Ramos claims that “as journalists, we have to take a stand when it comes to racism,

discrimination, corruption, public life, dictatorship, and the violations of human rights.”
(Hepworth et al., 2016, Columbia Journalism Review). Jorge Gilberto Ramos Ávalos is an
American journalist, who was born in Mexico and one interesting fact is that he is one of "The
World's Most Influential People”. Being one of the most influential people is the perfect way in
which he, as a journalist, can take a stand and say what he thinks. At first, I took a balanced
stance towards Ramos’s discourse, because as a journalist he should be objective, tell the truth
and not share any personal opinions on the matter. But after rereading the fragment after a while,
I discovered that I actually agree with what he is saying. Yes, I think that any journalist should
be objective and respect the norms, but the role of the media in a democratic society is to inform
and to raise awareness. The thing that Ramos wants to do is to keep the public informed about
what is happening in the world and to be aware of it, by using not only positive examples, but
also negative ones. As one of the examples Ramos is giving is about how Cronkite and other
journalists managed to expose the gap between what the US governments was saying about
Vietnam and what was actually happening. Therefore, I believe that in a democratic society the
media has the duty and also the power to inform and to raise awareness about every major event
happening in the world.

Journalists should use their objectivity in order to present the events in a truthful manner, by
reporting the facts through positive, but also through negative examples in order to raise
awareness. It is important for people to be informed in the right way and also for journalists to
respect their job. Firstly, as I said before, objectivity is a powerful weapon which can turn into a
dangerous one if it is not used correctly. An interesting remark by Tuchman, cited in Bennett’s
News: The Politics of Illusion is "The illusion of news objectivity depends on journalists treating
the world of officialdom as authoritative." (Gayes Tuchman in bennet) It is interesting the way in
which Tuchman calls objectivity an “illusion”, but he also uses the word “authoritative”, which
takes me to the fragment with Trump. There, Ramos used the word “aggressive”, because he
says that they, the journalists, need to take a stand. Also, according to Bennett "Journalistic
objectivity can produce results that seem anything but balanced, fair, or objective." (Bennett
2007) So, this means that Bennett wants to say that objectivity does not happen very frequently
in journalism. Even if people tend to be objective, their subjective thinking prevails.

An interesting view of the media and the news is how “news is a window on the world. Through
its frame, Americans learn of themselves and others, of their own institutions, leaders, and life
styles, and those of other nations and their peoples.”(Tuchman 1978) Tuchman admits that
through the help of news, people are able to “learn” about all the important matters of their
country and not only. (Tuchman 1978: ) Another similar is how news gives people “reliable
information that assists them in better participating in civic life in a responsible and informed
manner" (Ott & Mack 2014: 67) Also, for people to see exactly what is happening in the world,
the journalists’ duty is to present the reality and not altering the facts. According to Schudson
“The journalist’s job consists of reporting something called ‘news’ without commenting on it,
slanting it, or shaping its formulation in any way.” (2001: 150)

Also, for the news to be accurate, the journalists have to follow certain steps and also certain
norms. The “norms are those moral standards, codes of ethics, and guidelines about inserting
one’s voice and viewpoint into a story that enable journalists to make personal decisions.”
(Bennett 2007: 156-157) Through the professionalism of each journalist and their moral, seen
as professional, they are responsible of what they are transmitting to the world. (Bennett 2007:
156-157) According to Schudson, “Objectivity’ is at once a moral ideal, a set of reporting and
editing practices, and an observable pattern of news writing.” (2001: 149)

Another important aspect is that nowadays, technology has a lot to say and a lot to prove. It is
interesting how technology can change things to a different level "Any new technology has the
potential to change journalism.” (Parmelee 2014: 2) Also, for example, the internet has the
power to control things and also gives everyone the power to be a “journalist”. Reich has
identified three categories of the journalists, considering the role of technology in the
contemporary society. (2005: 552-570) He affirms that there are the reformists, the
traditionalists, and the selectivists. (Reich 2005: 552-570)

An interesting and also obvious aspect is that “Access to information is essential to the health of
democracy for at least two reasons. First, it ensures that citizens make responsible, informed
choices rather than acting out of ignorance or misinformation. Second, information serves a
“checking function” by ensuring that elected representatives uphold their oaths of office and
carry out the wishes of those who elected them.” (The Role of Media in Democracy: A Strategic
Approach) It is of a great importance to exist a good relation between the media and the
government, because only through a healthy way of communication people will be well informed
and also a “way of mediating between the state and all facets of civil society remains critical.”
(The Role of Media in Democracy: A Strategic Approach)

The role of media in a democratic society should be one of trust and with a good relation
between the media and the government. There are many journalists who helped to reach a better
“democracy”, if possible. The first example is related to the “Panama Papers” and the German
newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung” which was the only one to reveal the big secrets of fraud and
tax evasion. (Rorrlaender 2016) Another example is about Murrow’s report when he actually
attacked the senator McCarthy and his bravery to do so. (Rorrlaender 2016) These examples
serve to demonstrate the way in which journalists, through their approach, manage to reveal and
to inform the world about things that were kept hidden. In addition to these, there can be
mentioned Oprah’s mad cow trial “I will continue to use my voice," Ms Winfrey declared. "I
believed from the beginning this was an attempt to muzzle that voice in this country and I refuse
to be muzzled. I will not change the way I operate.” (Usborne 1998) Also, another imposrtant
example about the war in Iraq “During the War in Iraq, for instance, embedded journalists
depicted the U.S. invasion of Iraq and individual troops in a more favorable tone toward the
military compared to nonembedded journalists.”(Pfau et al., 2004)

Therefore, journalists should use their objectivity, presenting the facts in a truthful manner, but
not being afraid to show and reveal negative or hidden things about the society.

List of references

Bennett, W.L. 2007. News: The Politics of Illusion (7th ed.). With Foreward by D.A. Graber.
New York: Pearson Longman.

Ott, B.L & Mack, R.L. 2010. Critical Media Studies: An Introduction. Malden, Oxford,
Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.

Schudson, M. (2001). The objectivity norm in American journalism. Journalism, 2(2), 149-170.

Parmelee, John. (2014). Political journalists and Twitter: Influences on norms and practices.
Journal of Media Practice. 14. 291-305. 10.1386/jmpr.14.4.291_1.

Reich, Zvi (2005), ‘New Technologies, Old Practices: The Conservative Revolution
inCommunication Between Reporters and News Sources in the Israeli Press’,Journalism & Mass
Communication Quarterly, 82: 3, pp. 552-570.

The Role of Media in Democracy: A Strategic Approach June 1999 Technical Publication Series
Center for Democracy and Governance Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support, and
Research U.S. Agency for International Development Washington, D.C. 20523-3100

Pfau, M., Haigh, M., Gettle, M., Donnelly, M., Scott, G., Warr, D., & Wittenberg, E. (2004).
Embedding journalists in military combat units: Impact on newspaper story frames and tone.
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 81(1), 74–88.
Rorrlaender, D. (2016) ‘5 Times Journalists Changed The World For The Better’ The Odyssey
[online] 23 May, available from < https://www.theodysseyonline.com/5-times-journalists-
changed-the-world-for-the-better> [11 January 2019]

Usborne, D. (1998) ‘Oprah triumphs over the Texas cattle ranchers’. The Independent [online]
27 February. available from < https://www.independent.co.uk/news/oprah-triumphs-over-the-
texas-cattle-ranchers-1147137.html> [11 January 2019]