When are journalists responsible for creating news?
Journalists are debating the media's ability to create news after coverage of a recent Quran burning in the U.S. sparked violence in Afghanistan.
When a U.S. pastor burned a Quran, most journalists chose to ignore the stunt — creating a media blackout that was intended to prevent further violence abroad. However, one international stringer for Agence France-Presse did file the story, where it quickly spread overseas, causing deadly protests.
Do you think news organizations and journalists can be blamed for giving a “made-for-media” event the attention it was looking for?
When is an event newsworthy and when are journalists creating the news?
Have you ever been put in a situation where you chose not to cover an event for ethical reasons?
Photo by isafmedia, used with a CC-license.
Demolition of an illegal mosque
The issue of demolition of 'illegal' mosque draws my attantion here.
I want to ask the journalism student and the NDTV whether they will keep mum in case of demolition of a temple or burning of religious books of Hindu or Christian commiunity?
Thanks,
Bad Times
I am a journalism student at Portsmouth university (UK): Journalists should not report unnecessary news that could trigger racial disorders or even conflicts. for example, that who wants to burn Qura'an in USA, he just wants media attention so, news must not have talked with him or given him word at all.
what is unnecessary news?
I want to ask what do you mean by saying unnecesssary news? Who is going to decide it is unnecessary or not? I think if every member of public has to right what has happened there so it is journalist's responsibility to bring this attention to the public. It all depends how to shape the news and how you create it.
news needs "anti-virus" program like computers
On a lighter note, here's a post about how journalists can avoid catching the latest news "virus" and just spreading around the junk...
"A bunch of people have figured out how to plant viruses into the news system. Permanent link to this item in the archive.
An example. Get a celeb or pol to suggest that candidate (or President) Obama might not have been born in the United States. Vary the story over time. Get a new celeb. Or a new pol. Every variance must be reported by ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox, MSNBC. "
http://scripting.com/stories/2011/04/12/newsNeedsAnAntivirus.html
Journalists need to learn how to do more than just pass this stuff around...
This is a great idea,
This is a great idea, especially for digital journalists...What we choose to ignore essentially goes away. On the other hand, convincing those old-school editors not to mimic eachother and spread those particular viruses (everyone else is covering it! We must too) is a LOT harder. ..
I am a journalism student
I am a journalism student from India. As a viewer, I have often come across news stories on Indian news channels that should not and need not have been reported. Trivial incidents are often made news, even when they are not.
I worked as an intern for a Delhi-based news channel, NDTV online. There was once a story on the demolition of an illegal mosque by the Delhi Development Authority. I was asked to stay away from it and not file any stories relating to the incident, that were coming on the news wires. India is a diverse nation with many communities living together and there is always some amount of communal tension on the brink. So the mosque being a sensitive issue, the website chose to remain mum about it.
Ooh My God! Demolition of an
Ooh My God! Demolition of an illegal mosque is not something you call trivial. the story is there. we just need to know the conditions under which this mosque was, and what makes its illegal?
I agree about the trivial
I agree about the trivial issues...but the one you mention hardly seems like a trivial incident, in this case the question of illegal mosques (if they are common) and how they are discovered and dismantled seems like an important issue to report...
bad example
My understanding was that the 21-year-old who reported on it for AFP was sent on assignment to cover it...What was he supposed to do -- protest and get fired? So they send someone else.
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