By Michele Deluca Niagara Gazette The Niagara Gazette Thu Sep 29, 2011, 02:22 PM EDT
NIAGARA FALLS — There’s a chance I might be teaching a journalism class in the spring. I’m pretty excited about it.
The possiblity got me thinking about what I can actually teach a batch of young “J-school” students. So, I’ve been thinking about my profession lately and about what some feel is a terminal diagnosis for the printed newspaper you are probably holding in your hands right now.
Earlier this month, we debuted a new feature on our website where readers can see our entire newspaper, online, exactly as it apprears in the printed version. You can turn the digital pages and expand the print as much as you need to. It’s very cool. You even can sign up for a free week of our e-edition. You can to check it out on our website at niagara-gazette.com.
But beyond offering this up a commercial for the Gazette’s new read-all-about-it electronic presentation, the digital newspaper on my computer desktop reminded me of how quickly the news business is changing. And how important it is that many traditional facets of the business remain the same.
I was sharing some thoughts with a young reporter just the other day about how important this profession is, and how desperately our communities need journalists who care about the people they serve.
I told my young colleague that I think often about the readers who hand over their fifty cents each day to buy our paper and what we owe them for their loyalty.
Maybe some of those readers are buying the Gazette just to read the obituaries or the police reports or to get movie times, but I know plenty buy it to read what my fellow journalists and I write each day. I know that because readers call us and e-mail us with passionate responses to our stories. Some are happy. Some not so much. I always thank them for calling because I believe their input makes this newspaper better and stronger.
I told the young reporter that good newspaper work requires a commitment to integrity and objectivity.
It is nearly impossible to be perfectly objective when even a wrong word choice in a headline can color the tone of a story. But, it’s important that we try not to take sides unless we’re writing editorials. It’s important we try as hard as we can to stay objective. Like everyone else, we make mistakes. And we, of course, like everyone else, are trying to do more with less in these economic times.
If I am actually teaching students this spring, I want to impress upon them the vital importance and tradition of the free press in America.
Our industry is changing. I hope the transition will be a smooth one. But, I believe people will always be able to tell who is doing the hard work of journalism and who is not. Who is trying to stay objective and gives value to integrity and who does not.
I’ve had a dozen or so interns over the last few years. Some of them show up in flip flops and cut-offs and I have to explain to them about appearance and credibility. Look the part, I tell them. And then live the part. Care, engage, research and try really hard to get it
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