The courage of journalists

R

Rose65

Well-known Member
Location
United Kingdom
Watching journalists and their support staff covering the current war in Israel/Gaza, I was thinking perhaps we take them for granted, bringing us the news as it happens. Jeremy Bowen stands out as incredibly brave, right in there reporting from extremely dangerous places. Reading his report this morning there he is in a hotel where he could die any moment.

Over the years there have been amazing journalists of his calibre bringing us vital news - along with all their support staff. Also the humanitarian teams, medics - numerous heroes.

So what is courage and how do some have it in such abundance? As most run away from a situation, some run to it.
 

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There is also alot of fake reporting as well.
Sorry, I don't trust 'journalists' to be so pure in their reporting. So many times they have been caught over dramatizing the news that its hard to believe them.
Many are looking to make a name for themselves, looking for their MLK moment rather than honest reporting.
In their quest to be 'first', many overlook truths....that is wrong. The limelight is more important than the truth sometimes.

The real brave people are the people on TikTok that are live/unfiltered video fo what is happening when it is actually happening.
Once the media gets it, it gets filtered, scrubbed, and manipulated to fit an agenda.


 
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Rose65 said:
Watching journalists and their support staff covering the current war in Israel/Gaza, I was thinking perhaps we take them for granted, bringing us the news as it happens. Jeremy Bowen stands out as incredibly brave, right in there reporting from extremely dangerous places. Reading his report this morning there he is in a hotel where he could die any moment.

Over the years there have been amazing journalists of his calibre bringing us vital news - along with all their support staff. Also the humanitarian teams, medics - numerous heroes.

So what is courage and how do some have it in such abundance? As most run away from a situation, some run to it.
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Without journalists, we're in big trouble.

The entire news cycle has become corrupted by the "fake news" brigade. I only see that term used to discredit a story that it's inconvenient to accept/believe. It's the equivalent on burying your head in the sand. Yet today, it's the default stance for many.

Here's the thing, so called mainstream media has both good and bad elements, but fundamentally it represents a group of news organizations with an editorial staff, fact checkers, and a legal responsibility should they harm others. People have traded that in for Chinese whispers on Social Media. Worse, there would be no such talk on Social Media if not for Journalists. All they do on Social Media is regurgitate what mainstream media has worked to provide, with some random bias/opinion laid over top. It's pitiful.

Journalists used to keep politicians and those in power, in check. Now no-one cares and if they read something that makes them think they may be wrong, they just cry "fake news" and dismiss it. So yes, journalists are a vital part of our society. Most times they're accused of bias, and it's the readers bias that is causing them to make the accusation. But we have no equivalent to them, and without journalists we're one step closer to a dictatorship.
 

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@VaughanJB said: "So yes, journalists are a vital part of our society. Most times they're accused of bias, and it's the readers bias that is causing them to make the accusation. But we no equivalent to them, and without journalists we're one step closer to a dictatorship."

Well said. I believe there are many journalists seeking truth for us and are hard working in this endeavor.
 
VaughanJB said:
Without journalists, we're in big trouble.

The entire news cycle has become corrupted by the "fake news" brigade. I only see that term used to discredit a story that it's inconvenient to accept/believe. It's the equivalent on burying your head in the sand. Yet today, it's the default stance for many.

Here's the thing, so called mainstream media has both good and bad elements, but fundamentally it represents a group of news organizations with an editorial staff, fact checkers, and a legal responsibility should they harm others. People have traded that in for Chinese whispers on Social Media. Worse, there would be no such talk on Social Media if not for Journalists. All they do on Social Media is regurgitate what mainstream media has worked to provide, with some random bias/opinion laid over top. It's pitiful.

Journalists used to keep politicians and those in power, in check. Now no-one cares and if they read something that makes them think they may be wrong, they just cry "fake news" and dismiss it. So yes, journalists are a vital part of our society. Most times they're accused of bias, and it's the readers bias that is causing them to make the accusation. But we have no equivalent to them, and without journalists we're one step closer to a dictatorship.
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They are making a living doing professional journalism. Covering a war is very dangerous. They know this before they go. Most of them like the danger, and do their best to report the facts. The interviews are real. Now who they work for chooses what to air. Propaganda is born, and this is main stream. Conspiracy addicts start social media memes that catch fire and sweep through the world, and it is entertainment, not facts. That is the way it is now, and it is not going to change.

Yes, these reporters are takin for granted, and yet they are the "proof" of what is happening...one way or the other.
 
hollydolly said:
It's a job I always wanted to do, it was my first choice as a career but sadly I never had the opportunity to get into it.... but I would have loved it...
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Never too late, Holly! Journalism has no age limit. The quality of local journalism where I am is terrible. Our local rag has absolutely nothing to say.
 
