Reporters Should Be More accountable For Their News

We are bombarded with all sorts of news everyday. It is in high demand. In fact, most people can’t even take the time to read what is in the newspaper without checking it online first. While this makes sense, the media has become too dependent on online news and reports. This has created news blunders such as when a politician claims they saw a UFO while on the campaign trail, only to have their supposed sighting turned out to be photoshopped or fabricated altogether.

The solution to this problem is for the news agencies and reporters to become more accountable to their communities and the public. Reporters must inform the public as much as possible, but not at the cost of their own personal careers. Examples of news reports that must be more accountable to the public would be examples of breaking news. An example of such news would be a news report about an earthquake that occurred in California. This news report would need to provide links back to the scientific research that was conducted in order to explain the cause of the earthquake, and where the next major earthquakes might happen. Without this type of reporting, there is no way for the public to obtain this information, and the news agency or reporter becomes nothing more than an arm of the government.

Reporters need to hold themselves to a higher standard. They need to remember that they are held to a standard by the Associated Press and other associated press services. Reporters should never exaggerate the information that they provide or take any short cuts in order to meet deadlines. When news agencies and reporters commit these types of blunders, the public loses trust in the news agencies and news services, and this can cause a serious decrease in subscriptions or viewers.