The news stories that are pouring out pinch at the hearts and can whack you unawares. People passing away, political scandal or the fact that some organization has done wrong. It is in these stories that journalist put together, albeit sometimes with difficulty, that we celebrate the lives of those who have gone ahead as well as fan the hopes of those left behind; whether as families now having to suffer the difficulties or friends who have landed on hard times.
While there may be the penchant to share rumors and gossip and conspiracy theories over the social media, that is where I draw the line to define what a journalists would do if I was in that kind of work.
I am not here to fan unfounded speculations. I may sometimes be slower than the rest in posting developments on my social media accounts. But that is what differentiates journalism from social media: the discipline of verification.
By sticking to that important element of journalism, the discipline of verification, I serve my friends and community to the best of my ability without taking them on a wild ride of uncertainties and unfounded theories.
It is through the braggadocio of many social media users, through the years that have passed, which have blurred the lines between journalism, showbiz, and rumor-mongering. It is through the race for being highest on their soapbox or first on the story that brought about a brand of social media journalism that is more entertainment and trivia than stories that matter. Through this braggadocio and race to be first, what is drummed up is that journalists should be objective and should not side with anyone.
It is the method that is objective, the way the information is verified and checked from different sources, the way the embellishment provided by the conspiracy theorists and ordinary kibitzer with too much opinion are sifted out. But in the end, I remain a human and is called upon by this human nature to side with what is just, true, and what contributes to the propagation of universal values which draws out the human in us and our community, and not the animal that is unleashed when the truth is stretched to incredible levels.
So as I continue to read through peoples posts and and tolerate their rush to be the first on the story without facts, I reinforce my commitment to deliver facts by offering editorial discipline by getting facts first.
