In the Rush to the Printer

I have another confession. Yes, another one. Do not get any ideas that I am going to start writing out the secrets found in my diary. This is a journal after all and not a diary but, nevertheless, I will confess one more attribute about myself: I am a stress case. To sum up the extent of my stressing ability: If I was a nail bitter I would have no nails. However, I have found that stress is what drives me. I have heard stress before related to having something annoying on your shoulder, like a bird. For me, stress is a constant little bird on my shoulder that reminds me of upcoming assignments and deadlines. When one day goes by…peck. When two days go by…peck, peck. By the third day, my little stress bird is nearly nipping off my ear. Thankfully, I usually start working when that frustrating bird first lands on my shoulder. I simply cannot take all his pecking and have found it is better to start off early. Learning to consult with my stress bird has prepared me for the work field I hope to enter one day: the newsroom. A newsroom is a place where stress is not breaking news. I believe I will fit in perfectly.

In my Communications class, we had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Tom Nelson. Mr. Nelson said that a newsroom is a microcosm for the “tension that is America.” When he said this, I thought to myself, “great, bring on the acne stress cream.” I am ready to face the tense environment. Mr. Nelson also advised us not “get too righteous in the newsroom.” I believe these two ideas relate. In stressful situations, journalists are more willing to abandon morals to get the story. Yes, they are more willing to surrender their independence and work with a source to make sure they get the story. But no matter how much my stress bird is nipping at my shoulder, I do not plan to ever abandon my journalistic independence.

Independence in journalism is both a journalist’s duty and right, I believe. The Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics has a section titled “Act Independently.” In this section, journalists are told to “avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.” Over the weekend, I watched the movie Absence of Malice. In the film, a journalist for a newspaper called The Standard becomes romantically involved with one of her interviewees. By doing so, she hurts her own journalistic judgment and harms the paper’s credibility when they have to write a re-write. Indeed, our homework reading asked, “Can anyone reasonably be expected to cover those to whom they have personal, even intimate, loyalties?” (Elements, 130). No, they cannot.

Furthermore, Megan in Absence of Malice is so driven by the desire to be the first to scoop the story that her research is not well done. While journalists work in stress-filled environments, they should not submit to stress and turn in half-baked research and half-checked quotes. Neither should journalists agree to work with sources in order to get the story. To do so would be to give up one’s independence. While deadline is important, journalists should be “wary of sources offering information for favors or money,” as the SPJ councils and take the time to find other sources. In Absence of Malice, Megan did not put an honest effort into reaching the other side of the story. She had given up her independence and consequentially, the truth suffered.

I was discouraged to read in The Press that “journalists leave their profession sooner and at an earlier age” (392). Likewise in a New York Times article, “In a World of Online News, Burnout Starts Younger,” stress is identified as one of the reasons journalists retire from the profession earlier. Well, I am used to stress. And I still have plenty of time to get into the habit of biting my nails. But when I rush to the printer, I promise to never leave my morals behind.