Who said that muckraking was dead; it's just taking a new form that's all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMcRDDuubjQ
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Muckraking
Muckraking is one of those things where most people have heard about it but don’t really know exactly what it is. I would define muckraking as a style of investigative journalism that seeks to expose incidents of political corruption, government wrongdoing, or social injustice for the purpose of altering public policy. Basically all this is just fancy lingo for journalists who seek to bring up the dirt on either the government, high ranking individuals, or companies in order to get change it for the better good. But exactly how successful is this practice and how exactly is it done????
There are three distinct paths to political action through muckraking. Journalists may write up articles about public policies in order of engaging the public, or to bring the situation to light. This will hopefully spark a reaction that will call for change. This was done a lot with corruption, child labor, public health and safety actions throughout history. Journalists will also write an article in hopes of urging politicians to make change. What better way to get something done than through an elite politician? The last way that journalists employ muckraking is through teamwork. Journalists team up and coordinate stories to gain support of various political activities.
There you have it, it’s easy to understand why muckraking is successful if you know how it is used and what it is. But the question that still remains to be answered is how does muckraking actually work. Here is a great illustration given to me through Professor Dewitt:
Policy consequences
Journalistic Investigation ----> Publication ----> Public Opinion ---->Policy Initiatives
This model is such a great illustration because it portrays accurately a starting and ending point. Muckraking begins with investigative journalism. As discussed earlier, this is done in order to change political attitudes or public policy. The next step is publication—In order for people to hear the message, it has to be published. What good is good investigative journalism is no one sees it? The next step is public opinion- how the public feels about the investigative journalism. Does it spark anger, sympathy, apathy, sadness, or nothing at all? If the public isn’t moved by the investigation then the politician ns aren’t going to do anything about it. This leads us to our next step, policy initiative. This is where the policy begins to take root and things begin to get done.
At the end of the day, there is a lot of work that goes into investigative journalism. It fits perfectly into the hard news scene and is even appreciated by the public. Why then does it seem that there is less and less investigative journalism than in the past? In my opinion it’s because there is such a demand for soft news and quick reporting that the journalists aren’t pushed to investigate. Let’s face it, all good things take time, and time just isn’t what reporters today have. Hopefully the media industry will notice how important muckraking is to us as a nation, and all the good things that can come out of it.
There are three distinct paths to political action through muckraking. Journalists may write up articles about public policies in order of engaging the public, or to bring the situation to light. This will hopefully spark a reaction that will call for change. This was done a lot with corruption, child labor, public health and safety actions throughout history. Journalists will also write an article in hopes of urging politicians to make change. What better way to get something done than through an elite politician? The last way that journalists employ muckraking is through teamwork. Journalists team up and coordinate stories to gain support of various political activities.
There you have it, it’s easy to understand why muckraking is successful if you know how it is used and what it is. But the question that still remains to be answered is how does muckraking actually work. Here is a great illustration given to me through Professor Dewitt:
Policy consequences
Journalistic Investigation ----> Publication ----> Public Opinion ---->Policy Initiatives
This model is such a great illustration because it portrays accurately a starting and ending point. Muckraking begins with investigative journalism. As discussed earlier, this is done in order to change political attitudes or public policy. The next step is publication—In order for people to hear the message, it has to be published. What good is good investigative journalism is no one sees it? The next step is public opinion- how the public feels about the investigative journalism. Does it spark anger, sympathy, apathy, sadness, or nothing at all? If the public isn’t moved by the investigation then the politician ns aren’t going to do anything about it. This leads us to our next step, policy initiative. This is where the policy begins to take root and things begin to get done.
At the end of the day, there is a lot of work that goes into investigative journalism. It fits perfectly into the hard news scene and is even appreciated by the public. Why then does it seem that there is less and less investigative journalism than in the past? In my opinion it’s because there is such a demand for soft news and quick reporting that the journalists aren’t pushed to investigate. Let’s face it, all good things take time, and time just isn’t what reporters today have. Hopefully the media industry will notice how important muckraking is to us as a nation, and all the good things that can come out of it.
