1. What is Journalism for? Part II. Vivian 10 (and some of K&R 2, 3 and 4)

2. We are government watchdogs. In the system of checks and balances, we are the Fourth Estate.

3. Is that good or bad?

4. Journalism is independent from government censorship and control.

5. Do you believe that?

6. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - The First Amendment

7. Is independence from the government a good or bad thing? Why?

9. Should the media actively try to mold government policy?

10. General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing Vietcong captain Nguyen Van Lem during the Tet Offensive in 1968.

11. During the Gulf War I, the media were escorted by military and government officials.

12. The vast majority of journalists covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are embedded with troops or working out of military protected buildings.

13. Are we seeing what is really happening there?

15. Do you have a voice in government? Laws are made in your name. Do you have any say in those laws?

16. Does one vote make a difference?

17. Journalism can make a difference.

18. The news media is and should be a forum for debate.

19. Independent media = democracy

20. "...were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." - Thomas Jefferson, 1787

23. European papers maintain partisanship.

24. The partisan media say that objectivity binds the American media to identifiable sources and therefore, they rely upon the government too much. What do you think?

25. Should the media have an opinion?

26. Europeans read more newspapers. And they have a lot more newspaper competition.

27. Seeing their success, some American media outlets have moved more towards news analysis and opinion.

29. Which is better? Knowing that the media outlet has a bias, or leaving media to try to be objective?

30. • Fox plays it down the middle in news. • The evening shows have an opinion. • Fox differentiates between news and opinion. • Talent have massive egos. • Rupert Murdoch does not control the message at all.

31. Everyone has baggage, Kevin says. So can you really be objective?

34. When I work, I am nothing.

36. Can you put aside who you are and cover a story without thinking about your own heritage and/or preferences?

40. Aren’t the people who attacked America on 9/11 terrorists?

41. Whose decision is it to make? The gatekeepers of information (hopefully trained journalists).

45. Is there a universal definition of what is news?

46. Isn’t a bomb scare a big story?

47. Shouldn’t news always be news?

48. Shouldn’t news always be news? Variables? Newsworthiness?

50. Local News = Philly NY based = national

52. Journalists set the agenda for what is considered relevant information. Which is why we are supposed to offer a comprehensive view of the world ( the marketplace of ideas ).

53. That is a massive responsibility. And we face many challenges.

56. Journalism is a business.

58. The Philadelphia Inquirer is owned by the same company that owns the Daily News. They also publish numerous neighborhood papers around the region.

61. The Bottom Line?

62. Journalists need to be truth seekers. And we need to suppress our personal feelings as much as possible.

63. Because we aren’t the story. Don’t ever forget that.

64. Please be up to date on the class reading. We’ll finish K&R chapters 3 and 5 on Thursday (unless there is a snow day).