Citizen Responsibility

Last week we had a shortened class with Sister Walton about What Citizens Should Expect From the Press.

We outlined Six things in the Citizens' Bill of Journalism Rights
1. Truthfulness:
"The process of verification-how news people made their decisions and why-should be transparent in the work so we can judge the value and fairness of the information for ourselves."
2. Proof that the journalists' first loyalty is to citizens:
"This means stories should answer our needs as citizens, not just the interests of insiders, or the political or economic system." This principle also requires transparency from the news organization.
3. That journalists maintain independence from those they cover:
"While journalists need not be neutral, we should expect they will not have divided loyalties. If journalists get too close to those they cover it only makes it more difficult for them to understand or convey all sides. Secretly counseling or writing speeches for sources is an example." This also includes being objective and considering all sides.
4. That journalists will monitor power and give voice to the voiceless:
"The press should use its watchdog power to uncover things that are important and new and that change community thinking. The news media should not squander this constitutional freedom on sideshow or pseudo scandals that research shows may build an audience."
5. A forum for public criticism and problem solving:
"News providers should offer several channels for public interaction--be it letters, e-mail, phone contacts, or public forums--including mechanisms for readers and viewers to make story suggestions or raise criticisms." A broad range of views should be represented, not just the extremist views.
6. News that is proportional and relevant:
"Journalists should use their special access to put the material they gather in a context that will engage our attention and also allow us to see trends and events in proportion to their true significance in our lives." Journalists should also be cautious of giving the right amount time and importance to stories; major news stories should be treated as such and not made light of, and smaller stories should not be expanded to give undue weight to their contents.

In class, Sister Walton divided us up and assigned us one of these six principles to discuss.
Our team was given the Right and Responsibility of Loyalty to Citizens. It means to us that our job is to serve the public by providing the public with the information they need and deserve. And that this priority should be above all others. We need to show the audience that we care about them. We need to understand the gap, and we need to listen to our public.

"Citizens have an obligation to approach the news with an open mind and not just a desire that the news reinforce existing opinion, but be willing to accept new facts and examine new points of view. Citizens should help journalists if they can, so that important news can see the light of day. Citizens have a responsibility to show up at the public forum and be active.


The marketplace fails if we as citizens are passive, willing to put up with a diminishing product. News should not only engage us but also challenge us and make us think"
-Sense and Goodness

Beautiful

What a beautiful, beautiful thing today is. Let me make Note here that I just woke up from a nap, so of course everything is lovely to me:)

I gave a fantastic presentation in English today. Seriously, I feel so grand about it. Such a weight lifted off my shoulders; all my projects are DONE and now I just get to face finals.

Counseling today was fun. I'm so grateful I have moved past the times of delving deep into the pit of despair to discover the sources from whence the murky waters flow. I believe I have successfully stopped those up. And certainly I was not alone in those efforts. Here I will diverge to tell a fascinating little bit:

This past month I have seen such a significant improvement in my level of happiness. I can attribute it to perfectly wonderful friends, absolutely beautiful family members (a strange descriptor, perhaps, but that's how I feel. My family is beautiful. The wisdom, strength, and love they have given me is the most beautiful thing I have ever encountered), fabulously uplifting books, gloriously intelligent professors, and truly inspired leaders.
At tithing settlement on Sunday, my bishop asked me if I am happy and how I've been doing. He of course knows what a difficult semester this has been for me. I was excited to tell him that I've seen such progress within myself these past few weeks. He asked me if I thought indexing (Family Search name indexing) had anything to do with how I felt.
Quite an interesting thought I had not considered. Yet, it matches up perfectly time-frame wise. I started indexing a month ago, and since then everything has gotten so much better for me. He promised us at the beginning of the semester that indexing would be a spiritual experience for us. And I truly believe that it has been.

So instead of making me cry for an hour in counseling today, we analyzed the crazy things that regularly happen in my life. I'm quite an entertaining person. Anyone who I've ever divulged life stories to I'm sure can attest to that.

And after school and counseling was done, I came home and took a beautiful nap. The best part was that I didn't have to wake up to my alarm clock:) Instead I woke up on my own to Little Women (one of my go-to sleep-time movies). What a beautiful, beautiful film. I even shed a few tears (I think it's a very good day when something beautiful moves you to tears). It got me thinking two distinct things: I miss my sisters so incredibly much. And I really want to be in love. Someday. With the right person. And that thought got me thinking about the essence of love itself and I came up with this:

Love: feeling safe being vulnerable with someone. Is there a more exquisite emotion? I miss it so much. And despite the complete, soul-ripping heartbreak it has afforded me in times past and I'm sure will warrant again in the future, I long for it. I want to dive into it.

So that's my beautiful day thus far. It has left me with a supreme sense of satisfaction as well as a dull pain in my chest. And that's why it is beautiful. Beauty is in the longing.

Dear Hair,

Dear Hair,

I've finally got you where I want you: waist-length and Gorgeous.

Thank you for always looking spectacular and for not requiring much effort at all from me.

I'm sorry I went through that phase where I used an evil straightener on you every day.

And I'm sorry I tried to go Blonde that one time. I promise it will never happen again. Also, Thank You for not falling out after I dyed you several more times that weekend so we could look pretty again.

