This is the paper I wrote as the final assignment for a worldviews course I took last year…I know it’s really long (ten page paper) but people wanted to read it, so here it is!
“Henceforth there are no guidelines, no structures, no limits. In other words, the credo of this new journalism is: anything goes.”
In a world where the “little white lie” is an accepted form of speech, it’s no big stretch to say the truth has been compromised. People spend their whole lives trying to answer the question, “Is there truth?” In society today, truth has become relative and when truth becomes relative there are no boundaries or the rules we, as a people, so desperately need. And this is no more evident anywhere than in the field of journalism. Every time you turn on that TV to watch the news you have to make a decision concerning truth. They are saying they speak truth, will you believe them?
In this country today, the news controls the public. It tells them how to think, how to respond, and how to vote. The news used to be a monopoly of the newspapers and the networks, but that began to change with the rise of the internet. Now news comes faster and from many more sources. Consequently, newspapers and networks have to step up their output of news. In the past, a story could be completely verified, every loose end tied up with sound reporting. Now, because of the speed of news, you no longer have that time if you want to get the story out first. Accountability is lost in the rush and pressure of meeting a six hour deadline which used to be twelve hours. That process compromises truth. Journalists become shoddy in their reporting, failing to check facts and confirm sources before throwing stories out there. True journalism is lost among predictions and analysis.[1] Sometimes it’s not even biased reporting. It’s bad reporting, faulty logic, unconfirmed sources, not telling both sides of the story, etc. This goes hand in hand with the dismissal of truth because the institution has let it slide. It’s being accepted as reporting, and journalists aren’t being held to a standard.
Another aspect of the loss of credibility in the newsroom is an increasing level of sex stories being reported. Suddenly, the personal lives of celebrities and high-profile citizens are now front page stories in 72pt. type. Newspapers have added “sex” beats to their newsrooms.[2] Sydney Schanberg comments on the prevalence of dirty laundry in the news, “If private acts have no effect on the public, then they are probably not a story, certainly not a big story. It’s an honorable rule, and when we have followed it, it has kept us out of the muck and mire we’re caught in today. “[3] Nevertheless the price of fame now includes having your personal life undergo incredible scrutiny. All in the name of the public’s right to know. Whether or not it’s true doesn’t matter much anymore, a reputation can be trashed by lies just as fast as it can be with the truth. Twenty years ago journalists regarded themselves proudly as reporters, not peeping Toms looking for the latest scoop. Stories of that nature were considered degrading and not worthy of a place on America’s breakfast table. Sadly that respect and honor has been lost, down the toilet along with journalists’ integrity. As a result it is getting harder and harder to tell the difference between a newspaper and a tabloid magazine.
This has not happened completely unseen, however. Not by a long shot. Right now, it is incredibly easy to find a book on all the problems with journalism, but finding a book about what is good about journalism today? A whole other story. Craig Crawford, a journalist and a politician says in his book, Attack the Messenger: How Politicians Turn You Against the Media, “Consuming news with skepticism is a good thing. Plenty of reporting is biased, misinformed, and, yes, just plain stupid.”[4] Bernard Goldberg elaborates, “So, for me anyway, it’s not just the bias itself but also the illiberal arrogance and elitism and the contempt too many big journalists have for the ordinary Americans.”[5] It’s not just the lack of journalistic excellence being questioned but also the lack of accountability, which is crucial in a profession driven by getting the facts right. “In a liberal media world, where taking the approved position often trumps getting it right, journalistic accountability loses all meaning.”[6] All these books highlight the problem but never seem to touch the root of the problem. Why is bad reporting suddenly acceptable? Unconfirmed stories front page? Facts not checked? Clearly biased reporting, expected? What changed in the hearts and minds of the leaders the press for them to let this slide? At the root of this problem is a loss of the true responsibility of journalism, and a loss of the value of truth.
