War on Journalism

12/10/2018

Recently, a reporter by the name of Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by a Saudi hit squad. This man was an international journalist with American residency. He has been reporting for several years on the Saudi royal family (specifically the crowned prince) and their inhumane acts against Saudi citizens. Khashoggi was gruesomely suffocated slowly within minutes of entering the Turkish embassy. His body was then dismembered with a saw and most likely dissolved in acid (this was found out from a auditory recording device that was in the room where he was killed). This man was doing his job to report on Saudi Arabia’s human right violations and was murdered for giving the embassy a bad rap. Reporters all over the world risk their lives to seek the truth and relay information to us. Yet, they are never recognized for their heroic livelihood, only criticized and patronized for passing around “fake news.”
An independent press plays a crucial role in American democracy - free press is specifically emphasized in the first amendment of the constitution and is a trademark that represents our freedom. No news organization is perfect, but they more or less get the word out. There are also several sources out there to fact check. Having news/knowledge is power, and it entitles the people to have opinions and refute atrocious acts committed by others.
The Trump Administration, along with others, makes life even more difficult than it is for journalists. President Trump called journalists on his first day of office “among the most dishonest human beings on Earth.” He also has called them several bad names in his special way of speaking. Trump has continually kicked out reporters from press briefings. By labeling reporters as liars, he apparently hopes to discredit into silence any person who challenges his version of reality, same goes for any other person who has criticized reporters. It is a proven fact that previous rulers (mostly dictators) like Josef Stalin and Hitler convinced their followers to distrust the press because it gave them an advantage to carry out their horrendous acts behind the scenes. Withholding the press is an act against freedom and is often a factor in genocide. Having confidence in the public to right each other’s wrongs requires constant evolution and self-examination. Even though the news organizations are not flawless, they are still an important part of democracy and should not be silenced or harassed.
On the flip side, there is the issue of fake news. Many individuals feel news organizations are failing to get the facts right. Some think the news is brainwashing them into believing illegitimate facts and stories. The press often fails to give equal time to both sides of the situations. It is easy to agree with one side when the other side does not have a chance to make their claims. Many media organizations are biased, and it can get sticky when reporting the truth may be a swayed truth. There are ways to get around this by fact checking with different news reporters, but some folks do not have time or desire and, consequently, only listen to one organization. In addition, having two strong, partisan parties definitely increases biases within our media.

Where do you get your news from and do you feel it has correct information? How important is free press in a democracy? What would be the consequences of not having a variety of news organizations? Should our leaders be discrediting journalists and the media? Do you have any ideas on solving fake news?

42 Comments

Brooke

12/16/2018 05:21:29 pm

Freedom of the press, controversial or not, is extremely important in society. Sure, we gripe about fake news and become depressed by the dark reality which takes place, but without news, we would know nothing of what was occuring in the world outside of our own town. The lack of this information would essentially knock us back a few centuries to where they needed pigeons to send important messages and events. The leaders would be omnipotent, being as they controlled all information regarding the world. "When they own the information, they command it all they want." The common class would hardly have an influence, and would be forced to trust in one source alone. At least in this current age, we have multiple sources to choose from rather than one unquestionable rule. Yes, there are multitudes of fake news stories out there, which makes our society quite torn, but eventually we will learn the truth. I believe many of us also possess a moral compass which will dictate whether we believe an article or not, so it is also up to us to credit or discredit the news for ourselves.

Kelsey

12/16/2018 06:09:01 pm

I agree, that is a great point -- you would think everyone would be able to tell the credibility of a news source. In addition, most news organizations have a certain reputation of being either feasible or impractical.

Jesse B.

12/16/2018 06:30:44 pm

The subject of fake news is often infuriating almost to a point where one would not watch any news, but I agree that without the press we would be clueless on events that happen around the country and world. Also, your description of how the leaders of the nation would control the press and the people if there was only one network is very true. As the old saying goes, "The truth will always find a way," even today. Is there anything that you would do to lessen the occurrence of fake news in our society?

