The Importance of Maintaining Credibility in Journalism

     The introduction of the internet to modern society has brought about a new age of information relation. Since there is no longer a need to wait until the next print day, news from all over the world is available at a person’s fingertips within hours or even minutes of the event. With this advent of such easily accessible information, new problems for the news media have also arisen. Aside from potentially losing good economic standing because newspapers are no longer being purchased in the quantities they used to be, the credibility of the information itself is also put into question. No one would argue that credibility of news sources is unimportant, but there is a discrepancy in what takes precedence; economy and speed or getting the information out correctly at the first publishing by taking the time to make sure all facts are checked. The importance of having a system of checks on all information submitted is paramount. People trust what they read and believe it to be so without always questioning. If all information were to not be checked thoroughly, there would be instances where people read an article only for information included to be wrong and they go on believing such information. This can be very dangerous as misinformed people make misinformed decisions. With an increase in errors being made by citizen bloggers and even major publications, many are worried that journalistic ethics and credibility in the news media are being sacrificed in order to maintain swiftness in the news circuit and to retain personal profits. Though getting information to the masses quickly is a major part of the media’s importance, this should not mean that the credibility of that information being presented should be sacrificed for its sake. The bulk of media should still be presented from reliable, trained journalists who are able to present the information as accurately as possible with checks on their sources, instead of by those who pose possible problems for the truth of media. Without these checks, it is difficult to trust anything presented in a digital format completely.

     Because of the way news media is changing, the amount of people providing this information is changing as well. The desire for an increase of speed in news delivery has led to an increase in freelance journalism being performed by the average person, otherwise known as citizen journalism. These journalists are usually found to have their own personal blogs with simple information about themselves with the possibility of links to other sources, as described by Julie Fanselow in her article “Community Blogging: The New Wave of Citizen Journalism” (24). Though this type of journalism is not new, the perceived credibility of these individuals has greatly increased thanks to the shield that the internet provides. A study published in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly shows that there is a distinct correlation between an article’s perceived credibility and the amount of hyperlinks on the page as well as if there is information about the author included in the article (Johnson and Wiedenbeck 332). If a consumer believes that there are links leading to outside information on the news provider’s page along with some small amounts of personal information about themselves, they are more likely to believe the news provided. There appears to be an increased level of trust if the reader feels like they know the writer. The danger here is that this self provided information could potentially be falsified, as well as the news article. Haluk Birsen, a Turkish professor and author of the article “Internet Journalism and Journalistic Ethics: Working Conditions and Qualifications of Journalists in New Media,” states early on that, “worker qualifications and number of workers can lead to ethical problems” (230). Due to the addition of more freelance journalists submitting articles to be published by well trafficked news sites and the fact that the information is needed very quickly, issues are raised in the full credibility of the source because there is little time to check. 

      This migration to more citizen journalism applies not only for writing, but for photographs as well. A photograph can show more of what is happening in a news story than the written world alone. Being able to see what is occurring can often be more valuable than simply taking the word of someone who wrote the accompanying article. Often times the first thing a person looks at when they are trying to decide if it is worth it to delve into a piece of writing is the photograph or photographs that usually appear at the top of the webpage if it is being viewed online. The danger in this is that at times, these photographs can mislead the reader into thinking that something else entirely is happening when really it was just a very skewed view from a person taking a photograph on their phone (Newton 180). Trained photojournalists have a specific skill set that allows them to be aware of what angles and settings allow for the most accurate perception of a scene. Without this being incorporated into a media source’s decision to use specific shots, they could be potentially choosing ones that have the potential to grossly misrepresent the event being covered (Newton 179). True, editors should be able to pick out the most accurate portrayal because it is their job to do so, but for the sake of speed, some photographs are bound to make their way into their online publications without always making sure the representation is sound. 

     Economically, relying on freelance journalists and citizen bloggers for a good amount of the information used makes a great deal of sense. Being able to provide the news quickly and not having to keep journalists on a pay roll by utilizing freelance journalists and citizen bloggers keeps the cost of operation low for the news sources as well as the cost of access down for the consumer. This also allows for the potential of more news stories to be covered because the price of one piece from a freelance source would cost less in the long run than keeping someone on staff, allowing more money to be allocated to providing more stories. Those who value this are not wrong in believing that this is a positive thing. The more money that can be spared, the more information that can be covered in the long run. It is when the speed is pushed solely for an increase in monetary gain that this because a negative phenomenon. When motives are charged by possible lucrativeness, people tend to act quickly and ask questions later, something that is very dangerous in journalism.

     For those in this business, the passion for spreading the news is what brought them to their jobs in the first place. However, there are times when the speed and lucrative side of the business get in the way of truly remembering the most important thing in journalism, which is a published story’s full credibility. Journalists are crucial to humanity. They are the ones the world looks to to get the information to them while they can remain at home and stay safe. In Lucinda Fleeson’s article “At Heart He Is Still a Journalist. But It Was His Journalism That Endangered His Life,” she tells the story of a Sri Lankan journalist who survived an abduction during his country’s civil war. He may have made it back in order to report the news again, but many are not so lucky. Over the 26 year period of the war, more than 100 journalist and editors were assassinated (43). Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence. Journalists are the media’s soldiers and they are just as likely to die as the country’s soldiers fighting in the war they have vowed to cover. It is a news source’s duty to the journalists who put their lives on the line in the most dangerous places to make sure that the information they present is as accurate and true to life as possible. If some speed must be forsaken in order to make sure that all information is correct, then that is a small sacrifice to make to make sure that journalist and consumer alike are respected.

     A safeguard to this that is strongly suggested is the “uniform process for making corrections” in articles that are found to have errors (Cornish 93). When an article is found to have an error, this error is usually removed as soon as it is found. However, usually this error is never stated, simply disappearing and replaced with the correct information. This goes against the basic principles of photojournalistic ethics which states that all errors made must be fixed but also made known (Demir 543). What needs to be done to fix this problem is to have a place located on the home page of every news source’s website that details the correction policies for that specific site and to have all corrections clearly stated in a section of the home page as well (Cornish 98). This would make sure that anyone who is a frequent visitor to the site would always know when to revisit an article to read the corrected version and see what mistake or mistakes was made. Another option that should be implemented is to only post the most basic information and then to post more as it happens. This is regularly done already, but not with enough consistency. This should keep those who value speed happy but also makes sure that the in depth information is released later to make sure that all sources have had time to be checked which is the most important factor in this case. 

The change in the pace of media is something that has been occurring for a long time and will continue to gain speed as advancements in technology are made. Though this may be a positive experience for the world of journalism, the news community needs to remain cautious and aware that even though the increase in speed is inevitable, the neglect in checking facts is not. Checks and balances need to be put in place to make sure that all information is accurate and that it is not presented before it can be fully confirmed. The media needs to be concerned more with the truth of its words and images. It is their duty as a provider of information to make sure that all facts are checked before an article or picture is released. The immersion of media in the digital age can be a great thing, but everything must remain as credible as possible.