Dictionary of the English Language defines journalism as such, “The style of writing characteristic of material in newspapers and magazines, consisting of the direct presentation of facts or occurrences with little attempt at analysis or interpretation.” [7] The World Book Encyclopedia says, “Journalists…have an obligation to be accurate and to tell of sides of the story.”[8] Journalists and the profession they practice is one of information, informing the public, protecting the public, influencing the public and entertaining the public. In all of this is the responsibility to decide what news is important enough for the public to hear. Lately some problems have arisen regarding what exactly “freedom of the press” means. The inspiration of freedom of the press was that we would be a country with a news service free of government censorship and with the ability to discover the truth and report it, no matter the consequence. With this freedom comes a responsibility to be wise in discovering truth, and a pressure to be accurate. Our democratic republic depends on a free press, because the press controls the public. Government controlled press often becomes propaganda, which has long been used as a tool in turning people to socialistic revolutions. Consequently the press has immense power and whoever controls the news has that power along with the responsibility to portray truth completely and without bias.
Portraying truth is vital, as it can directly impact or sway the public’s view point. When truth is given, people can make an informed decision on issues, taken from comprehensive and complete coverage. Allowing the public to decide is one of journalism’s lost principles in this non-absolute world. For some reason the press no longer considers we the people capable of handling the truth. As a result the position has moved from giving the facts and letting people decide, to giving opinion and telling people what to decide. There is no desire to discover the truth, the facts, and report them as they are, without spin or elaboration. Truth is reduced to a political and social weapon with the ability to take whatever form needed to suit its master. In light of this, it makes sense that journalists are no longer being held accountable to be accurate. Reporting is no longer about gathering facts on events relevant to the public and reporting them in an honest and open way. It is about using the guise of “fair and balanced” to manipulate the public into believing a certain viewpoint based on political correctness or the social norm. These people don’t see themselves as doing anything wrong. Because of their disbelief in objective truth, right and wrong don’t matter much as long as what they say achieves a certain goal, either for themselves or a certain cause. Truth is no longer truth, objective and real, it is whatever it needs to be, subjective and nebulous.
This dismissal of absolute truth arises from a Secular Humanists worldview. Secular Humanists believe in a completely natural world, void of all intangible things. God is only a myth, created by the minds of desperate men and continued by those who wish to exploit common man. Because there is no Higher Authority, any claim of absolute truth is to be discounted as false. This leaves man as the highest being. Secular Humanism believes man is the chief end of everything. Everything is decided by him and he controls his own destiny. Basically good, man has the ability to make his own way in the world according to his own measures. Other men cannot pass judgment on him because what may be true for them is not true for him. This mindset is called moral relativism. Truth cannot be transcendent because each man creates his own truth according to his own situation. While this approach may not be completely obvious in the realm of journalism, its influence is most definitely felt.
A J Ayer, a humanist philosopher, provides an interesting viewpoint on morality and the basis for truth, “The only possible basis for a sound morality is mutual tolerance and respect: tolerance of one another’s customs and opinions; respect for one another’s rights and feelings; awareness of one another’s needs.”[9] This particular mindset happens to be very prevalent among journalists and editors. Maybe truth isn’t publicly attacked, but a direct attack isn’t needed for truth to become irrelevant. The cry for tolerance chips away at truth as surely, if not more effectively than any frontal charge. “…when you see your main role as being ‘decent’ and ‘compassionate’ rather than telling the whole truth, it’s a very short leap from ‘reporter’ to ‘pasty’.”[10] ABC’s president, David Westin, goes further when he says it is improper for a journalist to take a stance on right and wrong.[11] Slowly, under the guise of tolerance and understanding, truth is being trivialized and discredited. Secular Humanism is the driving force behind this growing problem within journalism.
Everyday journalists need to make a decision on truth, and that decision influences how they write, how they report and how they examine facts and evidence. Without a strong position on truth how can they write objectively? Truth is not just what journalists pursue, it’s vital to them doing their job well and living up to creed of being honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.[12]
In contrast to Secular Humanism, Christianity holds to absolute truth based on God’s word and divine revelation. As the creator, God is our divine authority and we are held accountable to His laws for every action we take. There are objective truths which transcend time, culture and situation. Spelled out in the Ten Commandments are the basic moral principles we, as people, are to adhere to. Among these is, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”[13] False testimony is any deviation from absolute truth. This statement from the JCE, “Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.”[14] sounds strangely familiar. Even the Journalistic Code of Ethics follows Biblical standards when dealing with information’s integrity.
