Last week, my professor prompted a class discussion about the means by which millennials choose to absorb their news. It led to further debates about whether our news should be free and what it means to be a professional journalist.
Being the only journalism student in this international studies class, my professor asked me directly if I thought news should be free. Though I’m sure my face turned beet red, as it usually does when I’m called upon, I was eager to participate in this ?discussion.
Expecting all of our news to be readily available at absolutely no cost, whether it’s a physical newspaper or online, is a future I hope we never see. When I pay for my New York Times subscription, I know I am receiving quality reporting from professional journalists. When you pay for a newspaper subscription, you are receiving quality news from experienced, trustworthy sources.
Side note — one must always make a clear distinction between the respectable, highly regarded New York Times and the politically motivated, agenda-laden Fox News. One is news, and the other is simply not.
If all news became free, the market would become oversaturated, and it would be impossible to differentiate the quality news ?organization.
According to a study conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, young people are more willing to pay for online news than any other age group. The Digital News Report 2013 reported 20 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds said they had paid for online news, compared to less than 10 percent of those 55 and older.
It’s true; reading a news article online is simply more convenient than sifting through a paper you picked up on a newsstand. My parents would disagree, though, as they refuse to give up their morning paper they fondly spread open on the ?breakfast table.
Going back to the discussion, one classmate also brought up amateur journalists and inquired about the difference between paid professionals and people blogging in their basements — “journalists” stuffing Hot Pockets into their mouths as they type aggressively.
Besides the fact that professional journalists go through legitimate schooling and training while random online bloggers do not, it is imperative to understand further distinctions.
A truly professional journalist is guided by a code of ethics. It is our job to seek the truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently and be accountable and transparent. One cannot hope to know exactly what kind of ethics guides an amateur journalist, if they are guided by any at all.
A journalist must tell all sides of the story and provide context for readers. An ethical journalist is not guided by a hidden agenda but by aiming to provide a forum for people to receive updates on current events.
One may argue amateur journalists are not politically driven because they are doing it without a salary, simply from the goodness of their hearts. This is just garbage. Besides, given the average salary of a journalist these days, money could not be their primary motivation. If I did this job for the money, then I just wouldn’t be doing it in the first place.
I believe journalists are passionate about all that’s going on in the world and deeply care about getting out the stories that matter to people. We also have cool notebooks.
Amateur journalists are not held to the high standard of that of a professional reporter. They lack the resources journalists who are funded by legitimate news ?organizations have.
I take pride in everything that is published with my name on it. Never do I want to be embarrassed by poor reporting or lack of quality of content as a journalist. If a blogger misinforms the public, it’s easily brushed off as a mistake. If journalists misreport information, their reputations and credibility are on the line.
Joseph Pulitzer couldn’t phrase it any better: “Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it, and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.”
nrowthor@indiana.edu
