Thursday, February 17, 2011
Think for yourself
When it comes to political issues, it's important that people have their own opinion. You should not just believe everything you hear on the news or read in the papers. Because journalists have their own agendas, it is very easy for people to buy into whatever they say as the truth. A good example of this are the two newspaper articles about Obama and the budget that we talked about in class. Im not saying all journalists are crooked and are out to fool you, but don't let them think for you. Before forming a real opinion you should know as much of the story as possible. That means knowing both sides of the argument. Once you have reached the point where you are knowledgeable about a certain issue, and you know what you are talking about, it is safe to form an opinion.
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As was said in class though. The vast majority of people do not have time to filter through 5 or 6 sources of each news story in order to get the full picture. When it comes down to it, i think we pick a paper or news source that we agree with politically or otherwise, and then simply read whatever they have to say. Now i agree with you that you shouldn't just believe everything right away, of course not. Rather, if you read a controversial article, then take what you read with a grain of salt and keep an open mind to the possibility that it may not be the exact truth. If you have time, maybe look into it a little more: perhaps bring it up in a class centered around news and political interest....?
ReplyDeleteI believe that there is no such thing as "objective journalism." It is simply impossible and unreasonable for us to expect journalists to be able to remain completely objective. After all, they are just human.
ReplyDeleteThat is why I believe that it is extremely important to read multiple viewpoints and not just read one newspaper, or watch one news channel.
However, like you said, most people do not have the time to pick up 5 different papers and read each of them and then form their own opinion.
I think that a simple solution to this problem, is not to expect journalists to be objective, but rather we need to introduce diversity of opinions into the newsroom. By supplying people with differing beliefs on a single issue, the unrealistic struggle of remaining impartial is neutralized.
Ideally people should not form their opinions based on a single one-sided source and instead form an opinion based on multiple viewpoints from reliable sources by trustworthy journalists. Of course, as I believe was mentioned in class, many people read the newspapers and get their information from the sources that they do because they actually want to read or hear it from a source that matches their own beliefs. Another factor to consider is that the news sources themselves do not maintain their objectivity because they are targeting a specific audience. Diversifying one's sources and being open-minded seems to be an effective method of compensating for the apparent decline in objective journalism and news in general.
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