https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/race-and-leadership-news-media-2020-evidence-five-markets
https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org
The desires of the consumers of journalism greatly dictate what forms of journalism are most prevalent in mainstream media. The idea of “Harmonia,” that consumers want reliable and varying information, is often overshadowed by the fact that many people (a disconcerting amount) want news that pertains to celebrities or sensationalized events.
The public of the United States is less likely to invest their time in reading articles about somber truths without sensationalizing, environmental travesties (because it forces the reader to think about how they may have contributed) or civil injustices. As they mentioned in the video “What are Journalism Ethics?” the consumers in “Harmonia” see a high value in voting as well as supporting “regulations that defend news in the public interest…” I feel that the same people who overvalue sensationalized news are the same who don’t see value in voting and so on.
While thinking in black and white is not something I condone, and there are an immense number of nuanced pieces that create this larger puzzle, I do feel that this country is largely divided into people who consume and create news in the way described in the fictional world of “Discordia” and those who fight for media freedom from large corporations and the government, supporting non-profit-esc local and non-sensationalized media, i.e. “accurate and responsible reporting.”
In the documentary Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle, Salazar speaks about his experience coming from an immigrant family and how he always felt torn between two sides of himself, stating “This has been the story of my life. Confusion of what I am. This has made me lonely, unadjustable, and in a way lost.” This internal conflict affected him as a writer.
This is something I relate to on a personal level. How to fit into the professional world and to be well known and well respected as an individual beyond your cultural and ethnic heritage, but still have that cultural strength burn brightly. Luckily times are changing somewhat in that regard but there are still many distressing challenges, not just as someone who is ethnic, but as a woman as well. As they mention in the film, it can be both hostile and lonely.
In the world of “Harmonia,” such issues as discrimination would not affect one’s ability to be a respected journalist who can write about the things that best serve the reader and come from a place of honesty and integrity. Salazar did his best to write news that would be consumed by average readers while still maintaining the status of ethical journalism.
For the most part, due to the social climate of the U.S. at the time, Salazar built up his career by reporting on Anglo-Saxon topics and doing global reporting, such as his work in Vietnam, but when the 60s came around he began to write more about topics relating to Latin America. During that time, in Mexico City, violent protests were breaking out in which “at least 27 persons are [were] known dead,” with more wounded, and Salazar missed the story.
The L.A. Times decided that Salazar was of more use to them in L.A. than in Mexico City, against his greater wishes. While the intentions of the paper may have been well, this is when you really see the “Discordian” nature of the journalistic world at that time. A world in which Salazar was not only separating from his heritage because of the misled priorities of the United States but also of the paper he was employed by.
As a foreign reporter doing his job outside of the country, especially in the country of his family’s origin, to be called back to the general newsroom, was a great insult. However, Los Angeles was experiencing an immense amount of police brutality toward Black and Brown folks at that time. The L.A. Times decision to include more people of color in their newsroom came with this social justice upheaval.
In the documentary, it is mentioned how at that time the newsroom was overwhelmingly filled with white middle-aged men, and the unnerving this is that is still largely true in most places in the present day. “People have a notion that media should present an objective viewpoint, but it never is the case,” Raul Ruiz said. Not long after, Ruben left the L.A. Times to join a much smaller news station that focused on Spanish-speaking news and began to chronicle the Chicano movement. He used television as a catalyst for his message, which was “I’m only advocating the Mexican-American community, just like the general media is advocating, really, our economy, our country, our way of life.”
When he wrote about the Sanchez brother’s death, he did such impeccable reporting that he was able to get the police indicted. The police visited him after to warn him about the effect his reporting was having on the police department’s image, which he went on to write about in the L.A. Times column. His perceived threat to the image of the LAPD caused him to be targeted by them. Not long after, a massive protest against Brown people being killed in disproportionate numbers in Vietnam resulted in an incredible assault against the protestors by Los Angeles sheriffs.
“What I saw at the moratorium that day with the police response, was in fact the system declaring war on its own people,” Steve Weingarten said. On that day, Salazar was convinced he was being followed. They went into the Silver Dollar Café to seek refuge from whoever was following them, but someone saw them and reported that they saw someone go into the café with a gun. The sheriffs fired tear gas into the café which resulted in the end of Ruben Salazar’s life.
The sensationalism that came after Salazar’s death was derailed away from finding truths about his death and turned into ensuring that the LAPD did not come out looking bad. Those associated with the LAPD tried to achieve this result through the use of misinformation. This comes back to the level of destruction and confusion that perpetuating misinformation can cause, and how it is the duty of journalists to not give much ludicrous misinformation the time of day. “The inquest was a band-aid to cover what should have been a full-blown investigation [of Sal
Ruby Cayenne 