VaughanJB said:
Never too late, Holly! Journalism has no age limit. The quality of local journalism where I am is terrible. Our local rag has absolutely nothing to say.
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nor ours tbh.... I click on our news.. in our local paper.. and I know for certain we have news.. but instead they've pinched newsworthy items from London... or other larger towns...

It's all AI now...
 
hollydolly said:
nor ours tbh.... I click on our news.. in our local paper.. and I know for certain we have news.. but instead they've pinched newsworthy items from London... or other larger towns...

It's all AI now...
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Our paper simply reprints whatever the press release is, so ends up saying nothing. Worse, it'll have a story, but feel no commitment to ever conclude it. They'll print "terrible thing happening in Xplace", and then never tell you the conclusion. Any photos of the scene come from Google Earth. :D
 
Such an important subject, Rose; thanks for starting. It's odd how here in the U.S. the need for a free press is out-and-out official (literally in our Constitution) but there seems to be a hatred for the "media." As Vaughan says above, there are good and bad elements to the media, but without a truly free press, you don't have a democracy or free society. (You could call it that if you want to but it isn't: no free press = no freedom.)
 
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hollydolly said:
It's a job I always wanted to do, it was my first choice as a career but sadly I never had the opportunity to get into it.... but I would have loved it...
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I am reading Kate Adie's 'The Kindness of Strangers'. She is someone I admire hugely, along with several other of our best female journalists who go into danger as much as the male journalists. Frank Gardner is an amazing man, I read 'Blood and Sand ' his excellent account of what happened to him.

It's a terrific career if you have nerves of steel! These people truly risk their lives - those at the top who enter war zones. Yes sometimes the media gets things wrong but I now try to keep in mind how difficult their job is if they are right in the thick of the action and everyone around them is panicking.
 
Actually, another point is that the family and spouses of top journalists must be made of very stern stuff. They must endure long periods without seeing them, knowing they are in imminent danger. Same as partners of armed service personnel and many professionals. These also possess huge courage of a different kind.

Personally I am a coward - you may have already suspected this! So I can only admire the brave ones on whom we all depend.
 
hollydolly said:
It's a job I always wanted to do, it was my first choice as a career but sadly I never had the opportunity to get into it.... but I would have loved it...
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At it's heart a career as a professional top journalist is a most noble one. To seek the truth, facts and bring them objectively and determinedly to the public, no matter what. That not only makes a difference but can change the course of history. So yes, a tremendous career choice.
 
Rose65 said:
At it's heart a career as a professional top journalist is a most noble one. To seek the truth, facts and bring them objectively and determinedly to the public, no matter what. That not only makes a difference but can change the course of history. So yes, a tremendous career choice.
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Unless the position is used as a weapon.
 
I have a friend who is a freelance war correspondent and is in Israel presently. I trust him and what he reports. No matter what his personal or political views are he reports both sides (if possible to get both sides). And he favors the moral side regardless of the situation. He don't always agree with everything he reports on but tries to present a honest report of whatever the situation is.
 
Rose65 said:
Actually, another point is that the family and spouses of top journalists must be made of very stern stuff. They must endure long periods without seeing them, knowing they are in imminent danger. Same as partners of armed service personnel and many professionals. These also possess huge courage of a different kind.

Personally I am a coward - you may have already suspected this! So I can only admire the brave ones on whom we all depend.
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Richard Engel who is NBCs chief foreign correspondent, and often in war zones, lost his and his wife's 6 year old son from Rhetts disease last year after a long and difficult battle.
 
hollydolly said:
I would... even if I say so myself I'm very courageous... I'm like a little Lion....
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That’s great Holly!! The only time I was courageous was when I saw a young girl probably around 12 backing away from a middle aged man.

He showed me a badge and said he was a plainclothes police officer. I told him to leave her alone or I would run him over with my truck. I then pointed it right at him. I told her to get in and I would take her home. This was in the 80’s.
 
Also brave are the news outlets that publicize the controversial stuff their journalists report.

The Vietnam war was the first war we watched on TV practically in real time. It stirred up a lot of controversy, inspired huge protests, and "negative reporting" started getting censored. But a few news outlets bravely reported the negative stuff for as long as they could.

"Watergate" is another example of journalistic courage.
 
Teacher Terry said:
That’s great Holly!! The only time I was courageous was when I saw a young girl probably around 12 backing away from a middle aged man.

He showed me a badge and said he was a plainclothes police officer. I told him to leave her alone or I would run him over with my truck. I then pointed it right at him. I told her to get in and I would take her home. This was in the 80’s.
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well it that was very courageous, particularly as a lone woman... huge kudos to you..(y)
 
hollydolly said:
well it that was very courageous, particularly as a lone woman... huge kudos to you..(y)
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I think I was able to act because it was a child. I have often thought if he really was a cop he would have called for a patrol car and I would have been arrested so he was probably a pervert with a fake badge.
 

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