JFK Assassination

Last week we had a presentation on the JFK assassination and how it affected journalism. I had no idea the actual footage was played on TV for all to see. ( http://www.youtube.com/watchv=iU83R7rpXQY)  Imagine seeing the President now being assassinated and the footage being aired for the world to see! That would never happen! This tragedy was what started to sensor what the mass audiences were able to view by the media. The JFK assassination was a shock to everybody. Not one person knew more than the other on the situation consuming the minds of every American. One of the presenters in class even said a reporter called the White House to get a statement/ update on the President's condition/situation and they said something along the lines of "we know as much as you do, we were waiting to find out by you." Since then the news has been the place for one to gain knowledge and information happening in the world. Journalists and news reporters are responsible to prepare this news enough to be interesting, but not too much where it is too graphic or impersonal. There are now guidelines for appropriate content, and it is apart of journalism for good.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-f-kennedy-assassinated

What is a Journalist?

Hey bloggers! Since class on Wednesday I have been wondering what classifies a person as a journalist. Is a random person who records bombings in Syria a journalist? Or even a teenager who captures Beyonce being pulled off a stage in Brazil? The news and captivating stories are what bring the mass audience to the edge of their seats, so are these people providing breaking news? I have come to learn these people as citizen journalists  (http://journalism.about.com/od/citizenjournalism/a/witizen.htm) and they basically report what the professionals would be doing. Anyone could be a citizen journalist, but not anyone can be a professional journalist who provides unbiased information to share with the audience.

One of the Six "C's" of Journalism I appreciate is Constitutional. The first amendments states "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of Speech or of the Press."Without the Bill of Rights journalists would not have the ability to keep the government "in check" and by "in check" I mean afraid to make any radical decisions without the peoples consent. I like the reading we had about journalists being the watchdog of the government, and how they mirror whatever the government is doing. With this system at hand, American people get the stories and information about the people leading them without being falsely misguided. The laws we have as American people were truly inspired by the founding fathers. Journalism is all apart of this system and without it, where would the government be today?