9 Principles of Journalism

The first lecture of this year involved the 9 Principles and 7 Yardsticks of Journalism. The 9 Principles of Journalism where created by the Project for Excellence in Journalism. They are:
       1. Truth- I believe this should be the basis for every aspect of journalism. I believe this is the most important principle because the purpose of journalism is to inform the public of news that will affect them long term. If they are being fed incorrect information, then there is no reason for journalism to even exist.
       2. Loyalty- Loyalty is also very important because if the news were completely full of advertisements, then the citizens would not be happy and would not watch that news station. The day after this lecture, I was watching the Today Show with my mom and it was Al Roker's birthday. President Bill Clinton appeared on the air to wish Al a happy birthday. He was talking about why everyone liked him and the main reason he stated was because he is loyal to the viewers, which I completely agree with.
       3. Verification- I believe this goes hand in hand with loyalty, because without verification, citizens would never know if the information is true or not.
       4. Independence- This is also important because it creates a broad audience rather than directing attention towards a certain group of people.
       5. Watchdog- This is very important because if media was not keeping an eye on those in power, checks and balances would not exist. People in authority would abuse their power and make citizens' lives miserable.
       6. Forum- This is important because it allows the public to give feedback to the medium runnign the forum and also to others sharing their opinions. This can create a broad and more diverse journalism perspective.
       7. Make the Important Interesting- this is important because citizens need to know information that will affect them long term, not information that they consider interesting, like Farmer Ted's chickens all got stolen. Although it is interesting, it will not affect the majority of citizens. News outlets need to ensure that the important information is displayed in a somewhat interesting way, or nobody will want to receive their news that way because it is boring.
       8. Inclusive- This is important because general news does not sway towards one group of people and respects diversity and differences.
       9. Room for Dissent- This allows journalists and others to speak their minds and be free to speak from their conscience. This is an essential part of media because it creates a broader viewpoint of different events.