Do you believe journalists truly serve you, the citizen? Why or why not? What should be done differently so that you, the citizen, are effectively served?

As a U.S. citizen, I believe journalists serve a true purpose.  Without journalists, who would do the necessary investigating that produces the news we all obtain our information from? Nobody.  We would not have the ability to pick up a newspaper and know what is going on in countries all over the globe.  We wouldn't even have information concerning events occurring in our own country.  Being a journalist requires much time and effort.  Some journalists risk their lives just to spread the news and make others aware of what is happening in different locations
The only improvement that needs to be made in journalism is credibility.  Journalists today are slacking on integrity and their loyalty to the citizens.  Verification should be a priority among journalists, but not many are showing that quality in today's news.  Some newspaper companies publish information based on what other newspapers produced.  They have the thought that publishing information first is more important than taking the time to make sure what they are publishing is even correct information.
Journalists play an important role in today's society.  It is vital to be up to date on public affairs occurring nationally and globally.  Without journalists, this information would not be available to the public.  The credibility of journalists affects whether they can be trusted as reliable sources or not.  Journalists today should focus not on being the first publish the news, but on being reliable by always posting facts.  By changing this aspect of journalism, journalists would serve an even greater purpose to citizens.

Connor Friedersdorf discussed the purpose of journalism in his blog. To view this blog, click here. 

Do Journalists Report the Truth?

In today's time, it is hard to judge whether the information presented by the news is fact or fiction. As media has progressed, media has raised the stakes for a successful news story. We like to believe that everything we are reading is fact, but it all boils down to the journalist's integrity.  
Journalists have the opportunity to create a news story all on their own.  They can input any information they want as long, and the readers have no way of absolutely knowing if it is true or not. Maybe this is just my opinion, but I believe the truth will escape somehow.  
Every journalist wants to produce the most captivating story.  Most will do whatever it takes to get the audience interested, which means including anonymous quotes from people who probably don't exist or even just including false information.  Journalists report the truth when the truth is interesting enough to make it as a cover story.  In most circumstances, journalists will beef up their story in order to present a popular news article.  Whether they report the truth is all based on the journalists' integrity. For example, Fox News retracted a news story for the first time because of a false story reported on suicides related to Obama's speech.  In the media today, I feel the majority of journalists have stooped to a low integrity level, allowing them to not always report the truth.

What purpose does journalism serve in your life?

Journalism provides the public with information of current events across the glob. Human instinct causes hunger for new knowledge. For people like me, who are emerging into adulthood, journalism may give them a feeling of maturity. Journalism allows me to know what is going on without having to hear about it through someone else. Of course I will still obtain information through other people, but by reading a newspaper or watching the news, I am able to retain more by learning it for myself. As I've gotten older, I've realized the importance of being up to date on the news. By being into date; I can participate in community and public affairs. Most of my classes this semester revolve around the news, so journalism gives me the ability to participate in class. If I'm not aware of events occurring at the time, I cannot contribute to class discussion. Also, this being my first year to participate in the elections, it is important for me to learn which presidential candidate's values reflect my own. By watching the news and reading newspapers, I can decide whom my vote is going to based on the knowledge obtained through journalism. Journalism serves as a way of gaining knowledge and maturity in my life.
Click here for more information on the purpose of journalism.

What is journalism? What is a journalist?

What is journalism? The video shown above is a great description of what journalism entails. Journalism can be found in newspapers, broadcasting, magazines, and on the radio and television. Journalism is not only writing but the report of an investigation. It comes from the perspective of the writer but only includes facts. Journalism grows from the opinions of it's readers.  With journalism, come standards like honesty and commitment. Journalism provides information on current events across the globe. Popular subjects among journalism are politics, stock markets, justice, health, entertainment, wars, and so on.  Without journalism, the world would not be as knowledgable of public affairs at the time.  But journalism is not at all possible without the work of a journalist.  Journalists do all of the investigating required to present a newsworthy story.  Some specific journalist jobs include reporters and editors.  Their job is to search through news and discover what is true and false, then decide what information should be published.  When creating a story, they look for information that would attract an audience.  Difficulty occurs when separating fact from fiction and opinionated views.  There are good journalists and bad journalists.  Whether they are writing fact or fiction is up to them, but in all cases, the truth will come out.  Journalism revolves around current events, and journalists are the ones who sort through and find the breaking news stories we all love to read or watch.  Below is a link to a website with valuable information on journalism. 

http://handbook.reuters.com/index.php/Reporting_and_Writing_Basics