Citizen Journalism Is About to Get A Boost It Wholeheartedly Deserves...
And the MSM could very well become even more worthless than it ever was
This is a continuation of our post earlier today…
The X post referenced by Glenn Beck during DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s interview…
Our Note
Now that Russiagate has been fully documented as an attack on Trump the MSM and a group of Obama supporters gave voice and bandwidth to Russiagate when it was in full mode are suddenly VERY quiet…
Even Obama himself tried to dismiss Russiagate this week, but only weakly so…
Today, the following went down…
Mark Elias has stopped posting on X
John Brennan has lawyered up
John Kerry has made his X account private
Peter Strzok has deleted his entire X history
There is no way to read this other than they know the walls are closing in - the cockroaches are scurrying for the best cover they can find…
The problem is that the cover they can conjure up will never be good enough.
We have not drilled down too far for this post; however, it does present a question in light of the shoddy journalism that has been falsely labeled as such.
If it weren’t, then why are all the MSM venues struggling financially?
Certainly, it is not due to the lack of news - that has been exploding globally since the 1960s…
We present our question at the end of this post.
About Journalism Education
Mizzou, as the University of Missouri is widely known, is where Walter Williams started the world’s first school of journalism in 1908.
Williams, the 1st dean of the school, believed that journalism education should be professionalized and provided at a university.
Toward that end, with the blessing of the University of Missouri and the state legislature, and with financial help from the Missouri Press Association, Williams started the school in September of that year.
Today, some of the best journalists in the world have learned their profession through the Missouri Method, which provides practical, hands-on training in real-world news media and strategic communication agencies.
Top editors, reporters, and other executives say Missouri graduates are among the best prepared to work and contribute to the organization from their first day on the job.
They are proud of that success, which depends on much more than mere reputation.
Each year, Missouri students win national contests – some even in competition with working professionals – that demonstrate conclusively just how much they have learned.
Each year, their alumni win major national and international competitions, further illustrating the value of a Missouri journalism degree.
Many have won Pulitzer Prizes, the news profession’s highest honor, Silver Anvils, the top prize for public relations professionals, and similar awards.
Indeed, their alumni can be found in newsrooms and corporate boardrooms of media companies and advertising and public relations agencies around the globe.
From the beginning, Williams envisioned a school of journalism that would positively influence the quality of journalism and advertising worldwide. Rural Boonville, Missouri, where Williams began, was an unlikely epicenter for global change in journalism.
But Walter Williams was no ordinary newspaperman.
At age 25, he became the youngest-ever president of the Missouri Press Association, which now is almost 160 years old.
After founding the School of Journalism, he went on to become president of the University of Missouri.
Williams made certain that the lessons of Missouri Journalism reached worldwide by training journalists from China and bringing a World Press Congress to Missouri.
But perhaps Williams’ greatest achievement was his establishment of the school around an all-important principle:
The best way to learn about journalism and advertising is to practice them.
The Journalist Creed
The Journalist’s Creed was written by Walter Williams.
More than one century later, his declaration remains one of the clearest statements of the principles, values, and standards of journalists throughout the world.
Plaques bearing the creed are on display at the School, the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. (since 1958), and many other locations around the world…
I believe in the profession of journalism.
I believe that the public journal is a public trust; that all connected with it are, to the full measure of their responsibility, trustees for the public; that acceptance of a lesser service than the public service is betrayal of this trust.
I believe that clear thinking and clear statement, accuracy and fairness are fundamental to good journalism.
I believe that a journalist should write only what he holds in his heart to be true.
I believe that suppression of the news, for any consideration other than the welfare of society, is indefensible.
I believe that no one should write as a journalist what he would not say as a gentleman; that bribery by one’s own pocketbook is as much to be avoided as bribery by the pocketbook of another; that individual responsibility may not be escaped by pleading another’s instructions or another’s dividends.
I believe that advertising, news and editorial columns should alike serve the best interests of readers; that a single standard of helpful truth and cleanness should prevail for all; that the supreme test of good journalism is the measure of its public service.
