. . . I got my mind set on you

But it’s gonna take money

A whole lot of spending money

It’s gonna take plenty of money

To do it right, child

It’s gonna take time

A whole lot of precious time

It’s gonna take patience and time, um

To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it

To do it right, child

– George Harrison

Airborne can be placed behind enemy lines and deployed almost anywhere with little warning. The formations are limited only by the number and size of their aircraft, so given enough capacity, a massive force can appear “out of nowhere” in minutes.

The ability to work with jackrabbit speed is typically recognized and rewarded in business. Companies like employees who can cruise through their to-do lists at Mach3 with their hair on fire. Because, after all, time is money.

But time is not money if that efficiency is not matched with effectiveness.

When telling a person’s story, you must take time to get to know the person and time to explore their story so that you can tell “their” story. You see, if you move too fast, you often do so based on assumptions.

Parachute journalism is the practice of thrusting journalists into an area to report on a story in which the reporter has little knowledge or experience. The lack of knowledge and tight deadlines often result in inaccurate or distorted news reports, especially during breaking news.

The other term similar to parachute journalism is yellow journalism.

Yellow journalism and the yellow presses are American terms for journalism and associated newspapers that present little or no legitimate well-researched news while using eye-catching headlines for increased sales. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism. By extension, yellow journalism is used today as a pejorative to decry any journalism that treats news in an unprofessional or unethical fashion.

There is a difference between the two, but both are rooted in one common problem–not putting in the time necessary to do justice to a story.

Here are some of the key ingredients to great journalism

Journalistic Truth – is a process that begins with the professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts.

Your community – while advertisers underwrite most journalism, they are not the audience. You must be serving the citizens in your community. Your credibility is increased when you do a great job of putting them first.

Journalistic methods for verification – unlike social media, where people “trust” their friends’ thoughts and their gut, journalists cannot use these methods. They just used the skills of the profession where the consistent practice of testing information – a transparent approach to evidence – precisely so that personal and cultural biases would not undermine the accuracy of the work. The method is objective, not the journalist.

Journalistic independence – you must work hard not to be drawn into a crowd, organization, a person of power, or anything that can compromise your ability to be unbiased in your journalism. This also includes being careful that your newsroom doesn’t create its own elitist group.

Watchdog – informs the public about the goings-on in institutions and society, especially in circumstances where a significant portion of the people would demand changes in response. – Wikipedia

Fact-checking statements of public officials.

I am interviewing public figures and challenging them with problems or concerns.

Beat reporting to gather information from meetings that members of the public might not otherwise attend and to observe “on the ground” in broader society

Investigative journalism, which involves information-gathering on a single story for an extended period of time

There are even more elements to good journalism than these listed here. The point I want to make it get the story correct requires being thoughtful and taking the time to get it right.

What is sad today is that people trust their friends over journalistic institutions, which helped create the atmosphere for “Fake News” by Russia to impact the United States culture.

Journalists have desecrated the profession, just like many priests have done in the church lately. Sadly much of the public believes these ‘bad apples’ are criminals beyond rehabilitation.

Sadly many journalists today are fighting battles that they didn’t create. Just remember to be diligent in telling a truthful story. It just may time some time to do it right.