Kenna

12/16/2018 06:42:58 pm

Knowing about the outside world is very important. Just like you say we don't want to go back to using pigeons to send information. One person controlling information would allow for people to be brainwashed into whatever they say. Prople have the right to know the truth.

Saylor

12/16/2018 06:44:58 pm

Those are some really good points. Most people have good morals, and it's not that hard to find the truth out of something. There's probably not going to be a way we can just find a way to know if news is fake or not. It's nice to know as much as we do from the internet, and it;s not that bad of a situation that there is fake news considering we will the the truth eventually.

Katarina

12/16/2018 06:54:07 pm

That’s true. Whether the sources are biased or not at least we know some of the information.

McKinlee

12/16/2018 07:36:45 pm

I agree that freedom of press is incredibly important. Do you think there is anyway to prevent fake news?

Sadie

12/16/2018 07:47:09 pm

Yes. The truth is out there somewhere, all it takes is some common sense.

Jesse B.

12/16/2018 06:22:18 pm

As citizens of the United States of America, it is one of our many duties to hold our leaders accountable for their actions. The press and media are the outlets for individuals to express their opinions or expose the truth. In today’s day and age, with so much information available, it is difficult to decipher what the true story actually is. I feel that the press should be able to report as they please regardless of the President’s policies because it is their right granted to them by the Constitution. In contrast, the President and other people have their right to discredit news organizations with their freedom of speech, but they do not have the right to silence them because of the freedom of the press. One method of dealing with the issue of “fake news” is to have one news network to inform the entire populous, but that brings with it a number of issues, one of them being that the citizens would be unable to voice their opinions as openly. Another would be that if one political group controlled that network, the other side would be unable to voice their concerns to the public effectively. Sadly, there is not one easy solution to “fake news,” but there are methods that could be put into action, such as the formation of multiple fact-checking organizations that would do as the title suggests, fact-check the news and media outlets. Another way to curve the issue would be to demonetize the entire news industry, so that journalists would not be pressured to make the truth more interesting for the sake of selling more “papes”.

Kelsey

12/16/2018 07:10:11 pm

I agree, following the constitution is probably the smart thing to do. Another issue for journalists is that they can not always release the source of their information in order to protect their interviewees from being put in danger due to the news. There are laws that give that right to journalists to keep their source anonymous -- this causes a lot of distrust from the public when they do not know the source.

Sariah

12/17/2018 09:48:12 pm

This view hits the topic on one of its many ranches of why it is so hard to be one way completely or the other. I believe it all just comes down to what is closest to correct or just instead of what is 100% because it is almost impossible.

Conrad

12/16/2018 07:45:49 pm

I like the idea of demonetizing the news industry, giving more reason to provide the truth.

Saylor

12/16/2018 10:06:15 pm

I agree, our leaders can be held accounted for. Considering there really isn't anything to do about it. People are going to create fake news, it's bound to happen.

Kenna

12/16/2018 06:27:06 pm

We literally have freedom of speech in our constitution. Fake news is a problem but to take measures against it you can always research the issue you are worried about yourself. Take input from different news sources and search for the truth yourself. However, I do agree that news sources should be less biased.

Katarina

12/16/2018 06:53:12 pm

I agree. They should report the facts and not add their opinions or own political views.

Jazz

12/16/2018 08:30:15 pm

If someone doubts the legitimacy of their news, they just need to look into it themselves. It isn’t hard to do, you just need to be willing to find out how true something is. Where do you get your news from?

Saylor

12/16/2018 06:31:29 pm

In today's world it is very easy to create fake news, and it is also really hard to believe what you are reading on the internet because it could be fake. The freedom of press is really important, but there is so much fake news in the world it makes you wonder why press is so free? If there is so much fake news happening everyday why should it be aloud for anybody to create news that is effecting the world in the wrong way.If there is any sort of news being released to the public i feel like there should be some sort of way to see if it is fake or not? It seems as if it might be hard but maybe there should be a way to watermark it. Now this doesn't work on paper or videos, but there are ways to digitally watermark pictures, so if there is a picture or website showing fake news we would be able to know if it was fake or not. It;s not easy to fix fake news but maybe there are little ways to see if the world could stop creating fake news?

