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Journalism is not a new concept. In fact, it has existed for as long as human beings have felt the need to report current events to the general public. In ancient times, though the job title has changed since then, reporters recreated current events in plays, in songs, and as records of history on scrolls. However, journalism has always been a constant victim of human nature.

As every journalist will attest to, keeping opinion out of factual news stories is never an easy task. One fine example of this is the coverage of 9-11. That day, we saw every news agency, station and reporter (citizen, amateur and professional) scrambling to record what they witnessed, the facts, the events and every aspect of analysis imaginable. However, in the midst of the horror, so much information was available that it was humanly impossible for every major media outlet or journalist to report all the facts. As a result, controversy and questions have grown like a virus across the Internet.

As a journalist, and then managing-editor of Domestic Terrorism.Com, a news magazine created online within hours of the attacks, I knew full well the enormous task that was ahead. Never before had history provided such an endless mound of stories, both tragic and depressing. So, like some managing-editors, I took it upon myself to set up an email line for eye witnesses, survivors, and people who just wanted to air their opinions and suggestions. In fact, the exercise was so successful that the email inbox was flooded with hundreds to thousands of emails daily every known emotion from fear to anger emerging. However, it did become increasingly hard to distinguish fact from fiction, and as traumatic as the hours of crying over posting the names of the dead from the hijacked planes was, I had contemplated the fact that it appeared to have been a much easier task.

The point is that today, the world is abound with so much information that reporting news has never been so difficult. Editors are met with the increasing challenge of deciding what a marketable copy is, what feature length material is, and what priority a story gets. Sadly, the unwitting general public does not appear to be aware of this and is quick to criticize the media on this topic. However, it is true to say that when journalism begins to play the psychological game, by trying to put in opinion, attention is drawn away from the true facts, and misinterpretations regularly occur. At this point, fact can become fiction.

Solving this dilemma is fairly easy. With the sudden shift back to on the street' journalists (citizen journalists), who report things as they see them, the general public is now more likely than ever to get fact versus opinionated fiction. Simply, journalism should refocus on gathering all sides of the story, popping in that antiquated word, alleged', for things that are not confirmed as fact, get a full back of proof before reporting a fact, and stop reporting facts based on hearsay alone.

Does that mean that every journalist is guilty of voicing their opinion in their writing? No. The majority of journalists are ethical, caring, and diligent professionals, but as long as the general public remembers that they are human beings too, and mistakes can be made, the average journalist can refocus their attention on fact, versus offering opinions which the general public has wanted in its desire for answers. Ever heard the saying, don't shoot the messenger'?

Learn more about this author, Andrea Thomas.
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