The Untold Story about Journalists We Love and the Politicians We Hate…
In today’s times it would be nearly impossible to separate the media and politics; you can’t have one without the other. Even though the two may be as inseparable as peanut butter and jelly, it still is nice to know what makes them that way. My years at Kennesaw State University (Mass Media and Politics) have taught me that there are 3 distinct ways that the media (journalists) themselves use politicians and actually become political actors.
The first way that the media and politicians feed off each other is through journalists acting as surrogates to the politicians. The journalists actively participate in a situation in order to shape government action. Think of it this way, you’ve heard the expression “if you want something done you have to do it yourself,” well it’s true. If the journalists want to try to shape government action, they may sit in at a rally, participate in a demonstration, etc, in order to get their point across. Basically they’re just using their job to promote their beliefs…. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.
The second way that journalists try to take on the role of political actors is through inside scoops. This is done more on the part of the politicians through inside information leeks. Sometimes unhappy government officials will leak information through hungry, eager journalists. This then gains the support of the journalists and media—we all know that it is never a bad thing to have the media on your side. In the end, all this really does is allow the government officials to gain access to the public that will in turn build their support base.
Government officials can also shape political action by framing the news as well. The media and the government official team up and report the news to us in a particular way. This is turn totally slants the information and the message as well. This is where I personally have a problem. It’s ok if the journalists use the media to get what they want through acting as a surrogate. It’s even ok to me that the government uses the media to get what they want through inside information leaks. What I have a problem with is the inside corruption effecting me as a citizen. How much are we going to let the media and politicians get away with before something is done?
The first way that the media and politicians feed off each other is through journalists acting as surrogates to the politicians. The journalists actively participate in a situation in order to shape government action. Think of it this way, you’ve heard the expression “if you want something done you have to do it yourself,” well it’s true. If the journalists want to try to shape government action, they may sit in at a rally, participate in a demonstration, etc, in order to get their point across. Basically they’re just using their job to promote their beliefs…. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.
The second way that journalists try to take on the role of political actors is through inside scoops. This is done more on the part of the politicians through inside information leeks. Sometimes unhappy government officials will leak information through hungry, eager journalists. This then gains the support of the journalists and media—we all know that it is never a bad thing to have the media on your side. In the end, all this really does is allow the government officials to gain access to the public that will in turn build their support base.
Government officials can also shape political action by framing the news as well. The media and the government official team up and report the news to us in a particular way. This is turn totally slants the information and the message as well. This is where I personally have a problem. It’s ok if the journalists use the media to get what they want through acting as a surrogate. It’s even ok to me that the government uses the media to get what they want through inside information leaks. What I have a problem with is the inside corruption effecting me as a citizen. How much are we going to let the media and politicians get away with before something is done?
Saturday, November 28, 2009
MORE EVIDENCE!!!!!
This should give you some inside perspective on some of the cases that we have been discussing. Think of it as comic relief to all the serious discussion.
For all you Mock Trial people out there…. NYT v. Sullivan
For all you Mock Trial people out there…. NYT v. Sullivan
Control, What Control???
Since we have already discussed what the media can and cannot do, and what exactly allows them to do it, I think discussing the media itself would add to the benefit of the discussion. The media as discussed earlier has very few restrictions on what they can and cannot say. If they are not maliciously attacking someone with false accounts, or threatening our national security the basically have free reign. But how do they convey what they want to say. They have two forms of communication—uncontrolled and controlled media outlets.
Controlled and uncontrolled media outlets refer to the media communication channels used to convey messages about an organization to its publics. A good example of controlled channels would be things such as leaflets, brochures, emails and websites. They are controlled in the sense that they are created and delivered to the audience by an organization. Never at any time does the organization lose control of the message. Think of it as a one way street, the city can control where the people driving down that street go, they don’t have a choice to change lanes or back-up if they wanted—no control.
Uncontrolled media outlets are channels that refer to the media, that are used to broadcast messages that an organization can only hope to influence. Think of channels such as press reports, feature articles and TV programs. These types of channels are delivered to the press, but they can be influenced by the way it is presented and therefore perceived by the audience. There is no control here. This in turn gives the media even more freedom. How much freedom are we going to give the press before it goes too far??????