Kenna

12/16/2018 06:54:34 pm

There should definitely be a way to fact check news before it's released. Anyone can spread a rumor so there needs to be a way to check. It may be hard to do but maybe just maybe it could be. Everyone would benefit from the truth.

Brooke

12/16/2018 07:13:03 pm

It is way too easy to create fake news these days, you are right. And then that news becomes nationally spread, which evolves into a big controversy. Maybe the bigger-type issues could have multiple sources that combine in order to assure the people that there are many POVs instead of one reporter. It's hard to come up with a solution for fake news, but a type of watermark is a good idea.

Conrad

12/16/2018 07:39:18 pm

I think that if there is no easy solution to the creation of fake news, we must work from the opposite end. I think there should be more promotion on the ways to realize what is and isn't fake news.

Katarina

12/16/2018 06:51:52 pm

Personally I don’t think many news stations tell people the whole story. Although some stations try not to pull opinions into it they tend to. Truthfully if someone wants to know the real story they should look up the facts themselves and not rely on the media to inform them.

Jesse B.

12/16/2018 07:14:42 pm

I am with you on your first statement in that it very difficult to tell the whole truth. Your proposition on having people look up the facts for themselves would be great if they did have to sift through layers of deceitful articles. What would you do for the issue of fake news or would you do anything?

Brooke

12/16/2018 07:14:52 pm

True, most stations do not give the full story, which is a big problem. If someone truly wanted to know, they would have to research multiple resources to create a well informed perspective.

Mckinlee

12/16/2018 07:34:52 pm

I think it’s so important to look up the facts yourself. It keep s a perosn more informed and they get the whole story.

Conrad

12/16/2018 07:32:13 pm

There is no viable solution to fake news in a society that wishes to follow democracy. Restricting free press would be the first step downhill in the way which we live. Sure there is much bias and changed stories in the media today, but that is their right to do that. It is the peoples fault who believe these stories and base decisions off what they hear without first triangulating it. I think that our leaders also have every right to complain about the different news parties and even kick them out, but he has no right to stop them from writing things.

Katherine

12/16/2018 07:40:38 pm

I agree that there really isn’t a solution to ending fake news. It’s also hard to tell in some cases of it is fake.restricting access his ttakes away our rights as Americans.

Sariah

12/17/2018 09:53:23 pm

When you put it this way it is interesting to think of all the “immoral” rights we give as a country. I think it does come along with us trying to be as “free” as we can. There is always a price for freedom.

Mckinlee

12/16/2018 07:33:26 pm

I get most of the news from school, social media, and my parents. I think free press is important because it allows multiple sides of the story. Even if some of the news is fake. If we did not have a variety of news we may only get parts of the story due to some news outlets being biased.

Katherine

12/16/2018 07:39:13 pm

I agree that free press allows more to be reported and it is able to show multiple views. If there isn’t variety then I think it becomes very biased.

Sadie

12/16/2018 07:45:03 pm

Yeah I get my news from the same places. I don't go looking through articles, seeking something new. I just follow the trail that everyone else is on. It sounds basic, but I'm not always excited to find out about everything wrong in the world.

Jazz

12/16/2018 08:26:28 pm

I completely agree. If only one source is given, then there is nothing else to believe, and this will only create a mindless and complacent society. Everyone has their opinion and should be able to share, even if it is total BS.

Challis

12/16/2018 09:01:47 pm

Freedom of the press is important but people should not be allowed to spread lie if they know that they are saying something that is untrue.

Katherine

12/16/2018 07:37:55 pm

I get a lot of news from my parents and social media. There is really no way to control fake news or get rid of it. People have the freedom to write whatever they want and restricting that is taking away the first amendment. It is important that multiple people report on a story, as it gives the readers more views. I don’t think reporters should be discredited unless they cross a line. They are just doing their jobs.

