Hello, It is good to chat with you again! This last assignment was a pretty tough one on more than one count. Not only did I have to cover the current political campaign, but I also had to do incredible amounts of online research to make sure that I provided as much background as I could for my reader. And as you know, it can be very difficult to sift through all of the many sites that are out there that claim to be reporting valid political information so along with making sure that I provided quality information, I had to make sure that I was only researching quality information as well. Sites such as Politico and The Hill are clearly reputable and so I used them quite a bit during my reporting. Other sites, such as The Drudge Report and Daily Kos are both basically open blogs and do not provide information that I felt warranted including in my work. For example, it is clear just by looking at the home page of the Drudge Report, that it could never be used as a reputable source. Unfortunately, not all sites are as clearly laid out and it was very time consuming picking my sources. As a journalist, it is my responsibility to be sure that I provide a fair, honest, and balanced account of the campaign. The people of the United States rely on reporters for the majority of the information that they get on the campaign. They are not able to have the up-close sessions that we reporters have so often. Because we tend to be privy to much more information than the public, it is our job to make sure that we provide all of the information that we have as accurately and honestly as possible. We also have to be sure that we provide every side of the story so that our readers are able to make the most informed decision possible, since they very often base their vote off of what they read from our hand. I did struggle at times, with how socially responsible my report was. It can be hard to make sure that you provide all of the information that you can to the public so that they really know who they are/will be voting for – which is why the background research is so crucial. But I feel that there is also a line when it comes to the amount of and type of information that I provide about a candidate. How much is too much? After all, do they not deserve a certain amount of privacy as well? So, as I said, walking that line of providing information, while also respecting the candidates was very difficult to do. But I do think that I did a pretty good job of it. I really cannot express the importance of responsible journalism. The honesty and integrity of our reporting can have an incredible influence on the public opinion of reporters, the news, and politics. Too often, each of these is considered to be full of lies – it is often made into jokes how unreliable some news stations and politicians can be. Free speech and the ability to choose who represents the people are both positive and classic American values. Unfortunately, irresponsible reporting can make a mockery of these values and could, potentially change the way that Americans view their governmental system. So I take my responsibility very seriously and will always do my best to make sure that my readers can count on me to provide them with fair and complete information. Now that you know how much time and care went into my report, you will have to let me know what you think about it after you read it!
Hope to hear from you soon!
Sincerely,