Q&A About My Democracy Essay

This is short Q&A about my previous post regarding democracy and journalism. The questions are generated from my journalism teacher.

Q: What is your definition of journalism?
A: A system of storytellers, reporters, writers, and investigators working to entertain, persuade, show, tell, and provide stories and information from all over the place.

Q: How many different models of journalism exist today?
A: In my opinion, around four. There's the Advocacy Model, for social change and justice. Then the Traditional-Elite style, aiming to give truth for decision making. Also, the Public-Civic model, which tries to solve problems within the community. And finally, the recent Citizen 2.0, this is comprised of citizens and bloggers who wish to report news through social networks and the internet.

Q: What is your definition of democracy?
A: Like I said in my essay, I agree with Lincoln. A democracy at it's heart is a government by the people, of the people, and for the people.

Q: What's the difference between "election politics" and "public politics?"
A: Election politics involves the representatives working to make laws, like the president and your local mayor. Public politics is your neighborhood working to get a stop sign built.

Q: What was the Lippmann v. Dewey debate?
A: Lippmann believed the select elite few should make all our decisions for us, while Dewey had faith in public participation working in this country.

Q: What does the first amendment say exactly?
A: The first amendment specifically starts with "Congress shall make no law..." That means congress must stay out of speech, religion, the right to gather, and the press.

Q: Are any of those protections important in your life?
A: Of course! I'm a journalism major, and also I enjoy being able to say what I will about public officials or anyone for that matter.

Q: Why is diversity in religion, speech, press, petition and assembly so important to a democracy?
A: This country isn't made up of just white, male, 45 year old christians. The country is diverse, so it's important to have diverse representation in every facet of life and to have it protected in the First Amendment.

Q: How do journalists and the First Amendment ensure that people hear diverse voices in the marketplace of ideas?
A: Because good journalists don't care whether a source is black or white, muslim or atheist. They care whether or not it is a good source. If it's a good source, their background shouldn't matter.

Q: Can you speak from personal experience about how diversity, protected by the First Amendment or championed by journalists, made or difference in your life?
A: I wish I could, but no. Not yet, at least. Hopefully, one day, I'll get to champion diversity as a journalist myself.

Democracy Needs Journalism

Democracy needs Journalism like 2pac always needed a Biggie so they’d have something to actually rap about. I believe that journalism needs democracy for it’s the one true profession that can keep the government responsible for their actions. It also gives the common man a voice, something they most often lack.

Before I explain why I feel so strongly about this, I must explain my own working definition of a democracy. A true democracy (and whether or not our country is still a democracy is a long argument for a later time) must be a government of the people, by the people, for the people. Lincoln said that’s what it was, and I agree.

We need a system of reporters and storytellers, with a right to write. A pass into events and into interviews, given to them by the founding fathers themselves. The founding fathers actually mentioned the profession of Journalism in the Bill of Rights, but why would they do this? They learned the hard way; the King of England treated them poorly. They taxed them for nothing, and they had no representation. Not only did they then create a representative government, they called upon a profession to regulate them and represent the usually unrepresented.

Another reason why journalism needs democracy is to give the people a voice who wouldn’t normally have one. Look at Antoine Dodson, a person no one had ever heard of before, who turned into an overnight celebrity. This was all because of journalists giving him a voice, albeit a hilarious one. Without journalists, a lot of stories would go unnoticed like that. From comical ones like Dodson’s, to award winning one’s like the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire investigation by the Cincinnati Enquirer. These are both examples of investigative journalism that gives people a voice and keeps the secrets in the open.

The truth is important in a democracy. If a politician does something they shouldn’t be as a public figure, the truth needs to come out. Journalists have the ability to make this happen! Journalists can let the public know things that can help shape their vote, actually making it count. An informed public is essential to the voting process. We need our citizens to know all the details about our officials before we put them in positions of power. Journalism shines here, and is so important in a democracy.

Like the feuds between 2pac and Biggie, we need journalism to give us insight to feuds we can’t see. We need journalism to help make our public strong, so the vote will count. We need journalism to give voices to voiceless, and shed light on the darkness we otherwise wouldn’t see. Democracy needs journalism.

University of Kentucky to the Final Four

I'm probably a little late to the game on this one, but it's a great feeling when the college you attend is in the NCAA Final Four. Here's my personal opinion on how tomorrow night's game goes:

It'll be a high scoring shootout. Kemba Walker, DeAndre Liggins, Brandon Knight, and a few others will have big shooting nights to lead to the high scores. The game's outcome all comes down to shutting down UCONN's Walker and letting UK's Harrelson step it up big time.

I feel if the cats can make it through this one game, the championship will be in the bag. They'll be playing either an eight seeded Butler, or the eleven seeded VCU. If the cat's can take UNC and UCONN, they can take Butler and VCU no problem.

Those are my thoughts on the game, and I plan to give my after game thoughts saturday night or sunday morning.