Journalistic Tactics
...also a very important part of newspapers since they give the editors’ opinion on specific subjects. In the 1890’s, “it was common practice for a newspaper to report the editor's interpretation of the news rather than objective journalism. If the information reported was inaccurate or biased, the American public had little means for verification. With this sort of influence, the newspapers wielded much political power” (Role of Yellow, 2001). On the contrary, today, people have many ways of confirming news. However, news organizations will always have to deal with biased reporting. Bernard Goldberg, a CBS former reporter and producer, wrote a book titled “Bias”. In this book, Goldberg tells the reader how some reporters distort the news in order to favor a particular individual or political party. According to Goldberg, most influencing T.V. anchors and newspapers editors are liberal biased. He feels that these journalists are ignoring their ethical duties by presenting what they want their public to believe (2002). Consequently, bias reporting is also a tactic in today’s journalism. Since it persists to exist, it is up to the receiver to ratify the information taken. Another technique employed by Pulitzer and Hearst was sensationalism. “Critics attacked the Hearst-Pulitzer approach as “Yellow journalism,” referring to an emphasis on sex, violence and crime sprinkled with emotionalism, inaccuracies, and exaggeration” (Andrews, 1996). Today, sensationalistic news capture most people’s attention. If there is a news article on a senator and another one on a congressman, more people are likely to choose the article which shows one of the characters in a scandal involving sex, violence, or a crime. Reporters are writing these sensationalistic stories in order to confine their market. It is not the battle of the newspapers, but the battle of the media, today. There are several sources of news: newspapers, magazines, T.V., the radio, and the Internet among others. This variety of information fountains pushes journalists to use the best of their skills and creativity to attract readers, viewers, and listeners (their customer). “Too many contemporary journalists, in a rush to be first in print or on air that has more to do with personal prestige than with informing the public, have overlooked two basic journalistic rules: 1) Find a second, confirming source, and 2) check, check again and then recheck” (Andrews, 1996). According to W. Joseph Campbell, an American University professor and a consultant at The Freedom Forum, yellow journalism has lost its ori...