It's Randomonium!

Paul Carr’s weekly column about social media strikes a chord this week. He tackles the lack of humanity of people ‘reporting’ the news.

Citizen Journalism most certainly has its place in the world today, but when viewed in the extremes, I think we must absolutely question its value.

I’m reminded of a story a professor told me in my freshman year of J-school:

In the 80s, we had a camera man at the station. He’d seen a lot of horrifying things in his long career, as most journalists do. I don’t know if cynics are born out of journalism or if they’re simply attracted to it, but this man’s story is the reason why we need thoughtful journalists.

There was a missing child report in a nearby town. The little boy was 3 years old. He’d gone missing near his family’s lake cabin and was feared drowned.

The police brought out the blood hounds and our reporters followed, as they always do.

Near the lake, there was a steep, sandy dropoff. It appeared to have recently eroded, like a miniature mudslide. The camera man focused on a piece of land where officers were digging and the dogs were going nuts.

Through his camera lens, he saw the boys hand peak through the dirt. Cold, blue, lifeless.

That was the moment he walked away from the job. He didn’t even edit the film. When he got back to the station, he turned in his footage and left.

It’s simple to forget your humanity when you’re a journalist, shockingly simple. Had this man stayed in the field, I think he’d have made the greatest journalist I’d ever seen…or it would ruin him. Most people in this business burn out quickly. There’s no middle ground.

Temporarily forgetting your humanity to report the news, whether you are a professional journalist or not is not a position of strength. It is not a good thing. It’s terrifying.

I agree with Carr that censorship is not the answer. The answer is in media literacy. As frustrating as it sometimes is, most journalists work along ethical guidelines meant to protect them from the mistakes others have made in the past. Those guidelines aren’t necessarily known to the public. They should be.