The Middle East: Conflict in Journalism
Before beginning my essay, “The Middle East, Conflict in Journalism”, I would like the reader to read a few terms. These are merely food for thought, do whatever with them you wish.
Conflict: A state of disharmony between incompatible or antithetical persons, ideas, or interests; a clash. (The American Heritage)
War: A state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict carried on between nations, states, or parties. &The period of such conflict. &The techniques and procedures of war; military science. (The American Heritage)
Journalism: The collecting, writing, editing, and presenting of news or news articles in newspapers and magazines and in radio and television broadcasts. Material written for publication in a newspaper or magazine or for broadcast. The style of writing characteristic of material in newspapers and magazines, consisting of direct presentation of facts or occurrences with little attempt at analysis or interpretation. Newspapers and magazines. An academic course-training students in journalism. Written material of current interest or wide popular appeal.
There has always been biased coverage of conflicts in the world, and it seems to me that the older the media and news agencies become today, the more biased and one sided they seem to be. I’ve always thought that Journalism has a set of ideals, or guidelines, that all journalists should follow. Look at part of the definition of journalism:
“…direct presentation of facts or occurrences with little attempt at analysis or interpretation.” One of the key ideals is to present the issue in a nonbiased and informative perspective. This is something that I believe is ...
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... writing an article that is read by many in an area of conflict. One, always offer the other sides view. Two, never use words that imply or point blame towards any group. Three, write with your heart, but also write with your head. If this can be accomplished, then the world can be rid of articles intended to whip up riots and gain articles that enlighten the people of earth. The ideals of journalism would serve their point, and people could maybe learn to see things from another point of view.
SOURCES:
The Jerusalem Post
http://www.jpost.com/
The Independent
http://independent-bangladesh.com/news/apr/24/24042002lt.htm#A1
Dictionary.com
www.dictionary.com
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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The natural resource that I am writing this paper on is coal. Coal is a cheap, dirty fossil fuel which we burn to create power. Coal is the most abundant in North America and in Russia, including the area around it. China also has a fairly good amount of coal in it too. Coal, like all of the other fossil fuels is nonrenewable and will eventually run out, in the not so near future. Coal is very important to many of the countries of the world. The countries that use the most coal are China, the United States, India, Russia, and Japan. These five countries “account for 76% of total global coal use.” (World Coal Association, 2014).
Because I am a journalism student, I have talked, researched and discussed with many of my fellow students and faculty members about the topics above. I am choosing to talk about this because I think it is important and they are pertinent issues in the journalism field. I am also very interested in this topic, so I thought it would be fun to take the opportunity you gave us to design our own multi-part question and write about something in journalism that is appealing to me.
An argument can be made that Journalism is one of the very few professions in the world of media that is handled with some sort of dignity and pride. After reading “The Elements of Journalism” by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, I realized how important journalism is to each and every one of us. Whether you’re a writer or a reader, the back and forth exchange between provider and consumer is extremely important in pushing society forward. Journalism after all is designed to challenge society, promote new ideas and spark conversation between one another. Despite the positives of journalism, there are issues that exist within the profession that cannot be excused and cannot be ignored.
In times of War, the media plays a crucial role both in reporting, monitoring and giving updates. During the Vietnam War of 1955-1975, the American press played crucial roles of reporting until it ended up shifting its tone under the influence of occurrence of some events like the Tet Offensive, the My Lai Massacre, the bombing of Cambodia and leaking of Pentagon papers resulting into lack of trust in the press (Knightly 1975). From the beginning of the war up to present times there have been undying debates over the role of media in the war. The have been various criticisms over the American News Media’s actions and influences on the outcome of the war. The debate is embedded on the particular political assumptions perceived across the American political spectrum. Those criticizing the media for its role are of the opinion that the media misunderstood the United States military effort hence hindering succession of the American will in a war which was to be won.
In trying to attract new audiences, news media have begun to transition from reporting to becoming a form of entertainment. With the meteoric rise of social media’s role as a news source, the fight for an increase of diversity in the media, and the ever-growing desire of immediate content, the future of responsible journalism is more important than ever. Ask yourself, why do I think the way I do? Where do my political views originate? How do I prove them? Most likely, it is due to the biased portrayal of issues in the media and the politicization that accompanies what we consume. Now, compare your views to your preferred news reporting entity. More than likely, they are the same.
Public journalism has changed much during its existence. Papers are striving to actively involve readers in the news development. It goes beyond telling the news to embrace a broader mission of improving the quality of public life. The American style of journalism is based on objectivity and separates us from the bias found in most European partisan papers. American journalism is becoming too vigilant in being objective that the dedication to investigating stories tends to be missing in the writing. Public journalism works to incorporate concepts from partisan and objective writing to increase the flow of information and improve the quality of public life.
Coal mining can benefit humans as well as it supports the economy in many ways. Coal mining provides a lot of jobs for local communities. It provides over 7 million jobs worldwide.
To conclude, when public journalism is being practiced, a larger percentage of reports face an innumerable amount of issues that lie in their content, the journalists themselves, and their audience. What is being reported by professionals, traditional journalist, constitutes as “good journalism” because of their ability to maintain and provide accurate, unbiased reports, fulfill being a good neighbor and watchdog, while adjusting to our growing technological advancements with an newer and improved rapid reporting. Thus, traditional journalism holds the persisting dominance over their competitors, public journalism.