In today’s world, I believe the values of truth, balance and integrity are the most vital for a journalist. Having said that, I think the way in which these values are considered are constantly changing as the field of journalism evolves and manifests itself within new platforms and particularly the online/digital world.
Reporting the fact is crucial to quality journalism, particularly in the recent rise of ‘fake news’, and the ability for citizen journalists to publish online freely and easily, the line between fact and fiction is becoming increasingly blurred. Keeping a piece of journalism balanced is also a challenge to strive for, I have learnt that our Facebook and social media feeds are specifically streamlined to match our ‘likes’ and online interactions, and can consume you in a bubble or political news that is strictly one-sided.
This can be a dangerous trap for journalists who may fail to be exposed to a variety of views and information and may as a result produce unbalanced work themselves. Integrity and crediblity are also values of great importance for a journalist particularly when creating online journalism, as actions online are impossible to erase and a journalist’s reputation or career could be damaged if they fail to conduct their work in an ethical manner.
A piece of online journalism that I found reflected the importance of journalistic values and also ties in with this semester’s theme of migration is titled ‘Ghost Boat’, an online piece published on Medium by Eric Reidy. It tells the story of 243 migrants who went missing on a boat travelling from Libya to Europe, and set out to crowdsource information on the investigation.
As a sensitive and emotional topic for many, I thought the story was written with the detail and relevant information to do it justice, and brought to light the truths behind the horrifying reality that many refugees and migrants today are faced with. The incorporation of multimedia aspects such as moving image and photography is also an example of how modern technology can bring a story to life.