I love how soft and shiny you are. Gosh, we are such a great team. You have amazing natural highlights, and I even forgive you for deciding to become redder and redder over time.

We have been through so much, Hair. The horrible Bangs of elementary school, and the shapelessness of junior high. But we have certainly had some fabulous years as well.

It's time for a significant change, Hair. In a few weeks, we have to grow up. Our long, sassy and beautiful time together is coming to a quick end.

I am so sorry you will never have your Special Day. You would have looked so great with that veil. But things happen for a reason. Next time we'll be sophisticated and totally chic.

So, Hair, Thank You for the fantastically good-looking times you have awarded me. I think you'll still look great even after much of you has fallen from me in piles on the floor. Shorter, lighter, we'll be prepared to take over the world by capturing the hearts of millions through the Screen.

Let's make the best of our last moments together. Because I hate to admit it, but I don't think I'll ever see you like this again.

The Most Dangerous Man in America

Study Guide for COMMS 239

1. In your view, what is the legacy of the government actions documented in the Pentagon Papers? How have such actions influenced democracy and trust of government in the United States?
It seems to me that the legacy of government actions as documented in the Pentagon Papers was for the government to make the decisions, to run the show without the involvement of the public. Once the Pentagon Papers were published and the public made aware of this legacy, this governmental attitude of having the right to control unimpeded by public opinion or influence, the people realized how easy it had been for the government to keep secrets. Journalists realized that a closer watch needed to be kept upon powerful institutions. A general distrust of government affairs was instilled in all who were part of this experience and this distrust has been passed down through the generations, creating a tradition of watchdog journalism which acts as a 4th branch of government, an extra check and balance, and enables our system of democracy to function idealistically with the public informed and in control.

2. While being interviewed by television journalist Walter Cronkite, Ellsberg says the lesson he took away from his experience with the Pentagon Papers was that “the people of this country can’t afford to let the president run the country by himself
without the help of Congress, without the help of the public.” How would you define the lesson or lessons of the Pentagon Papers and the events surrounding their release to the public?
I think the Pentagon Papers prove that the public should always be skeptical of the decisions their government leaders make, and that the public should demand the truth. I believe a significant lesson that arose from the events surrounding the release of the Pentagon Papers is of free speech. The public experienced the free flow of information in the act of releasing the Pentagon Papers and learned what it means for the press to be a watchdog on powerful institutions and leaders.

3. What role or roles did media play in Ellsberg’s success and/or lack of success in stopping the bombing and, ultimately, the war in Vietnam? How do media actions then compare to media war coverage now? How did the Pentagon papers change the role of the media in the United States?
The media played a huge role in the end of the war in Vietnam and of the dismissal of the case against Ellsberg through the Watergate Scandal. Once that story broke, it only magnified the impact and importance of the Pentagon Papers and resulted in the impeachment of President Nixon and the termination of the war nine months later. In today’s climate we tend to believe that we have open and constant coverage on the war; however, the current Wikileaks leak of confidential war information mimics the leak of the Pentagon Papers. The Pentagon Papers caused the media to recognize their role as a watchdog.


4. Max Frankel (New York Times Washington bureau chief during the Pentagon Papers era) reflects on his newspaper’s Supreme Court victory, saying, “The cry of national security does not justify censorship in advance.” In your view, under what circumstances do journalists have the right or responsibility to reveal classified information and under what circumstances should they refrain from doing so? Under what circumstances, if any, should they be prohibited from doing so by the government or by law?
I believe journalists always have the responsibility to reveal information to the public. Whether they have a right to the information is another matter entirely. But journalists will always have the right and responsibility to inform the public of matters that are significant to them: things that affect their lives, things that may change public opinion, things that will prevent harm, things that are necessary for our country to function correctly allowing the people as a whole to govern instead of a few powerful ones. Journalists should refrain from revealing classified information when it harms more than it helps, when national security is put at risk, and when soldiers lives would be put in danger if information were to be leaked.
I think there are too many unforeseen situations that may arise in the future that impede the creation of a law that would prohibit the press from revealing information. I think the government would use such a law to their advantage and question every move of journalists.

5. In your view, what would the effect on a free press have been if the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of the Nixon administration and prohibited newspapers from publishing the Pentagon Papers, or if after publication The New York Times had been prosecuted under the Espionage Act ?
The entire notion of a free press would have been murdered had the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Nixon administration and prohibited newspapers from publishing the Pentagon Papers. Government officials would have no checks or balances anymore. Thousands of people proved able to keep significant, plan-altering secrets from the public: if the press were prohibited from revealing information to the public regarding government lies, then we would be living in a totalitarian society, not a democratic one. The same results go for if The New York Times had been prosecuted under the Espionage Act. No newspaper would feel safe or validated to reveal governmental affairs, and thus the government would have complete control.

6. In your view, would today’s major news media outlets be likely to make public the type of classified documents that The New York Times and other newspapers were handed in 1971? Why or why not?
Absolutely. We hate spending money on lawsuits, but we love the big audiences investigative reporting draws. Plus, the media is currently leaking government documents thus proving my point (See State's Secrets in the NYT, acquired from Wikileaks).