Are content creators journalists? What about social media influencers?
We asked faculty from the Department of Journalism at Penn State, "What separates Journalism from other media content?" Watch the video below to see how they responded.
Why does the distinction between journalism and other media content matter to us consumers? Here's one way to think about it:
Imagine that you need to have a cavity in your back molar filled. You have the choice of having the filling done by your neighbor who watched a YouTube video about dentistry or by a professional licensed dentist. Let's pretend cost is not a factor, who would you choose to fix your tooth?
Dentists attend specialized schools and belong to professional organizations that provide guidance and rules. The professional dentist has more experience and training than your neighbor and risks losing their license and professional standing if they are really bad at their job.
While not just anybody can practice dentistry in the United States, anybody can create and share information because of our First Amendment rights.
Although anyone can create something that looks like news, not everyone is following the same set of rules. Like dentists, professional journalists follow a set of standards and a code of ethics to do their job well. Journalists’ careers rely on having a good reputation based on high quality, credible reporting.
Following the standards requires a lot of time and energy by journalists but doing so helps guarantee an accurate and balanced result instead of misleading information or fake news.
Challenges for Journalists
Journalists have always faced a variety of challenges. Some challenges, such as personal safety and developing profitable business models have existed for decades. Today's journalists face additional new challenges. They find an increasing need for public awareness about the ethics and standards of journalism and recognition of news content compared to other media. Journalists are challenged to cultivate trust among people who consume information through non-traditional news delivery methods.
We asked faculty from the Department of Journalism at Penn State, "What challenges are journalists facing today?" Watch the video below to see how they responded.
Standards of quality journalism
Numerous organizations and individuals have tried to articulate what defines quality journalism. The list below is largely based on the seven standards of journalism as identified by the News Literacy Project, and also incorporates points from the book The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tim Rosenstiel, as outlined by the American Press Institute.
Choose Quality
Standards-based journalism matters because understanding what journalists go through before presenting the news to you will help you make better choices about the news you consume. When you seek news, look for quality journalism that follows the standards.