Journalism As A Science? Blogging As An Art?

“In the end, the discipline of verification is what separates journalism from entertainment, propaganda, fiction, or art. Journalism alone is focused first on getting what happened down right."

What stood out to me and stuck with me during the entire time I was reading this article was the comparison of journalism's approach to the scientific method. I found it interesting that the author compared the two since these categories are from two entirely different academic disciplines. 

I'm taking a Biology class this semester and what my teacher stresses to tell the class during labs is that the scientific method is a way of conveying theories. These theories cannot be proven, only disproven. Through the scientific method you experiment with different variables in order to come up with a theory of why certain things behave the way they do. But the word theory is stressed because things change over time, and theories can be modified or proven false. This is what I focused on while reading this article for my Digital Communications class.

Technology and mass media is constantly changing. We have gone from newspapers, book, and magazines (all print media) to the introduction of the Internet which has completely altered the way that mass media is distributed. Instead of gathering information, we're forced to sort through information to find what we believe to be true, and what we feel is worthy of attention.

With this scientific method approach to journalism, the citizens of the world should feel comfortable that the information that they are receiving from mass media mediums is verified. This brought me to think about the forms of mass media that I use on a daily basis…blogging. Why is it that I feel more comfortable receiving my information from an everyday citizen, rather than a reliable and paid journalist?

I feel as if this standardized approach that journalists have resorted to makes it feel as if all news is being broadcasted in the same manner and the aspect of entertainment, which is of interest to almost all citizens, is lost. So I turn to blogs in order to read the news in a more entertaining and honest reporting tone. These blogs allow me to inform myself on current issues, or just topics of interest, in a way that I can better identify with.

Discussion Questions

1. Is there any other form of verification you feel journalists should take to inform their audiences? Why the scientific method?

2. Where do you get your daily information from? Why?