Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Ethics and Leaks and Politics, oh my!!

Whew! Lots to talk about today (tonight?)

So...my feature. Its due next Friday, I have to have most of it done for voicing next Tuesday. Sounds like I have plenty of time, right? Wrong. See, there is this whole thing that typically occurs at the end of the semester where teachers who realize they are behind on lesson plans throw everything at you all at once. Tests, papers, quizzes, and good old projects. So this feature story I thought I would have "plenty" of time to write and put together---let's just say I don't have the time I thought. Yes, I know, journalism is all about deadlines, and finishing in the "nick of time". The only problem is, I am not just a journalist, but a student, and who also works. Between class, meetings, homework, work, and all the other stuff, finding time to interview can be quite the feat. Despite my complaints, the upside to this situation is that I have found it relatively easier to come up with story ideas and topics for stories. Today in lecture, we discussed ethics in journalism, and came to conclusion that there were no hard-lined ethical rules. Well that certainly isn't comforting! The discussion revolved around a 20-year-old college student who was the son of a public figure, and ended up committing suicide after relentless coverage of a drug charged he received. The question the class had to wrestle with was whether the media was partly to blame/entirely responsible for the young man's death. The discussion brought up all sorts of issues with news, privacy, sensitivity to the public, minimizing harm, and journalistic responsibility.

The news the past few weeks continues to be exciting and interesting. Yet another reporter has been suspended from a news station for privately donating to a political campaign. The big question raised in this situation, is how far is too far? Clearly journalists are also part of the public, and have every right to support whomever the choose politically. But is it o.k. for the media to show clear support to one side or the other? Can journalists become friends with or continue close relationships with politicians? Questions, questions, and no answers. Just something to ponder.

Lately, I have been watching alot of the Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. What's interesting to me is determining whether their shows could be considered news. When Steven Colbert had the "Rally for Sannity" a few weeks ago, one attendee had a sign that read, "I get my comedy watching the news, and I get my news watching Comedy Central." The sign was humorous, but in a way, absolutely true! Many Americans are fed up with the "typical" depressing news stories they see on 24 hour news channels and even local stations, and are getting most of their news content online or from shows like The Colbert Report. Thinking about that concept makes me wonder even more about the changing face of journalism, particularly in broadcast media. Some professional journalists might laugh at the thought of The Colbert Report or the Daily Show being called news, but I don't know if its really that far fetched. They clearly have to do some sort of reporting and scripting to run their stories, and both shows routinely interview guests during the segment. All of these aspects are key in journalism, and all of them seem to be occurring on a comedy show. Knowing all this information, what should "mainstream" media do to regain and retain viewers interests? This is another question I have thought about deeply, and yet again don't have the answer to...what do you think?

For now, that's all everyone!