Response to: Olivia Evans

      Many different insightful posts adorn Olivia Evans's blog, but one that specifically caught my eye was her post on the two most important principles of journalism (in her opinion). I do agree that truth is the first and foremost most important and valuable principle of journalism, but I do not agree that loyalty follows it, despite the principles' beneficiary standards.

      Truth is a standard that all journalists must abide by. I think Olivia explains her reasoning well using both non-accusatory expressions of thought and thoughtful rhetorical questions, such as, "...how would we know what to believe, or what is [in] our best interest [without truth in journalism]?" (Evans Two Important Principles). It is at the core of mediums all across the nation, and should serve as it in such a way that the public can feel safe and protected from false reports.

      However, her reasoning on loyalty and how it goes hand in hand with truthfulness did not persuade me to the same degree. "This [loyalty] is because if journalist[s] are not loyal to the free citizens then everything they say could be untruthful or biased." Although this is true to a certain intensity, I do think that the third principle of journalism, verification, goes hand in hand much better with truth than truth does with loyalty. Providing trustworthy witnesses and professional, reliable accounts (a.k.a. views from neutral parties) much more ensures the security of the public that absorbs the modes of journalism that they choose to use, whether it be television, radio, print newspaper, or smart phone news alert applications than loyalty does. After all, without sources, facts are useless.
      So, although loyalty is a vital principle of journalism that is required in all mediums, it is not, in my opinion, one of the most important of the nine principles of journalism. Overall, I really found Olivia's blog riveting, thought-provoking, and persuasive. The posts are consistent, deliberate and attentive, but I would recommend running them through spellcheck, as a few of them contain minor grammar mistakes.

Check out a thought-provoking blog here: http://evansolivia.blogspot.com

Note: Pictures/article clips taken from http://evansolivia.blogspot.com, articles written and pictures taken by Olivia Evans