I thought the reading for this week was very interesting. In our
book "The Elements of Journalism" we read the chapter entitled
"Who Journalist Work For" and learned about the different ways print newspaper
companies have gone about attempting success in a society turning towards technology.
The main concept that this chapter focused on was this:
Journalism’s first loyalty is to citizens.
What was so interesting for me was getting to see a newspaper from
the business side. In my time working with newspapers, I’ve always found myself
on the other side of this “wall” as the authors termed it. For a while in
journalisms history, people tried to separate business from reporting. They
wanted reporters to tell the truth, and the business-men to simply sell the
paper for what it was worth. Some people believed that by mixing the two,
corruption would find its way into the business as journalism would become more
focused on selling and pleasing the readers then it would with finding the
facts and telling the truth. But in most circumstances, this method proved not
to be very successful.
What WAS successful was the continued belief that quality
journalism is the cornerstone of the enterprise. Even in times of economic
downturns, companies who have held their ground in this belief have come out
standing strongest. When both sides of the corporation are committed to the
professions value first (writers and business-men), newspapers thrive.
In my opinion, it is truly amazing to see an establishment where
holding fast to the moralistic values are what increase profit and continue
success. Yet one more great reason to be a journalism major, don’t you think?
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