Editorial: What it Means to be a Journalist

I feel the need to make people aware of what my job is as Editor of the Critic and a journalist.

According to The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, a journalist's first obligation is to the truth. The truth might upset people who feel that an issue or situation may not be story worthy or too negative, but my obligation is not to pander to the opinion of others. While ethics and morals play a part in how something is covered, the truth is what matters. The truth is the truth.

A journalist's first loyalty is to the people. In this case, that would be the Lyndon State College community. If something is affecting the students, faculty, or staff then it should be brought to light so that the public can be made aware of what is going on. The people are who I am beholden to, not an individual or group who would rather not discuss something or have something covered because of their own feelings about a story.

The essence of journalism is that it is a discipline of verification. The responsibility of what the paper publishes, ultimately, falls on me, so I am going to do my best to make sure that what the paper says is accurate.  Hearsay and rumors are not what I am in the business of publishing. Facts are checked and verified so that when the paper goes out on Friday, I am confident that what it says is accurate.

Mistakes happen and errors are made, but this is not done purposely and attempts are made to fix those mistakes when they arise. This is a student paper not the New York Times. My staff is doing the best that they can to put out this paper on top of being fulltime students. There are going to be spelling mistakes and other slips, but if there are any issues then please bring them to me and not one of my staff.

Practitioners of journalism have a duty to maintain independence from those they cover. When I or one of my staff covers a story, we cover it from a neutral angle and try to get both sides heard. I will never try to make one side look worse than the other. It is up to the public to decide how to feel about a story.

A journalist is meant to serve as a monitor of power. I am meant to be a watchdog of those with power to make sure they are doing what they say and to keep them in check. Those with power like to say that "all the media does is dig up dirt." Well yes, that is part of our job. If there is no dirt to find then there should be nothing to worry about.

If there are any questions about this there are plenty of current and former journalists employed at this school and I am sure they would be happy to educate you on what a journalist is. My door is always open as well, Vail 203A next to the bookstore.

Thank you.

Eric Blaisdell

Editor of the Critic