News Literacy is the ability to analyze a text and judge it based on its credibility. There are many factors that can be determined to judge if any news is credible or not.
As consumers of news media, we rely on the accurate information sent out to us to not only be informed but react in the correct manner. We depend on the different news to know about the world around us to know if we, or anyone we know, are at risk of any sort. Therefore, it is important that we receive accurate information with zero defects no matter how big or small the mistake is.
If you remember from my last post, we discussed on the power of journalism and the pros and cons it influences on a person's actions and thoughts. We also discussed a bit about The Panama Papers and all the confidential data it had causing negative impacts in our society towards the government and countries too. Well, let's just pretend that the publisher of The Panama Papers was completely incorrect! How would you react to such confusing news? Would you feel fooled or insulted? Having accurate data is highly important because when saying the incorrect words or having a couple mistakes here and there can send the wrong message. For example, during the early 1900's, one of the most emotional and well-known tragedies occurred around 1912 known as the sinking of the Titanic. Nowadays, we know that unfortunately many lives were lost in such a devastating moment and only a few women and children were saved from the higher class, but according to an old newspaper, it stated that every single life was saved from the shipwreck. This was, of course, a huge mistake since many families who read this article would feel relieved reading the new but would not be aware or expect that when all the survivors came back, they're family members would be dead. Once again, I restate that having accurate information is important to the consumers because it can transform our perceptions of the world and ourselves in different directions. Especially nowadays, we as the consumers have the ability to share the articles and stories with our mobile devices and get influenced by news on the media meaning that once an author publishes his/her post, it will be seen by millions and billions of people. Although it can lead to terrible consequences, we have to remember that authors/ bloggers/ news reporters are all human. There is a difference by making an unintentional mistake and actually intentionally changing all the accurate information to disguise the truth. When a journalist makes a mistake, it is their job to speak out and confess that the information they accidentally published was incorrect and fix their mistakes with accurate information if possible. In our society nowadays, do to our modern technology, people can simply fix the post as time moves on but that would cause mistrust between the journalist and the audience. Besides journalists, we should also help fix the mistake and share the accurate information with the world so others won't be oblivious of the truth. Sometimes, thanks to social media, we at times should apologize for criticizing a human's mistake and also sharing the wrong information to the world (since sometimes when an author publishes an article/post we tend to post it on social media and viewers on social media do the same). Writing has impacted our society and influenced the way we view certain topics in our world today. Writing is seen and heard everywhere including: music, magazines, books, the daily newspaper, and this blog post too. Not only does it have the power to impact a person's perspective, but it forms a ripple effect, spreading quickly throughout the entire world. Yes, that also includes the continents across the globe.
Not too long ago, about a week ago to be more precise, the Pulitzer Prize winners for 2016 were announced. As I'm sure many of you don't know, the Pulitzer Prize is an achievement award to recognize great writers in the United States in different areas including breaking news reporter (Los Angeles Times Post) and national reporting (The Washington Post Staff). All these articles and news reports have kept us aware of the situations we are living around in and others are suffering. They keep us informed on the latest disasters, updates, advertisements, and elections. Journalism is so powerful that they not only keep us aware of reality, but can also change a person's perspective. For example, take The Panama Papers as an example. Before The Panama Papers were leaked into the world, everyone was oblivious on the American government's secrets and got extremely shocked at all the confidential data that was being revealed. This made many citizens respond in a very shocked and doubtful way towards the American government instead of having respect and confidence for their government and nation. Besides that, although Journalism is great to keep us aware of our surroundings and the world we live in, it can also be a disastrous weapon. Going back a couple years, journalism brought a bit of threat and disrespect to America in 2006 through a site called WikiLeaks in which people would publish secret information anonymously. Although some people debate it was good to be informed of what happens behind the white walls, WikiLeaks was responsible for revealing the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Cables Leak which harmed the U.S. government and the other countries engaged in these activities. This was quite harmful since America would loose connections with other countries after their whole conversation through satellites was revealed. |
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