The KO Journalist's Creed
The Journalist's Creed
I believe in the profession of journalism.
I believe that the public journal is a public trust; that all connected with it are, to the full measure of their responsibility, trustees for the public; that acceptance of a lesser service than the public service is betrayal of this trust.
I believe that clear thinking and clear statement, accuracy and fairness are fundamental to good journalism.
I believe that a journalist should write only what he holds in his heart to be true.
I believe that suppression of the news, for any consideration other than the welfare of society, is indefensible.
I believe that no one should write as a journalist what he would not say as a gentleman; that bribery by one’s own pocketbook is as much to be avoided as bribery by the pocketbook of another; that individual responsibility may not be escaped by pleading another’s instructions or another’s dividends.
I believe that advertising, news and editorial columns should alike serve the best interests of readers; that a single standard of helpful truth and cleanness should prevail for all; that the supreme test of good journalism is the measure of its public service.
I believe that the journalism which succeeds best — and best deserves success — fears God and honors Man; is stoutly independent, unmoved by pride of opinion or greed of power, constructive, tolerant but never careless, self-controlled, patient, always respectful of its readers but always unafraid, is quickly indignant at injustice; is unswayed by the appeal of privilege or the clamor of the mob; seeks to give every man a chance and, as far as law and honest wage and recognition of human brotherhood can make it so, an equal chance; is profoundly patriotic while sincerely promoting international good will and cementing world-comradeship; is a journalism of humanity, of and for today’s world.
Thinking about the Journalist’s Creed, come up with one or two guidelines that you think we as journalists at KO should adhere to and write them in a comment on this post. You can use Walter Williams' ideas if you think they are relevant, but reword them or update them. Also, try to think of guidelines of your own. We will collaborate as a class to create a KO Journalist's Creed.
Use the structure: “I believe…”
Make sure you read through your classmates' comments so you aren't repeating others' ideas.
I believe that honesty is a key principle for journalism. I believe that the right to truth is a value that every journalist should honor when relying information to the public. A journalists job is to is to inform the public of current events and they should only be reporting on the truth and nothing but the truth
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ReplyDeleteI believe in an impartial press. I believe that a journalist must never allow their biases to sway their factual writing, and to allow so is immoral and degrades the profession of journalism. I believe that in allowing one's biases to show through a journalist's factual writing, they are being dishonest with the public and betraying the public trust.
DeleteLike Alex mentioned, I also believe that a main priority of a journalist is to have the most accurate information possible. At KO, we can do this buy trying to quote people exactly how they say it and by not elaborating on what they said or enhancing it in any way. Additionally, I believe that KO journalists should strive to create articles that are relevant and interesting to the KO community. In order to keep people interesting in the KO news, we should produce articles that will entertain the student body.
ReplyDeleteAdding onto Braeden's idea, I believe that a journalist at KO must not let our own bias influence the writing of a news article. To do this at KO, we should try not to sway away from facts and quotes we collect for a story. In addition, any comments you make in your own words does not include any singular view on controversial topics and if you do include disputable material, also address all points of view and don't only present your own. I also believe we should pay attention to our audience and only publish stories appropriate for that audience.
ReplyDeleteLike Braeden and Shreeya said I believe that a biases should never prevent a journalist from publishing factual work. Even if it is a controversial topic at KO a journalist must get facts from all sides to write a piece even if they do not agree with a side. I believe that a KO journalist should never attack someone in their piece because the KO News is for presenting stories around KO and not attacking someone.
ReplyDeleteI believe, like Alex and Braeden, that the job of the journalist at KO is to provide completely honest and unbiased news to inform the community. The journalist job is to report the news that the community needs to hear and maybe the news the community is not talking about.
ReplyDeleteGoing off of what Alex said, I also believe that honesty and the accuracy of information in writing an article is key. Simply because if you write about what you want to hear rather than the truth, not only are going to be giving people false information, but no one will want to read someones article that is mostly bias.
ReplyDeleteI believe that what Mitchell said about how the truth is more important than bias or opinion is what makes an article reliable or not. At KO, we should bring the whole truth to the table in order to provide our readers accurate and current information. We should bring our community together with our writings and we should only write them in the best interest of our readers and the people around us.
ReplyDeleteGoing off what Shreeya said, I believe that biases should never influence the stories of a journalist. There are many way to prevent this at KO, like quoting people in articles even for the littlest things. The job of a journalist is to report the story with the whole truth and this could help our news community grow. It is also to incorporate all the readers in the KO community and to be accurate in everything we say.
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