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        THE TRUTH ABOUT NEWS...

        Perhaps the most powerful people on earth are news reporters
        and writers. They're also the ones with the greatest responsibilities.
        People are more likely to believe what they read than believe what
        they only hear.

         People are always in search for the truth, and these news reporters and writers
         are one of the best sources of truth. They dig for facts, more often poke their
         noses into other people's business, and try every means just to come up with the
         truth. Then using the information he acquires, he strings them together to produce
         a truthful story told in a straight and factual manner. Cold, hard facts.
        
        This is the truth about news -- it can pull down or push up a person; it
        can destroy or build a person's reputation; it can help advance a cause
        or water it down; it can ignite a revolution or dampen it. That's how
        powerful it is. A news writer, or any journalist for that matter, is
        grounded first on ethics because of this very nature of news and the
        responsibility that the news writer carries with him.
         
                 Napoleon Bonaparte couldn't have been more eloquent when he said, "A journalist
                 is a grumbler, a censurer, a giver of advice, a regent of sovereigns, a tutor of
                 nations. Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets."

         As a responsible news writer, before submitting that news article to your editor,
         you should first ask yourselves these questions:
        
Was the confidentiality of my source(s) not violated? In cases where a
news story you're covering is of high importance (i.e. involving national
security, political threats, etc.), your source of information would never
want to go on-the-record. Meaning, your source would only disclose
information if you agree not to use the information. This could be
difficult on you. Knowing what you know but not being able to report it.
However, gaining the trust and the confidence of your source could
         work to your advantage. The next time around, your source might agree to be
         quoted by attributing the information as having come from "a reliable source."

         You're also honor-bound to never disclose your sources. Most reporters and news
         writers are willing to take the risk of being held in contempt of court and spend
         time in jail rather than disclose the name(s) of his source(s) if the news he wrote
         ever became big, controversial or ruffled some feathers.

        

         Was I objective and factual in writing my news? By being objective,
        it simply asks you if you have been detached, unprejudiced and
        impersonal in writing your news. By factual, ask yourself if you
        stuck to the facts.

        Was I fair in reporting the facts? Did you seek other reliable sources?
        Did you present the other or opposing side? Did you attempt to get facts
         from the other side of the fence? Did you present a true picture or did you just
         choose to report only the facts that you want your readers to read and believe?

         If you have assessed that indeed, you did not break your source's confidence,
         that you were objective, factual and fair in writing your news story, you were
         able to successfully produce a balanced news story.
 
        

        Read Excerpt 2 - News Doesn't Grow On Trees

         Read Excerpt 3 - From Drab To Glamour

         Read Excerpt 4 - C Is For Creativity