this is their duty: to inform the common man, in a largely unbiased fashion, of what is happening in his world; to educate the fellow citizen so that they can make wise, independent choices; to be a watchdog and teacher to all.