Journalism adheres to its position as the public’s protector very seriously. Like a growling watchdog, the press prowls keeping America’s institutions on the up and up, particularly the government. They are constantly working to expose the shady dealings of bureaucratic establishments. Sometimes, however, the dog needs to be turned in on itself. With all that time spent holding others accountable, the press fails to clean their act up and suffers because of it. This problem must be fixed and the way to do it is from the inside out. Lobbying and signing petitions can only go so far, we must get the press to hold itself accountable. Mistakes must be admitted, corrections given, standards adhered to; steps must be taken to bring integrity back to the newsroom.[15]
Once upon a time mistakes in newsprint were admitted, and corrections were given usually accompanied by an apology from the newspaper. Because of this consequence, journalists were automatically held to a higher standard. No one wanted to have their story pulled and to apologize publicly. It was a major blot on your resume. These days the only mistakes corrected are perhaps a date printed wrong or a name misspelled, nothing serious, and it’s not because there aren’t any. The first step to fixing the press will be admitting there is something wrong in journalism today. Corrections must be prominently displayed, not stuck on the last page among local gossip. If it was a front page story, display front page corrections. This will cause journalists to be more careful when writing. The quality of the stories will improve.
The quality of the story also reflects the integrity of a newsroom. Too many unconfirmed stories are being printed as news. Stopping unconfirmed stories will immediately tighten up a newsroom and force journalists to choose carefully what they write and the sources they use. If an unverified story is printed, acknowledge that it is unconfirmed so the public knows what they are reading.
Being willing to admit mistakes will be the hardest for journalists and editors to change when cleaning up the press. For an establishment to admit a mistake puts a shadow of doubt over everything else they print. But this is key, if the media can commit to saving the press and follow through with it, the public will reward that and begin to trust news more. Ultimately, journalism will have to learn to hold themselves to the same high standards to which they hold everybody else. The watchdog must learn to watch his own house as well as his master’s.
The media is a relationship between the press and the consumer public. How people approach news is sometimes half the problem. Journalism, right now, is faulty and the public must understand that. There is biased reporting, omission of facts, unconfirmed stories and sensationalistic news, all faulty journalism. The answer is not to abandon “liberal” news sources for conservative or Christian news. Bias exists on both sides of the political spectrum and one is not more holy than the other. In response to the liberal leanings of the mainstream media, conservative outlets have popped up, primarily in radio and online. But one must be just as careful when consuming news from these sources as from liberal ones. “In his view (Edward R. Murrow), the job of a reporter is, ‘to know one’s own prejudices and try to do the best you can to be fair.’ Not a bad approach to take in the news biz or in life.”[16] This philosophy also works when observing news and coming to conclusions. We, as the public, need to realize that journalists are only human, just humans placed in positions of responsibility. Read the story, check the facts, go to a trusted source, know what you are reading, be informed and don’t be taken in by flashy packaging or big words.
Make sure to support solid news sources. Another way we can promote good journalism is to make it good for business. Networks are driven by ratings, if people don’t watch a newscast the ratings go down. In that way we can control what is broadcast. Above all, consume news skeptically. Wait till you know all the facts available before jumping to conclusions. Jesus said, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”[17] If you are well informed you will not be deceived. Remember that a journalist’s job is to present you the story straight, just the facts and explanation, anything else and he’s selling something. The public must become proactive in consuming news wisely. In this day and age there is no excuse for being fooled.
Because the root and the solution for this problem are in two very different worldviews we will again examine the two and highlight the major differences. Christianity presents a very different view of the world than Secular Humanism. To Humanists the world is a result of complete chance, random happenings coming together to form what is today. Man is the ultimate authority and therefore has no one to answer to except himself. Laws and morality came about by man’s design and have no other inspiration. Truth is irrelevant because it is created by each person to suit their own needs and as such cannot be applied to every person in every situation. In as much, we cannot pass judgment on people because in their mind their actions could be completely justified. Tolerance is a popular word among Humanists and is repeatedly pulled out to shame Christians. However, tolerance is really just a pretty word for the fact that we all must eat our opinions and ultimately the truth because it might offend someone. We cannot afford to do that right now. Truth is needed now more than ever! The world searches frantically for a truth it cannot in itself supply, only God can. With each passing day, truth is marginalized more and more but, because it is presented as being tolerant, people accept it.
