You’re right that there is quite a high bar in the United States for public figures to prove libel, which is essentially a false statement that harms a person’s reputation. The First Amendment and the U.S. Constitution provide some of the most robust legal protections in the world for journalists and the freedom of speech. And that’s by design.
Category Archive: News Literacy
It’s true—in this age of Facebook and Twitter, just about anyone can share what they know. And thanks to the internet, that information travels at breakneck speed to potentially global audiences in a single keystroke, but that doesn’t make it journalism. In fact, this phenomenon reinforces why journalists need to distinguish themselves.
TV stations don’t spy on each other with secret cameras or listening devices — but they do keep close tabs on each other.
Surprisingly, yes. Last year, hackers managed to take over some verified accounts on Twitter and change the handle — but keep the blue checkmark.
The latest battleground in the ongoing struggle against misinformation is the United Kingdom, which is in the midst of one of its most consequential elections in modern history.
Although some people view TV news anchors as just another pretty face reading the news off a teleprompter, they are real journalists. So if you want to be a news anchor, you’ll need the same skill set as any journalist–plus a few additional ones.
I’m not going to lie—the news industry is in a huge transition. But there is also a case to be made that the industry is starting to reap the benefits of this disruption.
Basically, if there’s violence, conflict or death involved, it gets top billing. Nowhere is this more true than in television news, which coined the expression, “If it bleeds, it leads.”
They can try–but they will fail. And that’s not something to bemoan. It’s something to recognize and build on because total objectivity is a myth.
Simple: by maintaining journalistic integrity. But sometimes, that’s easier said than done.