With more people with camera phones and DV cameras, anyone can film something, post it on the Internet, and networks can decide how to use it. I'm interested in journalism, but I have increasing questions about ethics. What is a story and how should it be covered? Is the role of journalism changing?
This website and blog is going to focus on the nature of journalism in the time of the Internet. What should or should not be shown on television or in newspapers? Are the types of the topics that are covered in the news legitimate? How are computers and the Internet changing the way we receive news and the types of clips that we can access?
After searching through some websites I came across the term “citizen journalist.” This person will venture into the world and film something that he or she might consider newsworthy. This raw footage might then be posted on YouTube and any news outlet could access it, stick it on the air and use it as a story. Maybe the person who filmed it never intended for it to become a full-blown news story and posted it on YouTube because he or she thought it was a “cool” video. While I would definitely not say that the news media relies on YouTube and other sites for its content, there has been an increase of Internet video used as the basis for a story. Is the need for trained journalists decreasing?
There is also constant discussion about the ethics of journalism. What pictures and clips should appear in print and broadcast media. I recently viewed the Saddam Hussein execution in a journalism class that was taken by a cell phone and then spread on the Internet. It has been viewed over 15 million times on Google Video.
It shows Hussein mocked with the noose around his neck and then falling through the trap door. The video then zooms in on his dead body. Should this clip be shown on mainstream news stations with a viewer discretion advisory? Should we even be allowed to see this? Should that person have been allowed to film it? The fact that one clip can be spread around the world so quickly is scary. Wouldn’t a simple report saying that Hussein was dead suffice or is human curiosity so powerful that we have to see events with our own eyes to confirm that they actually happened?
I will attempt to examine other controversial media choices in this blog as they relate to current stories and how these choices could influence a person's opinion on the subject.
I also have a strong interest in sports and will also examine how the news media can affect the world of professional sports. How does the media frame the way the public perceives athletes? How does the media influence the career of a professional athlete?
2 comments:
I think that the topic of your blog is very interesting. Technology has made journalism different than it has ever been. I think that you will have a lot of interesting topics to discuss. Good job.
This is an extremely interesting blog. I am interested in your view of ethics and media in terms of how they affect children. There is a LOT of research on this topic (especially at USC). I will send you a link when I find a great one.
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