Heather C. Bowser and Dr. Kevin L. Stoker, Communications

One challenge for LDS journalists is finding a way to combine gospel principles with the mission of journalism to; according to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, seek truth, “promote the flow of information,” and “stimulate high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism.” Contemporary journalism has done a good job of seeking truth and promoting information flow, but has endured one scandal after another in which journalists have violated ethical standards.

Among journalism scholars, a new journalistic philosophy has emerged, known as Public Journalism. Public Journalism emphasizes publishing information that is relevant to audience needs, framed according to audience values, and oriented to empower public actions. The challenge for BYU journalism is to find out how Public Journalism and other competing philosophies mix with the aims of a BYU education.

The goal of this research is to see how practicing LDS journalists marry their professional values with their commitment to companion principles of faith and compassion. With greater experience in the field, these journalists will likely be frustrated with contemporary journalistic practice and have developed a personal philosophy similar to that of Public Journalism. Knowing how they have merged the two worlds should aid in establishing a philosophy for The Daily Universe and journalism instruction at BYU.

My main task was to conduct qualitative interviews of LDS journalists across the nation to discover what they believe BYU’s journalism program should entail. The goal of the research was to ascertain their opinions on what type of journalism they practice and what type of journalism we should practice at BYU. This research will be critical in providing professional input as to what kind of philosophy, among the competing philosophies now available, we should adopt at BYU.

I selected participants from Department of Communication alumni with experience in journalism. I also considered those who have left the field for other endeavors. Their reasons for leaving journalism may shed light on the challenges faced by LDS journalists. The subjects within the Salt Lake metro area were, for the most part, interviewed face to face while others were interviewed via a phone call.

My hypothesis was that BYU Communications graduates will advocate values of integrity, community, and public service in their journalistic practice. BYU Communication grads will promote a journalist philosophy at BYU that more closely aligns with what is known as “Public Journalism.”

To calculate findings I categorized the interviews by topics then looked for patterns and themes that emerged from the accounts. Several themes emerged. First, the longer a subject actively practiced journalism, the more articulate and concise were their answers concerning any philosophy. Journalists practicing less than five years rarely considered philosophies and said they merely did the job just to do it. It took younger journalists considerably longer to decide and verbalize reasons for ethical practices. These reporters often failed to understand definitions of Public Journalism and tended to disagree with its principles merely out of lack of knowledge on the subject. Second, the more vocal about church doctrine the journalist was, the more prone they were to involve Public Journalism aspects into their personal philosophies. Third, about half of the interviewed Communications alumni either changed professions because their journalism experience resulted in situations contrary to their beliefs or because the salary proved inadequate. Overall, these journalists did have personal philosophies that included integrity and public service, although many did not explicitly say it.

This work was not without anxieties. Two main obstacles frustrated the research. First, the process of obtaining IRB approval was laborious and painstakingly tedious. As a journalist myself, I am used to interviewing people on a daily basis without anyone’s informed consent or permission. Once permission was granted, things were a lot easier. Second, getting journalists to understand the nature of the research and answer the questions accordingly was difficult. Public Journalism is often a misunderstood term and journalists tended to have incorrect prejudices about the word.

Overall, this has been a valuable learning experience for me. I discovered that the research process, including grant proposals, I do not care to experience it again. As a potential educator, this discovery was valuable in narrowing my future goals. I have just accepted a job as a reporter in my home town and I expect to consider my reasons for writing.