Sadie

12/16/2018 07:41:42 pm

Honestly, I get my news from Facebook, friends, and family. Facebook is a horrible place to get news, but if people start talking about it, I know it's true. Like you guys know, I didn't believe that Stan Lee had died until it was all over the internet and everyone was talking about it. I just don't believe anything unless its widely known, has backup research, or has video evidence. Anyone who believes everything they read on the internet is a dummy and anyone who doesn't trust a reliable source is just a conspiracy theorist. Fake news is almost unstoppable. We just have to be smart enough to figure out what's true and false. Everyone can use that knowledge to their benefit. Also, it is good to acknowledge different organizations and their point of view. Fake or not, most news stories provide decent entertainment which is what it's all about in the business world. It isn't always a bad thing though. It brings in money. So yeah, there just isn't much we can do about fake news because it's up to us to use it accordingly.

Rachel

12/16/2018 08:40:56 pm

I too use facebook to get news. I also agree that it tends to be more credible if many people are talking about it. I like that because of the freedom of the press we get to see multiple sides of an issue and then decide our own opinion on it.

Bailey

12/16/2018 08:01:37 pm

Free press is crucial to a democratic society. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to truly have the right to free speech which is protected by the first amendment. There isn’t a way to get rid of fake news, but we can check sources and verify information. Especially if the information does not seem accurate. And even if it does, it is important to fact check and develop your own opinions.

Jazz

12/16/2018 08:21:37 pm

I get my news from Facebook and Fox News, I do not believe that I see the whole truth from the sources I watch. That is not to say that Fox News is unreliable, but it is heavily biased in favor of the Republican Party. Free press is necessary unless you want a tyranny. People aren’t obligated to watch every side of the story, but it should be available for everyone to see if they choose. In North Korea, only one point of view is available to view and believe for the most part. The news shaped our world views and there would be no individuality without multiple sources to choose from. It is only the job of the head of press to regulate news, and it is not the presidents duty. Fake news is not something that will just disappear, it is our duty as intelligent beings to sort out the truth from the lies.

Rachel

12/16/2018 08:38:03 pm

I agree that each person should have the option to watch both sides of the news and decide their own opinion on the issue. That is the beauty of a "free" democracy, we can see fake news and still decide to believe that it is true.

Rachel

12/16/2018 08:36:22 pm

I do not believe that there is a way to solve the problem of "fake news". That would mean that we would have to restrict the press, which of course violates the right to freedom of the press guaranteed to us by the Constitution. It is interesting to me that in order to ensure truth, we would have to restrict our rights. So then which is more important, truth or freedom? I get most of my news from social media and really have no way of proving that it is true, except for the amount of people talking about it. I think that our leaders trying to discredit the press is a bad sign, to me it means that they might have something to hide. If they had no secrets, then why would they be worried about the reporters in the first place?

Challis

12/16/2018 08:59:51 pm

I feel like, if proven to be blatantly fake, reporters should have some sort of punishment. Of course, I understand if they have just been misinformed, but they should do enough research so they know for 100% fact that what they are saying is proven to be true.

Challis luker

12/16/2018 08:57:30 pm

People are quick to recognize the bad and never acknowledge the good. Yes there are reporters that give fake news but there are also reporters that give us valuable information. Without them, we would never know what was going on in the world. Freedom of the press is very important but i do feel like if caught in a lie, there should be some type of punishment. I know that there is a difference between lying and being misinformed but reporters should be able to have enough evidence so they know that what they are saying is fact.

Sariah

12/17/2018 09:44:56 pm

This topic is a perfect example of how we (as a society) stereotype specific groups of people. This being a big one. Because there have been instances where reports change or manipulate people’s words or lied about what even happened in situations press now have a “negative” given character. It only makes sense that press is important to a democracy. I mena honestly what gets “the people” to all gun ho for war. The media mostly and I am sure not all of it is 100% true. It is hard to say as a whole entity whether press are good or bad. I believe we just have to be careful what we read and check are sources as mentioned above.

War on Journalism

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