Controlled and uncontrolled media outlets refer to the media communication channels used to convey messages about an organization to its publics. A good example of controlled channels would be things such as leaflets, brochures, emails and websites. They are controlled in the sense that they are created and delivered to the audience by an organization. Never at any time does the organization lose control of the message. Think of it as a one way street, the city can control where the people driving down that street go, they don’t have a choice to change lanes or back-up if they wanted—no control.
Uncontrolled media outlets are channels that refer to the media, that are used to broadcast messages that an organization can only hope to influence. Think of channels such as press reports, feature articles and TV programs. These types of channels are delivered to the press, but they can be influenced by the way it is presented and therefore perceived by the audience. There is no control here. This in turn gives the media even more freedom. How much freedom are we going to give the press before it goes too far??????
What do you mean TMZ can’t be sued??????
“To the press alone, checkered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression.” - James Madison
The Supreme Court has ruled in the past that there are only certain instances where the right to freedom of the Press is revoked in order to protect the greater good. The first instance is actual malice—libel cases. Can someone say whatever they want about someone and get away with it—the court believes that this is almost a free statement.
The Supreme Court takes the First Amendment very seriously. Since they have complete control over their own docket, it always seems as though they are particularly inclined to take cases that involve First Amendment Rights. I believe it’s because these cases make such an impact—who doesn’t want to make an impact on history. All this aside, in the cases of Near v. MN and New York Times v. Sullivan, the court faced instances of the media publishing defamatory comments about specific individuals. Both times that the court ruled that prior restraint cannot be implemented because actual malice must occur with no prior knowledge that the information published is false. They also ruled in Near v. MN, that politicians and public figured are held to a higher standard of libel. Proving libel is extremely hard to do--- try convincing a judge or jury of what someone else thought or knew prior to publication. It’s cases like these that allow companies like TMZ to exist. You don’t think that some of the celebrities would love to sue TMZ for something they have said about them. If you pay close attention to what the people on TMZ say (Yes, even the long haired stoner guy) they always say that the person “appears” to be doing something , or “seems” to be doing this. That’s because of the threat of libel, if they say that they “appear to be doing something” then they are not showing actual malice. Tricky but all apart of Freedom of the Press and libel.
The next and only exception to freedom of the press is national security. This makes sense seeing that the media can’t publish any information that would be damaging to our country. Could you imagine the uproar is the NYT published an article telling in detail when and where some of our secret ops soldiers were going to be, ummmm not cool. The key word in this exception is damaging, not embarrassing. The Court faced this type of question in New York Times Co. v. United States. In 1971, some classified documents called the Pentagon Papers fell into the hands of the NYT and they planned on publishing them. These papers would undoubtedly embarrass the national government and Richard Nixon sued for prior restraint. The court ruled that the Government had not met that burden, so the prior restraint was not justified. So embarrassment does not count as danger, the big man goes down and NYT wins.
In the end, these cases have taught us a valuable lesson. Don’t piss off the media because it would be very hard to stop them from coming after you; key word being hard, not impossible. There are still protections from the media (libel and national security) the only problem is the difficulty receiving those protections.
The Supreme Court has ruled in the past that there are only certain instances where the right to freedom of the Press is revoked in order to protect the greater good. The first instance is actual malice—libel cases. Can someone say whatever they want about someone and get away with it—the court believes that this is almost a free statement.
