Personal Opinions - Bias, Plagiarism, and Fabrication in Journalists and the Media.

Many forms of journalism have been fabricated and plagiarized in the past years to satisfy the public’s ever increasing demand for information. Journalists are vital and conduce towards meeting the expectations of the information-hungry society of today. The ethics of journalism are incredibly important and straight forward, centring on truthfulness, fairness, integrity, independence, accountability and most importantly, public trust. The industry of journalism depends on public interest to be successful. Their work must sell to their targeted audience, because without readers, the journalism industry will fall through. Many journalists desperate for a good story have taken to measures falling against their ethics in an attempt to sell their piece. Fabrication and plagiarism are two of the most critical scandals facing the media today. Journalists should not be acting as agents of change, but good solid reporters who give society what they expect and need, the facts.

One of the biggest fabrication scandals in recent journalism history was the Jayson Blair Scandal. Blair resigned from the New York Times in 2003 after being caught plagiarising and fabricating elements in his articles. One of Jayson Blair's misdeeds was when he was found to have lied about interviewing four soldiers in a naval hospital, attributing made up quotes to two of them. Blair in-fact never visited the hospital, and spoke to only one soldier on the phone. Blairs offences caused headlines, and increased debate over why journalists plagiarise and fabricate their stories. The answer to that, is simple. When journalists act as agents of change, they are altering the human capability and organisation systems. They do this to achieve a higher degree of output or self actualisation. Although this may attract the readers eye and interest, the writer will eventually loose the publics trust, and ultimately, their job. Journalists are trained professionals, and understand more than most that the majority of human beings are more aware of bad news rather than good. They want to hear astounding stories of death, sorrow and drama. Either this, or over exaggeratedly good news. The reality of life however, is that it is not always that way. To keep the readers eye attached to their story, journalists have found ways to slip falsehoods and lies into their stories, turning them from something ordinary, into something extraordinary and appealing to the public. They are also turning something that is the truth, into a lie.

Journalists also have a tendency to place unnecessary additives into their stories. This does not only create biased articles, but draws the publics attention to incorrect conclusions. Appearances and lifestyle are a huge issue when biased journalism is involved. The impact on stating ideas and suspicions about things that may alter the readers views on the important facts is huge, and also runs against the ethics of journalism. By adding details such as appearances of people (for example body modifications, such as tattoos, piercing's etc,) can send someone's personal opinion flying and obscure the important information that contributes to the actual story. Although it is not incorrect, it is unnecessary, and a good journalist would exclude any information that could be seen as dispensable.

Journalists that act as agents of change live in the future, not the present. They see how they can bias their stories to benefit their future success. They will take sides, and sides that the majority of the public will agree on. The recent War in Gaza has shown the biased ways of the media in full light. Journalists have portrayed the war in Gaza to be a simple fight of good and evil. The people of Gaza have been made out to be the victims, and the Israelis, the wrong doing murderers. Has the Media even attempted to understand the Israelis side of the matter? Or perhaps write about the issue neutrally? No. The Israelis story was never portrayed to be the correct one.* If they had bothered perhaps the public would know that maybe the Israelis justification of Israel entrance to Gaza was to stop the constant flow of attacks against them. That they, in actual fact, were the only ones complying by the rules of ceasefire. Meanwhile the Al Qaeuda terrorist firing home-made rickets into Israel from civilian populated areas making it impossible for Israel to destroy them from range without huge civilian casualties. This opinion, correct or not, was never shown as an equal option to society. The biased journalism of today has created a right and wrong, brainwashing the preponderance of society into believing this as pure fact.

Journalists need to stop resorting to lies to achieve their goals. We need an industry of journalists who report good solid facts, because until then they will not accomplish their goal of being the change that we all want to see.


* Thanks to a friend who gave me the information I needed for this part. I quoted you in the original but my marker for some bizzare out of this world reason said it was better stated if it was also an opinion of my own.

-JOY