Sharing of information, acting as a watchdog and holding government accountable at all levels.
That is the role of the media in general and, for community news sites both in print and online, disseminating the news that is pertinent to its readers at a local level is a top priority.
Neutral, unbiased reporting of all news events is of utmost importance, and it is here that the lines between what news media reports and what the public expects, sometimes get blurred.
Since the advent of social media, everyone has a platform to voice an opinion, whether it be negative, positive, whether it’s written in anger, in jest or from a highly emotional standpoint.
It is increasingly becoming the role of the media to sift out rumours, fake news and opinion, verify facts and bring these to the public.
It is in this realm that the media is increasingly being called into question by the public who thinks the media advocates all that it reports on.
By the very nature of unbiased, neutral reporting, stories published by the media are not the viewpoint of the publication. They merely reflect what is being said.
On social media, readers and commentators have no filter and, although there is a law governing what people can and can’t say online and what they can and can’t share, like or react to, these laws often go by the wayside.
As people the world over continue to share their opinions as fact, shout down anyone who opposes them, and share on Facebook, for example, only that which supports their viewpoint, so the same people appear to be under the impression that news media publishes articles that are in line with the publication’s viewpoint, as if the publication is aligned to a particular opinion.
That is simply not the case.
While not all media houses toe the line of unbiased reporting, they eventually bring themselves into disrepute and, with the escalation of fake news sites, are quickly relegated to junk media status.
Credible media houses, on the other hand, carry stories that cover every aspect of society, both good and bad.
It is the role of a journalist to listen to all sides of a story, highlight all points of view and bring the news to the public.
Whether the journalist agrees with what is going on is irrelevant.
It is perhaps for this reason that journalists are able to take something in and not react emotionally, out of anxiety or fear.
While these are skills that every journalist must acquire, it would undoubtedly benefit the public in general to also adopt this mindset.
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