The Supreme Court takes the First Amendment very seriously. Since they have complete control over their own docket, it always seems as though they are particularly inclined to take cases that involve First Amendment Rights. I believe it’s because these cases make such an impact—who doesn’t want to make an impact on history. All this aside, in the cases of Near v. MN and New York Times v. Sullivan, the court faced instances of the media publishing defamatory comments about specific individuals. Both times that the court ruled that prior restraint cannot be implemented because actual malice must occur with no prior knowledge that the information published is false. They also ruled in Near v. MN, that politicians and public figured are held to a higher standard of libel. Proving libel is extremely hard to do--- try convincing a judge or jury of what someone else thought or knew prior to publication. It’s cases like these that allow companies like TMZ to exist. You don’t think that some of the celebrities would love to sue TMZ for something they have said about them. If you pay close attention to what the people on TMZ say (Yes, even the long haired stoner guy) they always say that the person “appears” to be doing something , or “seems” to be doing this. That’s because of the threat of libel, if they say that they “appear to be doing something” then they are not showing actual malice. Tricky but all apart of Freedom of the Press and libel.
The next and only exception to freedom of the press is national security. This makes sense seeing that the media can’t publish any information that would be damaging to our country. Could you imagine the uproar is the NYT published an article telling in detail when and where some of our secret ops soldiers were going to be, ummmm not cool. The key word in this exception is damaging, not embarrassing. The Court faced this type of question in New York Times Co. v. United States. In 1971, some classified documents called the Pentagon Papers fell into the hands of the NYT and they planned on publishing them. These papers would undoubtedly embarrass the national government and Richard Nixon sued for prior restraint. The court ruled that the Government had not met that burden, so the prior restraint was not justified. So embarrassment does not count as danger, the big man goes down and NYT wins.
In the end, these cases have taught us a valuable lesson. Don’t piss off the media because it would be very hard to stop them from coming after you; key word being hard, not impossible. There are still protections from the media (libel and national security) the only problem is the difficulty receiving those protections.
Freedom of the Press—A Little Background
When discussing freedom of the press I believe it is imperative to know a little background first. One cannot talk about something if there is no basis for the discussion to begin with. Freedom of the Press was given to us through the First Amendment. In the beginning, there was a lot of disgruntled citizens in part because they felt that the Constitution lacked the power to protect them from the government—i.e. civil liberties. To give the people what they wanted, the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights was submitted to the states for ratification on September 25, 1789 and implemented on December 15, 1791. Along with many protections from the government, the First Amendment guaranteed its citizens Freedom of the Press.
The question to be discussed is what exactly is freedom of the press. How much freedom do we have, and who regulates that freedom. All of these questions have been brought up at some time in our nation’s history and it has been up to whom other else than the Supreme Court to decide.
Thomas Jefferson once said that "The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure.” The right to freedom of the press can be defined as the right to publish newspapers, magazines, books, etc. without government interference or prior censorship. This particular little snip-it of the Constitution has created some huge rifts in our nation’s history. If the Constitution allows freedom of the press, it is no secret that the media is going to push that freedom as far as they can, and whenever someone tries to challenge their freedom the solution is simple—take them to court.
There have been a slew of Freedom of the press cases in our nation’s history. Just to name a few are, New York Times Co. v. United State, Branzburg v. Hayes, and New York Times v. Sullivan. All of these cases have basically ended up reinforcing the same decision. Each case reiterated that there are only a few exceptions to stopping Freedom of the press (actual malice—libel, and national security). Other than that freedom of the Press reigns supreme. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? This question calls for another blog…..
The question to be discussed is what exactly is freedom of the press. How much freedom do we have, and who regulates that freedom. All of these questions have been brought up at some time in our nation’s history and it has been up to whom other else than the Supreme Court to decide.
Thomas Jefferson once said that "The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure.” The right to freedom of the press can be defined as the right to publish newspapers, magazines, books, etc. without government interference or prior censorship. This particular little snip-it of the Constitution has created some huge rifts in our nation’s history. If the Constitution allows freedom of the press, it is no secret that the media is going to push that freedom as far as they can, and whenever someone tries to challenge their freedom the solution is simple—take them to court.
There have been a slew of Freedom of the press cases in our nation’s history. Just to name a few are, New York Times Co. v. United State, Branzburg v. Hayes, and New York Times v. Sullivan. All of these cases have basically ended up reinforcing the same decision. Each case reiterated that there are only a few exceptions to stopping Freedom of the press (actual malice—libel, and national security). Other than that freedom of the Press reigns supreme. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? This question calls for another blog…..
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