As a journalist, you’re always taught to be unbiased, balanced and as close to objective as possible. You’re supposed to get both sides of the story, to talk to multiple sources, to provide all the facts. Your job is to inform the public and present people with as clear and complete a version of the truth as you can. You are not supposed to take sides. You are not supposed to interfere. You are supposed to be balanced and detached.
Journalists can no longer do this.
The news these days is filled with horrific tragedies and acts of violence. You cannot be impartial. You cannot be detached. There is a clear side reporter fall on.
So how do journalists balance this responsibility to be objective with the responsibility to work to make a positive impact on the world?
Journalists should continue to do their research, gather evidence, speak to multiple sources and give as much information as possible. However, we need to rethink what news is supposed to do, how we’re supposed to present information and consider the impact the news can and does have on readers.
I’m not saying journalists should start taking sides or become overly emotional. Journalists should try to be objective and keep their opinions out of their reporting. They should fact-check and use multiple sources. I’m not saying news outlets need to cater to what their audiences want to hear. But I think we’ve reached a point where the news is getting tough for everyone to hear, read and see, and even write. Journalists cannot do their job if people don’t want to read the news. The news can’t have an impact if people are not engaging with it.
The goal of journalism is to help people. Journalism is supposed to provide a service. It is supposed to inform and educate. It is supposed to hold institutions accountable.
And that’s what journalism should do. In 2016, service journalism should be the focus of the news industry. The media should provide more information on community efforts, non-profits and organizations trying to minimize damage or improve situations. Journalism should provide people with ways to get involved and engage with issues. The news should feature more op-eds. Newspapers should include discussions of the wider context and the larger issues at stake.
News sites should talk about organizations working to help those affected or places people can donate blood. News articles should include links to foundations and places where readers can volunteer or donate money. They should enable people to get involved, to participate, but they shouldn’t pressure them to. Journalists should just do what they’ve always done – give information.
And a lot of news websites are doing this now. A lot of them are doing a good job of conducting unbiased, comprehensive news reporting. They shouldn’t stop doing this, or replace traditional news coverage with the kind I’m suggesting – I just think they should add this on top of it.
Journalists should seek to balance coverage of the acts of tragedy we see every day with acts of bravery people perform in the face of these hardships. Individuals who have helped out and fought back during extremely horrific events, people who have done extraordinary things in their lifetime. Yes, I know, there isn’t a balance. There is, unfortunately, more bad news than good. But we should still try to highlight the good in the face of the bad, no matter how small or sparse.