I believe that the journalism which succeeds best – and best deserves success – fears God and honors Man; is stoutly independent, unmoved by pride of opinion or greed of power, constructive, tolerant but never careless, self-controlled, patient, always respectful of its readers but always unafraid; is quickly indignant at injustice; is unswayed by the appeal of privilege or the clamor of the mob; seeks to give every man a chance and, as far as law and honest wage and recognition of human brotherhood can make it so, an equal chance; is profoundly patriotic while sincerely promoting international good will and cementing world-comradeship; is a journalism of humanity, of and for today’s world.
Going through the short list of alumni of Mizzou, one would be hard pressed to find a an alumni who has take Williams’ Journalist Creed to heart…
Notable Mizzou Alumni
While not an exhaustive list of the School’s talented and accomplished graduates, it does recognize individuals who have made their marks all over the world.
Advertising/PR/Strategic Communication
Stephen D. Doyal, Senior VP Public Affairs/Communications, Hallmark Cards Incorporated
Jon Cook, Global CEO, VML
John D. Graham, Chairman & CEO, Fleishman Hillard, Inc.
Robert S. Leaf, International Chairman, Burson-Marsteller, Inc.
Karen Sauder, President of Global Client and Agency Solutions, Google
Digital/ Magazine /Newspaper/Print
Gerald Boyd, first African-American managing editor at The New York Times
Robert Lewis Breeden, Editor, National Geographic
Bryan Burrough, Author and Special Correspondent, Vanity Fair
John Mack Carter, President, Hearst Magazine Enterprises
Pat Forde, national sports journalist (ESPN, Yahoo Sports, Sports Illustrated)
Wilbur (Bill) Garrett, Editor, National Geographic
Michael Golden, Vice Chairman, The New York Times Company
Carol Loomis, Senior Editor-at-Large, Fortune
Ken Paulson, editor-in-chief of USA Today
Jim Spencer, President and Founder, Newsy
Juana Summers, NPR co-host of All Things Considered
Seymour Topping, Foreign Correspondent, Foreign Editor, Managing Editor and Director of Regional Newspapers, The New York Times
*We are honored that many J-School alumni and current faculty have won the Pulitzer Prize. For a list of alumni that have won this honor, please visit the J-School Pulitzer Prize winners webpage [ archive ] .
Radio / Television
Candy Altman, Vice President-News, Hearst Television
John Anderson, ESPN SportsCenter anchor
Meredith Artley, Editor-in-Chief and Senior Vice President, CNN Digital
Linda Bell Blue, Entertainment Tonight executive producer
Jan Carl, television personality, Entertainment Tonight
Paul W. Fiddick, President, Emmis International Broadcasting Corp.
Major Garrett, Chief Washington Correspondent, CBS News
Lance Heflin, Executive Producer, America’s Most Wanted
Mark Hoffman, Chairman, CNBC
Michael Kim, ESPNEWS host
Clyde Lear, Chairman and CEO, Learfield Communications, Inc.
Jim Lehrer, PBS News anchor
Elmer Lower, President, ABC News
Heath Meriwether, Publisher, Detroit Free Press
Lisa Meyers, TV journalist, NBC investigative correspondent
Russ Mitchell, CBS Evening News weekend anchor
Jonathan Murray, co-creator of MTV’s The Real World
Mark Potter, Emmy award-winning network news correspondent
Chuck Roberts, CNN anchor
Jon Scott, Fox News Channel anchor
Janet Shamlian, National Correspondent, NBC News
Brian Storm, Founder and Executive Producer, MediaStorm
Bob Sullivan, founding member of MSNBC
Nischelle Turner, Host, Entertainment Tonight
Elizabeth Vargas, television anchor and investigative reporter
John A. Walsh, Managing Editor, ESPN, Inc.
Mike Wheeler, President, MSNBC
Other
Jean Becker, Chief of Staff, George H.W. Bush
Jim Berger, Chairman, High Noon Entertainment
Greg Miller, internet personality and CEO of Kinda Funny
David Novak, CEO of Yum! Brands
Brad Pitt, actor and producer
Donald W. Reynolds, businessman and philanthropist
Our Question
Our question is this…
Is the reputation of Mizzou and the Journalist Creed and ALL other schools of journalism in question now, given just how pathetic the MSM has been since the 1960s/1970s?
Our answer is yes…
It is due to the lack of maintaining integrity in Journalism and providing shallow awards in this profession that Citizen Journalism would not have arisen and be as strong as it is today.
And the CJs are just getting started…