We consider truth to
be a set in stone idea. The concept of truth has changed throughout history.
Telling the truth means being able to recognize the truth and explain it in the
clearest way possible. I babysit, and I am also a college student so I've come to the realization that for the most part only kids and drunk people tell the truth. Well, there are some exceptions, I like to think I am pretty honest, or at least my intentions are.
Way before we had print and cell phones, oral communication was how information was passed down. This culture linked truth to remembrance, because the human brain only has so much capacity for information so we had to remember the key facts. This reminds me of the game telephone, when we whisper in the ear and pass a phrase down a long line of people, the message at the end is usually distorted from what the sender originally intended. There is also the phrase "seeing is believing" and that truth has to be visual for some people. My mom is one of those people who doesn't want to hear an apology, she wants to see it in action.
Seeing is believing when we are trying to sell a product. In advertisement we can sell false truths to our audience to get them engaged in a product. I buy beauty products that claim to do everything under the sun, but its effects don't always add up to what it claims to do. When we see something on our screen, be it computer or television, we assume that it has to be true... it is there right before our eyes in color and pixels. How could it be false? We forget to take into account how edited our society and the media it produces has become. With the right editing, cutting, splicing, pasting, and Photoshopping we can create the truth we wish people to see.
Plato linked truth to human rationality and intellect. Others believe truth is revealed by only God and the Church. Truth
has become increasingly tied to what is written down, what can be empirically
verified, and what can be perceived by the human senses.
Then along came objectivity into the realm of journalism. Objectivity watered down is the requirement that journalists divorce fact from opinion. Its premise is to refuse to allow individual bias to influence what is reported and how.
We now have to
decipher facts and truth with the world wide web. This overflow of information
means we have to be wary of underlying views. Convergence journalism, using sounds, images, and words to cover stories, is now widespread in online news outlets like The Huffington Post. We now have even more information to sift through to decipher what's true, relevant, and important to us individually. This made me think how one story can have a profound affect on DIFFERENT audiences. Take the award shows for example; okay I am not interested in the written articles but I sure would love to see the best dresses and beauty products/tips from the night. Where as say, an avid music listener like Professor Limon is more interested in who won best song at the Grammy's. Advertisers may be interested in product placement during award ceremonies or sponsorship. With our own interests being the driving force, information is given to us an a customize able way. Remember those surveys that tell us what kind of learner we are? That sort of reminds me how convergence journalism can be put to good use- I really just want to see the video from event A so I will just watch the video feed from my favorite news site.
We discussed in my prior communications class how a news story comes into being, like who picks out this stuff anyway? Close your eyes and picture a journalist. I pictured someone that looks like Stephen Colbert. Journalists have primarily been white males, from middle to upper class with high education backgrounds. Our book discusses how journalists look like the people they are working for; the vibrant and optimistic middle and upper class.The press has to be aware of the contradictions that come with the job descriptions of a reporter. They must be neutral yet investigative, fair minded but have an edge.
When we package the news story we have to add elements that will pique human interest. This reminds me of our previous Communication class on reporting, we were given assignments to write leads and short stories. In the instance of stories like the cop cars, drunk drivers, and cars driving into gas meters, word placement and choice was crucial. The most important thing came first, so that we could grab the audience. Then we would add drama by adding in juicy words like "scared" "terrified" etc. Our book also touched on how science is reported in the media: either "new hope" or "no hope" when really there is grey areas. We tend to report peak moments and not the actual process that led to catastrophes and chaos.
Truth is more than just a collection of facts. We have to be our own investigators and researchers and use an open mind to new truths that are revealed to us. Staying educated and staying current is crucial.
