Wesley Lowery | Avoiding Bias and Ethical Social Media Use
Part 1: Situation Definition:
On Wednesday October 18, 2017, more than 300 people gathered in Schwab Auditorium to hear Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Wesley Lowery, discuss his journalism career. Lowery is noted for his stimulating and engaging reporting of the Ferguson riots regarding Michael Brown, which he discussed in detail on the Shwalb Stage; Lowery discussed police brutality, racial injustice, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Lowery is very dedicated to reporting on issues revolving around law enforcement, race and politics. He even wrote a book devoted to the subject of unarmed police shootings, “They Can’t Kill Us All: The Story of the Struggle for Black Lives.”
Of coarse, like every other journalist, Lowery holds his own opinions on the news he reports. He even stated, “I don’t believe in objectivity, I don’t think it exists.” This is a very important thing for journalists to recognize—it is possible to hold your own opinions without imposing it upon others. Lowery adequately reports controversial issues with neutral language, sufficient facts and interviews, and an absence of bias language. Another ethical concern that should be noted is Lowery’s use of social media. When asked about how to use social media in a positive way, Lowery responded with different tactics to utilize large platforms to cater to a specific audience. Being a journalist, Lowery’s audience is people that need a non-bias news source; Lowery does in fact avoid all bias in his social media and adheres to ethical standards.
Part 2: Analysis:
Reporting hundreds of events on controversial topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement, it is necessary for Wesley Lowery to be hyperaware of his word choice to ensure his personal opinion doesn’t creep into his reporting. Juan Ramo´n Mun˜oz-Torres discusses objectivity in journalism, “As said, objectivity approached largely as an ethical question is understood as fairness and balance. According to the principle of balance, the goal of good reporting is to present multiple, or even opposing, views about a topic, as if they were all equally valid, that is, without giving privilege to any of them (e.g. Klaidman and Beauchamp, 1987, p. 46)” (Mun˜oz-Torres, 2012) While Lowery does not agree with the term objective, he still “objectively” reports, that is he reports with fairness and balance. Lowery stated, “Everyone has biases… we just need to know what they are.” When a journalist recognizes situations they could potentially be bias towards, it allows them to be extra careful when reporting these events. Lowery noted that biases creep in by whom you don’t call. In other words, he makes sure to get every side of the story, not just his side. He analyzes, he deciphers, and he brings the people where they can’t go; he needs to leave his feelings out of it. His feelings are not what the public needs.
In regards to Wesley Lowery’s social media use, he adheres to the ethical standards of social media by a journalist. Social media has formed a new lifestyle; it allows expedited access to information, as well as expedited opinion making from said information. Go onto someone’s Twitter account, and you’re bound to find retweets, replies, and content regarding personal preference/opinion. Twitter has proven itself to be a very useful resource for journalists, “Social network sites such as Twitter have helped the audience to become active in the news-creation process (Hermida, 2010a), where messages move back and forth and where users have a chance to interact with information (Stassen, 2010).” (Lasorsa, 2012). Through Twitter, a journalist can literally ask their audience what it is they want more of. Another asset of Twitter is being able to remain relevant to your audience. Someone may not check CNN.com 10 times a day, but it is more than likely that they will check Twitter (more than) 10 times a day, and they can be given notifications when a journalist tweets out an article. While Twitter grants many positive aspects to journalism, journalists must be very delicate when making comments, retweeting, etc. After looking through Lowery’s Twitter account, it is evident that Lowery tweets just as he would report: just the facts, no opinion. The one critic I would give Lowery is that I believe he should include in his biography, “retweet does not equal endorsement.” However, in terms of the content that shows up on his profile, it is fair to say his use of social media is very ethical.
Part 3: Conclusion:
I believe that Lowery has a very strong sense of ethical duty. As a journalist, he understands his role to provide the public with the information they need to make informed decisions. After viewing this lecture, I truly believe I have a better sense of what it means to be an unbiased reporter; not only through news articles, but also through my social media. I believe it can be easy for bias language to seep into content without intent, especially on social media. Wesley Lowery taught me I must take that extra step— go out of my way to call a source from the argument I may not agree with, and review (and re-review) all social media posts before I release them to the public. The role of a journalist is to provide people with the information they need to make informed decisions, and avoiding bias in reporting and on social media is critical for un-manipulated public decisions.
Part 4: References:
Mun˜oz-Torres J. R. (2012). TRUTH AND OBJECTIVITY IN JOURNALISM. Journalism Studies, 13(4), 566-582 doi:10.1080/1461670X.2012.662401
Lasorsa, D. L., Lewis, S. C., & Holton, A. E. (2012) NORMALIZING TWITTER, Journalism Studies . 13(1), 19-36. Doi:10.1080/1461670X.2011.571825