Citizen Journalism and The Battle to Maintain Journalistic Integrity
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
We live in an interesting time. The technological revolution has made anyone, and everyone, with a cell phone a potential journalist. Our phones can record audio and high definition video. Technology has allowed people with little, to no, journalistic credentials a space to publish articles on the internet.
Technology is definitely a double-edged sword. While it has allowed me the freedom to start up a blog and join the Brownsville Blogosphere, there are people who use this incredibly powerful tool to spread misinformation and false narratives.
I have often times said I am not a professional journalist. I do not have any formal training in journalism past high school. I wrote for my high school newspaper, I drew political cartoons and comic strips for my high school newspaper, and I wrote headlines and features for UIL competitions. I did not take any journalism classes in college, and I have never been paid for my work as an amateur journalist and blogger.
Even though I do not have any formal training, I have tried very hard to maintain some sort of journalistic integrity on the blog. While some pieces are definitely editorials, when I write about a local issue going on, I try very hard to mention as many facts as possible. I also try to cite my sources and often times mention the original author's name. When I have spoken to sources on stories, I have maintained their anonymity, and I go out of my way to differentiate between my opinion pieces and fact. I do not try to pass off my opinion as fact. That is one of the most dangerous things someone can do on their blog.
This is where readers also have to be able to differentiate between reading an opinion piece and reading a piece someone is trying to pass off as fact. Many of the established bloggers do an excellent job in maintaining their journalistic integrity. Juan Montoya, Jerry McHale, and Jim Barton all do an excellent job in writing their articles. There is very little ambiguity when reading one of their articles. You can very easily tell what pieces are legitimate news reporting and what pieces are opinion pieces. Former bloggers like Duardo Paz-Martinez also had a relatively high level of journalistic integrity. Even though I did not always agree with his assessment of Brownsville, his articles were well-written, and he never pretended to pass off his opinions as gospel truth.
Just because someone posts something on a blog, a Facebook group, or on the internet doesn't mean it's true. I am reminded of a commercial where an attractive young lady is waiting to meet her blind date. As she is standing with a friend of hers, she mentions her blind date is a French model. She goes on to say she met him on the internet and says, "you can't post anything on the internet that isn't true." When her friend asks her where she read that, she replies, "The internet."
Be careful what you read online, and be careful what you choose to believe. If you are unsure of something you are reading, contact the author and ask them what proof they have to support their claim. I understand some sources are confidential, and I don't expect the authors to give you names, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to know where their information is coming from.
Demand proof. Demand facts. Don't mistake hearsay, rumors, and innuendo for facts.
Contrary to what you may believe, not everything posted on the internet is true.
We live in an interesting time. The technological revolution has made anyone, and everyone, with a cell phone a potential journalist. Our phones can record audio and high definition video. Technology has allowed people with little, to no, journalistic credentials a space to publish articles on the internet.
Technology is definitely a double-edged sword. While it has allowed me the freedom to start up a blog and join the Brownsville Blogosphere, there are people who use this incredibly powerful tool to spread misinformation and false narratives.
I have often times said I am not a professional journalist. I do not have any formal training in journalism past high school. I wrote for my high school newspaper, I drew political cartoons and comic strips for my high school newspaper, and I wrote headlines and features for UIL competitions. I did not take any journalism classes in college, and I have never been paid for my work as an amateur journalist and blogger.
Even though I do not have any formal training, I have tried very hard to maintain some sort of journalistic integrity on the blog. While some pieces are definitely editorials, when I write about a local issue going on, I try very hard to mention as many facts as possible. I also try to cite my sources and often times mention the original author's name. When I have spoken to sources on stories, I have maintained their anonymity, and I go out of my way to differentiate between my opinion pieces and fact. I do not try to pass off my opinion as fact. That is one of the most dangerous things someone can do on their blog.
This is where readers also have to be able to differentiate between reading an opinion piece and reading a piece someone is trying to pass off as fact. Many of the established bloggers do an excellent job in maintaining their journalistic integrity. Juan Montoya, Jerry McHale, and Jim Barton all do an excellent job in writing their articles. There is very little ambiguity when reading one of their articles. You can very easily tell what pieces are legitimate news reporting and what pieces are opinion pieces. Former bloggers like Duardo Paz-Martinez also had a relatively high level of journalistic integrity. Even though I did not always agree with his assessment of Brownsville, his articles were well-written, and he never pretended to pass off his opinions as gospel truth.
Just because someone posts something on a blog, a Facebook group, or on the internet doesn't mean it's true. I am reminded of a commercial where an attractive young lady is waiting to meet her blind date. As she is standing with a friend of hers, she mentions her blind date is a French model. She goes on to say she met him on the internet and says, "you can't post anything on the internet that isn't true." When her friend asks her where she read that, she replies, "The internet."
Be careful what you read online, and be careful what you choose to believe. If you are unsure of something you are reading, contact the author and ask them what proof they have to support their claim. I understand some sources are confidential, and I don't expect the authors to give you names, but there's nothing wrong with wanting to know where their information is coming from.
Demand proof. Demand facts. Don't mistake hearsay, rumors, and innuendo for facts.
Contrary to what you may believe, not everything posted on the internet is true.
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