Transparency- Who’s Got It?
According to Wikipedia, the definition of the term ‘transparency‘ in the context that journalists would use it is ‘openness, communication and accountability.’ (2008). Within the journalistic realm, it is a difficult thing to come by. Although it is the duty of a journalist to deliver raw news to its audience, there is a certain line that journalists, nor any news vessel for that matter, should cross. Certain highly topical and extremely controversial issues should not be publicized.
Child pornography is one of those areas. The cornerstone of journalism, no matter what medium is being used, is to deliver news as it unfolds to its readers. However, it must also be information that is in the public interest to know. For example, if David Beckham is cheating on his wife, there would be a minute percentage of people that would be interested to know, while the majority of people prefer to focus on more important and less personal occurrences. Child pornography is quite similar. Although an extremely minute percentage of people would be interested in such material, the vast majority would certainly not be. Thus information regarding this matter should not be published.
While surfing the net, I did come across a site called transparencynow.com. Their tagline is that “it is a website that trys to make things clear.” Glancing through the website, I find it to be complete ridiculous. The creator, Ken Sanes, seems to be delving too deep into everyday tv shows and movies, conjuring concerns that aren’t real. A perfect example is the internal link to the ‘Blue’s Clues‘ article. Blue’s Clues is a children’s tv show that uses modern technology to superimpose actors in imaginary background, while in addition talking to imaginary characters. Although entertaining for children, the website breaks down this show into its components, explaining how the creators accomplish all this trickery, without appreciating it for the children’s entertainment show that it is.
In relation to a news website, the only one that I feel displays transparency, in the humanities context is Wikinews. Although it is not a very reputable news site, as it is rank with citizen journalism, this would be the kind of site that would accommodate transparency. Ordinary people, in addition to bloggers and journalists, compile the stories that feature on Wikinews, thus allowing the site to feature news from every corner of te globe, that would have different meaning to different groups of people. It is almost inevitable that reputable news sites, such as BBC and RTE are the biggest obstacles for journalistic transparency.
