How Do We Fix Journalism?
By Marsha Green
The life of journalism often seems that it may end sooner than we expect. However, journalism is the heart of democracy, and without it the world seems unbalanced. There are steps that we must take in order to keep journalism intact.
· Remain Objective-
Journalists have a great responsibility to bring information to the public but with that in mind it is important to remain objective. It seems that journalism has become a platform used to spew personal biased rhetoric. If anything is harming journalism it is when we shy from the truth and use our opinions to drive our news.
· Stay Away From Propaganda-
The use of propaganda is one that has hindered the journalism field as a whole. To push a collective notion among a large group in a decoy way. This has become more widely used as the years’ have progressed. Sites have created different algorithms that are used to show its users what they believe users would like to see.. Google has also been involved in contorting the thoughts of its users. In the article “Are Google’s Personalized Results Making Us Politically Partisan?” Google was accused of creating personalizes search results based on the opinions and views of its users. “Here is an unintended dark side to a search engine that only provides the information we want to see: it cocoons us in an echo chamber of political information that confirms our pre-existing opinions.” This creates a false narrative.
· Fact Check-
Probably the most fundamental aspect of journalism and yet it is one that often time goes unnoticed. How can we put information out to the masses that we have not thoroughly checked and vetted?
· Be Diverse-
Diversity in journalism, or the lack of, does more than good. Not just to be diverse on the surface but understanding that different races, cultures, and backgrounds can only be an asset in newsrooms around the country and the world. “Minority representation in the newsroom and digital properties are still shockingly low,” said Donna Byrd, publisher of TheRoot.com, which has an African-American-centric focus, at the convention. “There’s still quite a lot of room for opportunity and growth. There’s progress being made but there’s a long way to go.” Let’s face it, diversity in the newsroom is a major issue and collective ideas from a diverse group can help push journalism farther along.
Journalism tomorrow may have a short-lived future, but if we remain objective, ditch propaganda, check our facts and strive to be diverse the future of journalism looks pretty darn good.