As opposed to Secular Humanism Christians do not begin with man, but with God, who created and ordered the Earth. He is a God of order and has set down laws by which mankind must follow. Unlike Secular Humanism, humans are accountable to Him according to His word, not theirs. God is truth, so truth is real and objective. There is an ultimate moral code which applies to all man. Wisdom of any worth comes from God for it says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding,”[18] We cannot hope to make sense of this world without first starting with an all-knowing creator who is God.
Secular Humanism gives you a wishy-washy definition of truth based on our feeble minds. Through Humanism you cannot hope for anything greater than yourself, you are limited to trying to report truth with a worldview that does not believe in absolute truth. People twist and turn, flip and flop and change constantly because they have no one to be accountable to. For them, truth is just a word and if truth isn’t real, why not use it for personal gain? Christianity gives you a solid foundation from which to consistently base your decisions and actions. A Christian reporter is truly able to be as unbiased as possible because they know the truth, and the truth never changes. They are wise because they start with God. They dismiss the petty wisdom of this world because, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”[19] And they strive to be the best that they can because they live for something greater than themselves. The key is not to report Christian news or conservative news; it is to be a journalist reporting the news accurately.
Many people today are dissatisfied with the news. If you don’t believe me take a walk down to your local bookstore. The shelves are lined with books about the problems in news today, it’s everywhere. We as Christians need to step up, not with more Christian newspapers, websites, etc. We need to rediscover the value of truth and instill it in our kids. Don’t be a casual consumer of the news, believing everything that is said; make sure that what you are hearing is truly unbiased journalism. Examine the language, the sources, and the attitude. Don’t passively believe something. We should encourage young people to pursue careers journalism. Teach them the true responsibility of journalism and instill in them a curiosity to uncover the truth. If you are involved in journalism, do it to the best of your ability. Rise above the petty bias and the pressure to be politically correct. Pursue the truth on both sides, even if it means bringing out the bad side of something good.
The value of absolute truth has been lost and as a result journalism has suffered. But there are good journalists out there, committed to reporting truth even if it’s not popular. We must support these courageous men and women and seek to add to their ranks. Truth will always stand and we must stand with it, not matter the cost.
[1] Schanberg, Sydney H.,
The Business of Journalism, The News Press © 2000, pg. 122-124
[2] Ibid., pg. 122
[3] Ibid., pg. 130
[4] Crawford, Craig, Attack the Messenger: How Politicians Turn You Against the Media, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc. © 2006, pg. 16
[5] Goldberg, Bernard, Arrogance, Warner Books Inc., © 2003, pg. 37
[6] Ibid., pg. 167
[7] Morris, William, Dictionary of the English Language, American Heritage Publishing © 1969, pg. 707
[8] NA, The World Book Encyclopedia, 75th ed., World Book Inc., © 1992, pg. 72
[9] A J Ayer, The Humanist Outlook, 1968
[10] Goldberg, Bernard, Arrogance, Warner Books Inc., © 2003, pg. 167
[11] Ibid., pg. 201
[12] Sigma Delta Chi, Society of Professional Journalists; Code of Ethics, revised 1996
[13] NA, The Bible, Zondervan, © 2002, Exodus 20:16
[14] Sigma Delta Chi, Society of Professional Journalists; Code of Ethics, revised 1996
[15] Schanberg, Sydney H., The Business of Journalism, The News Press © 2000, pg. 123-124
[16] Hirsen, James, Hollywood Nation, Crown Publishing Group, © 2005, pg. 82
[17] NA, The Bible, Zondervan, © 2002, Matthew 10:16
[18] Ibid., Proverbs 9:10
[19] Ibid., 1 Corinthians 1:20
