Journalism and Ethics in Today’s World

How has our evolving technological world affected journalism and ethics?

While thinking about what I should research for my topic, I was playing around with a bunch of different ideas. I knew I wanted it to be about Journalism, but what, I thought to myself. In my Journalism 200 class I am writing a research paper on Walter Cronkite. He was what most people referred to as, “the most trusted man in America”. Then it dawned on me, where have all the Walter Cronkite’s gone? How come our world today does not have one journalist whom we all turn to for our news?

Technology and journalism ethics, do they mix like oil and water?

Before we had technology, we lived in a simpler world. Now we have new devices popping up daily! As a whole we have become more and more separated as technology increases. We don’t get our news from one source like Uncle Walter and we have so many different news outlets. What I want to explore, is has technology caused journalists to be less ethical? In my opinion, journalism has to change with the times; it has to keep up with such a fast paced lifestyle where certain things can be left at the door.

What about leaving technology behind, and just focusing on Journalism and Ethics?

As a person concerned with doing good in this world, and a firm believing in what is right and wrong… I have realized that Journalism can be a dog eats dog industry, with people just trying to get the best story. I have always been curious about the ethical means behind journalism. I want to gain a better understanding for journalism as a whole and gain insight to the workings of real journalists. Can journalism be 100% ethical? Or is journalism and ethics and oxymoron? 

The DIgital Divide: is it shrinking?

In our country, and even the world there is a huge digital divide.
Many are moving forward with new technological advances, while many
others are left in the dark and are at a stand still. There are so
many new technologies that can be used to help us do everyday
activities, but many American do not have access to these luxuries.
Within the next 3 to 5 years will this divide become a growing gab or
decrease in size?

We have to look at current trends in order to analyze this fully.
According to the reading titled, Mobile Device Problems, a majority of
Americans have mobile devices. Out of these 88% of Americans, a
majority of them have experience issues with their phones. In my
opinion, issues with phones will persist. With any new technologies
problems will arise. Take the iPhone 5 for example, people are
complaining about a variety of different issues coming about with the
new product. This may or may not affect the digital divide that is
seen in many Americans.

The digital divide is seen throughout our country. We have one side of
the spectrum where many people have cell phones, and we don’t normally
think about the other side of it. But it is there. Many people go
through each day without the use of cell phones, to people with smart
phones that just doesn’t seem right. The digital divide will, in my
opinion start to get smaller as time persists. I’m not saying everyone
will eventually get a smart phone, but as time goes on I think that it
will be necessary for everyone to have one, in order to keep up with
the times.

Looking into the future, we must understand that technologies change
with time. They advance in ways our minds can’t even fathom. The fact
of the matter is that mobile phone issues will continue. There are no
questions asked about that. With every new technology issues will
arise. But when looking at mobile problems and the digital divide, it
is different. The 11% of American who do not have a cell phone are the
people who are in the digital divide. They do not experience mobile
phone problems because they do not have a mobile phone.

I think that in the future the gab between people with mobile phones
and people without them will continue to get smaller. Over the last 10
years the amount of people who have mobile devices has increased
significantly and that trend will continue to stay true. There will never be 100% of people with mobile devices, but it could come close.

All in all, mobile devices help us be productive, stay in touch with friends, and do a variety of other things that make our lives easier. There is a percentage of people who do not have mobile devices. But with every new technology, problems can arise, and that is normal. Yet, the people in the digital divide do not experience the issues that can arise from having a mobile device.

Now reporting live from…Your cell phone?

As a technology based generation, our phones are our lifelines. They help us communicate with friends overseas, tweet about funny comments, take photos, and the amount of aps that smart phones have available make the options truly endless. For most of us, going a day with out our cell phones, to quote Joe Biden, is just pure malarkey! Little do we know our cell phones could help us to become the next Tom Brocaw.

Citizen Journalism: a growing phenomenon

A fairly new concept is arising along with the increasing demand for smarter phones. This phenomenon is called citizen journalism.  The concept of citizen journalism is simple; it’s based upon public citizens playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information. (Citizen Journalism ) This trend has been made much more prevalent due to the increase in smart phones and social media outlets, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Citizen journalism is getting increasingly more media attention due to the amounts of mobile devices. But, citizen journalism didn’t necessarily begin when cell phones became popular. While reading about the history of citizen journalism, I learned that it dates back to the 1800s when activists such as Thomas Paine, took action and published his feelings about the government in pamphlets. Fast-forwarding a few decades, citizen journalism became increasingly popular during controversial events. Video footage of the assassination of President Kennedy and the Rodney King riots were filmed by citizens who just happened to be there. (Guide to Citizen Journalism )

The growth of the World Wide Web led to an increase of citizen journalism. It allowed people to voice their opinions on certain issues for a mass audience. Average Joes could blog about pressing issues, issues such as 9/11, the Iraq war, natural disasters, the government, and other current events. Now, we have smart phones making citizen journalism even more prevalent. There is now the ability to write about what is going on in the blink of an eye. Mobile devices are allowing citizen journalists to become even more popular, but is everyone in favor of this trend?

