For me, one of the most interesting lessons came recently, when we discussed Opinion Writing, which in it’s rawest form, is becoming the most prevalent type of journalism. Sure, the examples given in class present the better part of opinion based journalism, but what about the rest?

There has always been some degree of opinion in writing. Though journalists often strive for objectivity, it has become harder to remain competitive without showing some bias.
Unfiltered, attention grabbing news outlets, like crazy tabloids or fringe radio stations, have been around as long as their mediums have, developing just as quickly as the technology.

Enter the Age of Information, where a new technology known as “The Internet” connects people all over the world with one click of a mouse. What started as a knowledge database quickly became a way to have your voice heard by anyone. When anyone can have such a large platform, it becomes more difficult to enforce an ethical code.

The first victim was objectivity. Hundreds of independent news sites have sprung up, many of dubious origins, that put a partisan spin on the news. When opinions are presented as facts, people will take them as evidence, creating an echo-chamber for ideologies. News has become increasingly commodified, and those pulling the strings profit off both sides of the aisle.

The next victim will be truth. As we move into the Post-Information Age, evidence is slowly being replaced with emotions as the backbones of beliefs. Over saturation of these rogue news sources allows for so many skewed accounts of an event, it becomes near impossible to distinguish the truth amongst the fray.

This is certainly a large challenge in contemporary journalism, and I am very interested to see where things go from here. But my optimism is fading fast.

Sources:

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/leonard-pitts-jr/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/03/post-information-age-benghazi-gop

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sirenabergman/2017/02/28/the-news-sites-on-the-far-left-and-far-right-may-be-owned-by-the-same-people/#23e0e2406eaa

When a family makes the decision to check a loved one into a nursing home, they hope that they are minimizing the potential harm that could befall them in as they live out their twilight years. However, a lack of supervision and insufficient background checks on the staff that cares for them has led to the residents of the homes to become easy targets for sexual predators.

Many of the 1.3 million elderly Americans currently living in nursing homes lack not only the physical ability to care for themselves, but also the mental capability to be aware of their surroundings. Memory issues and communication deficiencies make these rapes, a crime that is already extremely difficult to generate solid evidence for, even more difficult.

An example of this is the sexual assault of 83-year-old Sonya Fischer by her male caretaker, George Kpingbah at Walker Methodist Health Center in Minneapolis back in 2014. Fischer, who is afflicted with Alzheimer’s, was unable to vocalize about what was happening to her. The perpetrator was only caught when another worker walked in on them. CNN has recently discovered that he had been accused in the past of similar charges, yet was never charged. Walker Methodist suspended him while he was being investigated, but never fired him. They have refused to comment on the issue.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/02/health/nursing-home-sex-abuse-investigation/

Colin Shillinglaw, the former director of operations for Baylor football’s team, has dropped his defamation lawsuit against his former employer, seeking arbitration instead.

After the sexual assault scandal rocked the Baylor program early last year, Shillinglaw was terminated from his position on May 26th, 2016. When Baylor officials described the football program as “out of control”, Shillinglaw took up a lawsuit against the school and their legal representatives, citing that comment as defamation of him and everyone associated with the team. He believes that it has caused him to not be able to find employment after being fired.

Backing down from this lawsuit, his legal team is now seeking arbitration, which is listed in the employment agreement that Shillinglaw had with Baylor prior to his firing. When Shillinglaw brought up the case in January, a document was released containing texts between the now disposed coach and his staff, revealing that they were working together to withhold information regarding sexual assaults and other crimes involving their players from campus authorities.

The accused have responded to the case, saying that Shillinglaw and others are attempting to distract from the fact that they perpetuated a system in which Baylor football players could avoid punishment from outside sources for crimes they committed, including sexual assault. They also said that, given his position within the organization, Shillinglaw was instrumental in creating an “internal disciplinary system”, wherein players who committed school policy violations would deal with football staff rather than the proper authorities.

Ex-head coach Art Briles had filed a similar lawsuit following his termination, but has since dropped it. Tom Hill, a member of the athletic department that was also fired following the scandal, also filed lawsuit against the school’s attorneys, accusing them of defamation and negligence.