Journalism and the Involvement of Emotions
To successfully complete this unit:
Pick one (1) Argumentative paper topic from the collection below to create one (1) double-spaced, Individual Argumentative Essay consisting of:
1 Introduction Paragraph
5 sentences
3 Body Paragraphs
15 sentences each
must have a mix of sentence types
1 Conclusion Paragraph
3 sentences
Longer length is acceptable, shorter will cost you points
Use The Argumentation Blueprint uploaded below as an example for the structure of your paper, and make yours look and read like that example
Support your opinion with examples from the entire work — either a direct quote or a paraphrase to support your answer
No outside sources should be used, cited, or included here
Follow the general APA formatting guidelines by watching the video below to set up your paper
Use The Transitions List uploaded below to help create a variety of sentences
Use the Good Beginnings document uploaded below for examples on how to create an interesting opening sentence for your paper
This information from Purdue's OWL site may also help
Check the online calendar for due dates
Journalism and Emotions
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Journalism and Emotions
Should journalists be emotionally involved in their stories? This is a question that has been raised over the years. At one point, NBC anchor Brian Williams lamented how crew in Haiti were disturbed that they were the only ones enjoying food, water, and electricity. Despite the suffering of the rest of the population, Williams indicated that the crew needed these resources to inform the rest of the world about the disaster. The Haitian earthquake is among many calamities that have raised the question of the place of emotions in coverage. However, it is wrong for journalists to be emotionally involved in their stories. Three main points support this opinion: journalists should allow the audience to judge, emotions can be a superficial way of gaining attention, and journalists should seek to remain neutral.
One argument against journalists being emotionally involved in their stories is that they need to allow the audience to judge issues. Journalism should not lose its critical and independent edge. When journalists allow their emotions to come into their profession, they make it harder for the audience to judge a situation. For example, journalists should enable the audience to determine what should be done, instead of using emotions to persuade them when reporting a disaster. The public needs to be confronted with facts and allowed to decide how to respond to an issue. Additionally, emotions have a way of impairing judgment. A story can be emotional, but this does not warrant journalists to include their feelings in a way that does not allow the audience to decide which direction to take. Let the viewer, reader, or listener choose how to approach a story. If the public is forced to look at a report from a particular direction because of emotional outbursts, this interferes with their freedom of choice. Again, some people may feel that the journalist is forcing them to take sides, denying them the opportunity to view a story.
Another argument against emotions is that emotions can be misused and be a superficial way of getting attention from the audience. Emotions are an effective way of attracting attention, but they are vulnerable to misuse. In the age of digitization, competition in the media has increased. Consumers have a variety of news sources than b...