News Writing Critique
Media Amendments
The Kuwaiti incubators; death row exonerations; the Dili massacre; all of these stories were exposed by journalists who dedicated themselves to their craft for the good of the public. It’s hard to know who you can trust these days. As people, we trust until that trust is broken; but what if it never is, but it should be?
Trusting the wrong person is dangerous for all parties involved. It is most dangerous when we can not trust those who are charged with the well being of others. Journalists help keep those in power from taking advantage of their positions.
Journalists also aid in not just the exposing of scandals, but the spread of vital information. A car crash that shuts down a section of highway is important information so commuters know to avoid that section of the road.
Journalists are important to the ecosystem of the world because they show the reality of lesser known situations (Kuwaiti incubators, Chernobyl today) and keep the world connected to each other. The media gathers and distributes news from shootings to small-time success stories. Articles can travel from China to the U.S. almost instantaneously to connect different sides of the planet with the same news.
The First Amendment protects the freedom of the press. With this is place, we as journalists are allowed to speak our minds in editorials and write out important stories that keep the public informed. Without the First Amendment, the government would be able to regulate and control everything that is printed and everything that the press gets to say.
With this, we see a society a little closer to that of North Korea - a country that announced to its citizens that they won a competition in which their country was not even entered. With the First Amendment, we are allowed to call-out and oppose false information.
New News
In high school, I was the “word nerd” on the yearbook staff. I knew words. I knew how to write them, and I usually knew what to write. But writing for a yearbook that no one will see until June is vastly different from writing for a website that people can see the next day.
While I was already accustomed to writing in the past tense, I learned how to write for a news organization. I learned how to write lead paragraphs and put the most important information first for a fast-paced world that only has time for the highlights. With a 25 percent slower reading speed online, readers need the fast facts, and then they can decide if they want to continue reading the story.
I can use the information I learned in this course in my future journalism courses. I will be taking News and Writing II next semester and I have a feeling I will use all the skills I learned in this class.
Though my upper level courses will undoubtedly become harder, I am ready for the challenge of being a Christian in the sometimes morally challenged profession that is journalism.
Calling Out to Our Calling
Many people look down on journalism because of what some so lovingly refer to as “fake news” or because of breaches of privacy. The reality of the profession, however, is that as Christians, we should have the opposite reaction. We should all be running toward this suffering breed.
Many will say that the media lies. That might be true, but it should not stop us from entering our calling.
If we do not go into journalism because of what people will think, then we are letting the world control us rather than listening to God. Only by entering the media and helping reverse the stigma will change actually occur.
We are called to share the gospel with all nations. Emphasis on all. Missionaries are called everywhere. Whether it is to North Korea or to your neighbor, we should minister to all people of all cultures in all nations, including our own.
Christians flock to the Middle East because it is a gospel depraved area and those living there need to hear the good news. In Uganda, we go because some of those people may never have even heard of the name of Jesus. Even Argentina or Guatemala receive hundreds of missionaries a years.
But what about the United States? Is it not also a nation? In our quest to preach to all nations, some forget about one nation: ours. Journalism is one of the desperate fronts because it in in the public eye.
While I commend Christian radio and television stations, and they are vital to the Great Commission, those working in these outlets are staying in the Christian bubble. We need to burst the bubble and work in places where Christianity is not necessarily welcomed.
We all know these stations and these organizations. We know that they do not know Christ, and yet we condemn them to eternity in hell because we disagree with their views. It is not our job to be judge, jury and executioner. That remains forever with God.
In refusing to accept that these people need help and by refusing to help them, we make the decision to allow them to die. We may not realize this, but that is exactly what we are doing.
We need to be brave and courageous. Go for that job at CNN. Take that interview with MSN. Our mission is different than other Christians because we are called to a public platform that is already stacked against us.
We can be the light in the media that finds the real news and spreads the good news while doing it. We have to be. While everyone turns off the news and turns their backs on those that need help, God calls us to power on, full steam ahead.
It is our calling. It is our responsibility. It is our burden.
Will you take up your cross?
