Principles of Journalism & the News Media JMSC0101 Masato Kajimoto
Fairness and balance: Three questions How dow we know if a news article is fair? How do we know if a news outlet is biased? What is the difference between news media bias and audience bias?
Fairness and balance Being fair to the evidence and different views = journalistic fairness. It is not easy to achieve. If journalists are clearly favoring one group of sources and their views over the other sources unfairly, that constitutes bias. But it is really hard to tell, let alone prove. Bias could be in the eyes of the beholder. Impartiality and independence does not necessarily make news appear to be less "biased."
Sources
How should we (as journalists and/or news consumers) judge the reliability of sources in news?
Judging the reliability of sources I'M VAIN Independent Sources Are Better Than Self-Interested Sources Multiple Sources Are Better Than Single Sources Sources Who Verify Are Better Than Sources Who Assert Authoritative/Informative Sources Are Better Than Uninformed Sources Named Sources Are Better Than Unnamed Sources
Questions to ask yourself Who, exactly, is this source? How would this source know? Does anyone else say so? Is it verified fact or assertion? What is her or his self-interest?
The South China Morning Post Drug abuse spreads to elite schools Students in wealthier areas take cocaine; those from poorer districts prefer ketamine By Agnes Lam Mar 14, 2009 Drug abuse has penetrated schools across the city, with students in well-off districts taking cocaine and those from underprivileged areas taking ketamine. "Alarming" figures from a city-wide chain of counselling centres for drug abusers show that 394 school students were found to have drug abuse problems between January last year and March this year. The figures, from the seven Counselling Centres for Psychotropic Substance Abusers, show that the problem, once largely confined to northern districts, has spread to schools in all areas. The head of Hong Kong's only private school for young drug abusers said the numbers were very alarming because they pointed to a much wider problem. "These are just known cases and many cases are still hidden in schools," Christian Zheng Sheng College principal Chan Siu-cheuk said. "There are probably five other students involved for every one student identified with drug abuse problems. "If we do a projection, that means there would be nearly 2,000 students with drug abuse problems in schools in different districts in Hong Kong." Particularly worrying was the number of cases being found in areas that house some of the city's top schools, he said. "About 130 cases were reported in the centre covering districts on Hong Kong Island and the outlying islands - the biggest number of all centres. "I am worried that the drug problem has started invading Hong Kong Island, where there are many top band schools - which means not only bad students take drugs. Band 1 schools are troubled by this problem too." Mr Chan's comments were backed up by observations from the centre serving Kowloon City district, which has numerous top secondary schools and includes the wealthy neighbourhood of Kowloon Tong. The Hong Kong Christian Service PS33 centre, which covers the area, says some young drug abusers from wealthy families spend thousands of dollars on cocaine. "They told us that HK$1,000 might be only enough for one tiny little amount of cocaine. So they sometimes had to spend more than that." Ms Ho noted that a school's banding was no longer a reliable indicator of whether it was likely to have a drug problem, with abusers increasingly being found in so-called elite schools. "Of the 300 cases we have at hand, 60 of them involve students, some of whom are studying in Band 1 schools," she said. A few kilometres away, in Sham Shui Po, the difference lies in the amount spent and the type of drugs used. "Young people in this district can only afford to spend a few hundred dollars at most. Some youngsters told us they spent about HK$100 on ketamine and it was enough for a few friends to share," she said. The younger age of drug abusers has contributed to another change in drug-taking patterns. Ms Ho said Yau Tsim Mong district, once a popular venue for youngsters' drug parties, had lost its appeal. "The age of young drug abusers is getting lower. Some are too young to enter some entertainment premises. So most resort to taking drugs at home and at schools," she said. Ms Ho agreed that drug abuse was invading schools in nearly every district. At her centre alone, the number of new cases involving youngsters aged under 21 jumped by 60 per cent last year compared with 2007, she added. Carol Ng Suet-kam, who is in charge of the Evergreen Lutheran Centre, said it had so many new cases that it had to draw up a waiting list. "We used to receive about 12 to 15 requests a month for help from parents, teachers and social workers but the number has doubled since last November," she said. "Each new case has to wait for a month and a half before we can take it on board and there are about 30 cases on our waiting list at the moment. "We only have about 10 social workers in our counselling centre and yet we have to deal with 300 cases a year. "We had 140 new cases in 2008 alone." The Hong Kong Christian Service PS33 centre also has a waiting list, with young drug abusers waiting for a month or two before they can receive counselling. "This is very much related to the family background. There are plenty of well-off families in the district and we found some students could afford HK$1,000 to HK$6,000 for a single intake of cocaine," centre social worker Ho Fung-kuen said.
Discussion Is this news coverage informative? Does it serve the public? Is this coverage fair? What do you think about the news sources in the story? Are they reliable?
Now the questions are... How do journalists find and choose evidence and sources in the first place? How does the verification process work? What are the difficulties they face? What kinds of evidence and sources should a news consumer look for in news/journalism?
Exercise You are a reporter. This photo of a restaurant in Beijing near Forbidden City is going viral on Facebook. Your boss says this could be a great story. What do you do first? Where do you go and what do you gather? Who do you talk to?
Truth and Verification
What is journalism for? The primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing Kovach and Rosenstiel
The elements of journalism Journalism s first obligation is to the truth Its first loyalty is to citizens Its essence is a discipline of verification
Here are the questions... Journalism s first obligation is to the truth. What is truth? How do journalists find the truth? Does truth really exist? Its first loyalty is to citizens. Who are citizens? Everyone in the community? How can you be loyal to all? How do you know what people need? Its essence is a discipline of verification. How do journalists verify information? What steps do they go through to make sure the accuracy?
23 August 2010
Journalistic Truth Journalistic truth is the best obtainable version of the truth on any given day. It is a continuing journey toward understanding... which begins on the first day of a story and builds over time.
Evidence exists on a spectrum of relative directness Direct Evidence Indirect Evidence Requires less corroboration Audio/visual images - make you an eyewitness Journalist is an eyewitness Journalist has first-hand, eyewitness sources Second-hand accounts from official, informed spokespersons Expert judgments Second and third hand unofficial accounts Reliability is contingent on other evidence Puzzle Piece evidence that requires other evidence to support a complex inference
Journalistic Truth Photographs and Video Documents and Records Journalist s Observation Eyewitnesses
What are the issues? Time. Harsh deadlines. Multiple assignments. Finding sources. Spins. Lies. Facts can be deceptive. Truth is often not apparent. No access to information. Threat. Human factor (Rashomon effect, observer effect, etc). Laziness. Procrastination.
Are you ready to write a profile story with great sources and verified information?
Profile Story Details on the course site If asked, you can give my name and contact Please do not disturb their businesses. Always ask for permission when you take photos, talk to customers, etc Make sure to get full names as much as you can and tell them that your story might be published on the internet