Today it was announced that Brian Williams, an NBC News Anchor, was suspended by the network for exaggerating on events that happened when he was in Iraq about a decade ago. He has been suspended for 6 months, without pay. It just goes to show that people on the news are just not as impartial as they could be. In his self interest, Brian spoke about an incident of RPG’s hitting the helicopter he was in. However, it turns out that he was not in the said helicopter, he was in the following aircraft.
In a recent paper I turned in for my journalism class, I quoted Paul Starr saying that a citizen journalist cannot be considered true journalists because their reports may be considered propaganda and biased. But it seems that these statements can be extended to those that are undeniably paid and recognized as true journalists. Brian spoke on the events in Iraq in his own self-interest. Could I have been wrong about who a true journalist is? Could a blogger like myself be more of a journalist than those in the face of the media that only practice the profession in their own selfish interests?
It can be hard quantify who is a real journalist and who is not. True journalism is a respectable career because it requires that said person to be trustworthy. At the very least, I hope I can work to be a respectable and trustworthy journalist someday.