In Good Faith: Truth and Standards in Media<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cWriters have to be free from prejudice, fair-minded, and be able to look at issues with a sense of justice,\u201d said Carmel Kalani, of the Office of Public Affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms. Kalani drew on an analogy from the Baha\u2019i teachings to describe the power of the media in raising public consciousness, stating: \u201cNewspapers, social media, and other forms of media are like \u2018the mirror of the world.\u2019 They are \u2018endowed with hearing, sight, and speech.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the implications of this, she said, is that articles and other forms of expression by journalists have the potential to inspire in all of us a sense of oneness with our fellow human beings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen journalists tell a story, they shape the world we live in, they shape what we see as possible,\u201d said Ms. Kalani, explaining that the media can unlock the \u201cimmense capability of people to bring about unity and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite this tremendous potential, certain practices place pressure on journalists to produce reports that are sensationalist, such as surprising people in distress for an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something called the \u2018door-knock\u2019 in journalism, whereby you have to go and knock on somebody\u2019s door, who\u2019s in the middle of a story, usually through no fault of their own \u2026 and ask them for a comment on their doorstep,\u201d said John McManus, former BBC reporter and head of communications for the Jesuits in Briton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt [is] purely to fill time and a news story,\u201d continued Mr. McManus, as he explained that this approach typically does not yield any new facts. Instead, it caters to the audience\u2019s appetite for the dramatic and can distract attention from the real issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. McManus added that many journalists are uncomfortable with practices in their field that lead to sensationalist news coverage and stressed the importance of empathy and preservation of human dignity when reporting. \u201cAt the heart of all these stories are human beings with feelings. \u2026 They\u2019ve all got family. So I always try to remember that, [which] moderates my thinking and actions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remona Aly, a reporter for The Guardian, stated: \u201cYou have this sense of responsibility to whoever you\u2019re interviewing. \u2026 I really try hard to maintain that protection. I say [to the interviewee] \u2018you can look over the article afterwards so that you\u2019re comfortable with it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Discussions also looked at how biases and false dichotomies can reduce multi-faceted issues to simplistic representations of reality that reinforce social, political, economic, and religious divides, leading to sensationalist news coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. McManus, speaking about the responsibility of journalists to maintain objectivity, stated: \u201cThings are not black and white. You can hold two different points of view in your mind which are both correct, because we know that human life is infinitely varied and complex.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reflecting on this discussion, Nancy Warren, of the Baha\u2019i Office of Public Affairs, explains that this podcast series is part of the ongoing efforts of the Office to contribute to the discourse on the constructive role of media in society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople begin their journalistic career with very high ideals, but they eventually find it difficult to write in a way that is in line with their principles,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe forums offered by the Office \u2014 be they podcasts, online discussions, or in-person gatherings\u2014provide a space for journalists to explore prevalent issues in their field in light of spiritual principles that resonate with their moral convictions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What is the role of journalists in promoting understanding and dialogue, especially in a media environment that is often driven by sensationalism? This was among the questions explored by two…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":77756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[3427],"series":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77787"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77787"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=77787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}