Truth: Something that the media tends to leave behind

At times we are flooded with so much information from the media and news, it makes it difficult to decipher what is true and what is fabricated. Citizen journalism picks up where news falls short. With citizen journalism we see actual footage of pressing issues that open our eyes, giving us the cold hard facts. A website I stumbled upon titled 5 news stories changed by the rise of citizens journalists (New Stories Changed by Citizen Journalism) Really helped me understand the basis of citizen journalism. The stories included raw footage of the 2009 Iran presidential election, the Egyptian protests, and footage from 2010 Moscow Metro Bombings. Three out of the five stories were citizen journalist stories involving police brutality and mistreatment.

The Video that shocked me the most was the Oscar Grant shooting video. It showed police shooting an unarmed and already handcuffed 22 year old. Bystanders witnessing the entire scene took out their camera phones and received footage that later was used as proof in the trial. Eventually convicting the officer who shot Oscar of involuntary manslaughter. This evidence provided by various citizen journalists helped to serve justice, something that larger news mogul’s can fall short on doing.

Citizen Journalism, a friend or foe?

Citizen journalism was in no question a pro, in serving justice for the Oscar Grant case, but there are some cases where it can be seen in a very negative light. In order to be a good, objective journalist, one should be able to leave opinions and bias out of their work. Many argue that citizen journalism does not do that, people become passionate about current issues and when they get footage of police brutality or a large riot, emotions will definitely be involved. (Pros and Cons of Citizen Journalism )

There is also the argument that citizen journalists do not want to be journalist, they may just feel passionate about a certain pressing issue. Or they may capture something that is appalling or disheartening and want to share it with others in order to get word out about it.

All in all, citizen journalism keeps us in the know

Citizen journalism is a great idea. It helps to get news out in a more raw and honest way. What could be more real and believable than actual footage of current events? This is the time for people to really speak up and make a difference and citizen journalism allows that, while influencing and impacting the world.

To be or...Technology?

We live in such a rapidly growing technological world. But the question that arises is; are we disconnecting ourselves from human interactions when we connect in our devices? Last night I went to my mom’s house for dinner, and the topic of conversation surprisingly enough was technology! My stepfather was explaining the “phenomenon” of posting an article to someone’s Facebook wall, “I mean, it’s really amazing. This person had somehow put an article on their Facebook!” He exclaimed, while I laughed and thought, “Is he serious?” To someone in my generation, to not know how to use Facebook is just wrong, but we grew up at a time where texting and the Internet is second nature.

“Hamlet’s Blackberry” is a book by American author William Powers. In it Powers argues that technology is making us become less personal and less connected. In his interview with Katie Couric, William Powers explains that technology is great and helpful in many ways, but information overload is very possible. His argument explains that despite our devices intentions of making us become more efficient individuals, it is making us less efficient and making us less connected to people, and more connected to our technological devices.

Throughout this interview I came to the realization that Mr. Powers made a very plausible argument. Many times I find myself not being able to hold conversations with people because I’m constantly thinking if I have a message on my iPhone. Throughout the course of writing this post, I’ve looked at my phone at least 10 times, and to me that is being too connected. Powers brings up the issue called “digital maximalism” and goes on to explain it means the more connected you are the better. On average, American’s spend 2.7 hours socializing on their phones, which is over twice the amount of time we spend eating. (Digital Buzz) We lack a sense of deeper connectivity to people, we see the people we interact with more as a text message or an email, rather than another human being. There is the ability to be personable in a text message or an email, but you can only go so far.

While researching my stance, I stumbled across an article that states, “Technology is ours alone, separating us from every other species, yet we continue to develop it to the point that we destroy a distinctly human process — communication.” (Collegiate Times) To me this was interesting. I don’t think that technology is 100% destroying our process of good-old-fashioned communication, but I do think it is putting us in a place where we will eventually lack some necessary social skills.

Are we in a “conundrum of connectedness”, as William Powers said in an interview with NPR? (NPR) Our brains are constantly adapting to meet the needs of our changing world, but it almost seems like we are experiencing information overload, and making our brains work harder to understand new information. We have mastered the art of multitasking, we can talk on the phone while still texting someone else, and checking our Facebook status.

In the interview William Powers says that technology is increasing our groupthink, so we lack our own individual thought. I would say I disagree with this, technology allows us to express who we are and express our thoughts. If anything, I would say technology increases our uniqueness as individuals. 

Now, like William Powers' argument, I think that technology is great! It has made our lives much easier and helped us get things done more efficiently and faster, that is if we stay off social media platforms.  Powers does not give an extremist pont of view, but rather a rational point of view. In my opinion, everyone can benefit from taking a little break from technology, even if its disconnecting for a few hours a day, or like William Powers suggested, the entire weekend. I think that it is time we stop Instagraming the roses and stop and smell them for a while. 

New Member on the Endangered Species List: Newspapers

As a young adult living in this constantly changing world, I find my self wondering what our future will bring. Is technology beneficial or will it lead to our slow demise? But, the question to really ask is; will we embrace new technologies and use them to our best ability? I came across this article that was titled “Who Killed The Newspaper?” to briefly describe it, it talked about how newspapers are slowly coming to a halt due to the internet, and people’s want for quicker, easier, and “sexier” news. It gives a realistic, yet comforting view on the decline of newspapers. Yes, in our lifetime there is a huge possibility that we could see newspapers 100% online, but instead of running and hiding from this change, one can learn that this is the future and embrace this change for what it is.

Who Killed The Newspaper?