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Jennifer Anderson
Comm 1270-002
(Prof.) Pierce, Scott
October 1, 2015
Creating A Powerful Leadership
I had a leadership course last year where one of the students came to class outraged at the
Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby decision. (US Supreme Court) The discussion was about the practical
and relevant powers that we control in changing the outcomes of events that we disagree with.
Most of the students wanted to start protest rallies outside stores until Hobby Lobby reversed its
position, I was the only one to vocally speak out against such actions.
If we want to hold those accountable for their actions we must risk giving them the power to act
inappropriately and be held responsible for those actions, even if that means un-affiliating
ourselves with them. As a responsible society our ultimate goal should be improvement, not
humiliation or scorn. This is why I am here today to ask you, the Society of Professional
Journalism, to implement journalism guidelines that are socially inclusive to individual privacy
rights, unless a clear relation to uncommon or abusive professional conduct or practices within
their specific, relevant and applicable social environments can be made.
You have the power to do this first by correcting the egregious supposition that Journalism has
the ability to act independently of any entity, government, society or social purpose. We are
interdependent creatures introduced to a specific culture at birth that we remain in until we are
exposed to another that we will either try to understand and assimilate into our own or reject to
various degrees. We also eventually become exposed to our individual economic environments
and all of its physical attributes that will prepare us for eventually participating in preferential
organizations (or groups) that continue to elicit social exclusivity but it does not follow that we
are independent.

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Next, you must not stop at merely (recognizing) that gathering and reporting may cause harm
or damage (SPJ) but rather accept that all current forms of media and those reporting it, have an
obligation to society to help prevent potential, as well as certain, harm and damage that reporting
causes. In the book, So Youve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, uses realistic
circumstances as he helps us realize ..they (meaning media) werent brutal, we are brutal. With
these details the undeniable power that social media is wielding with its unbridled, breathtaking,
limitless power is undeniably breeding chaos and leaving devastation in its wake.
If society wishes to continue incorporating social media into every aspect of society, journalism
must not ignore how it is perpetuating the existence of anecdotal evidence. It must acknowledge
its role in creating this Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne) destined forever to control habits, limit
choices and subjugate us to a singular individual perception. We must dismiss this kind of
Randian approach to journalism to learn from each other. We need all of Societys help us
overcome the stones we throw at each other for the sake of power.
Lastly, the Society of Professional Journalism must implement policies to correct and eliminate
the flagrant disregard of journalisms own guideline not to simplify or highlight incidents out of
context. In an article titled the Surprising Benefits of Nonconformity, authors Bellezza, Gino
and Keinan claim that nonconformity leads to positive inferenceswhen it is associated with
deliberateness and intentionality. (Bellezza, et.al.) We need a social group like the SPJ that is
willing to take the first steps in countering the idea that obligations are limited to the words
written on a page.
When documentaries like Outfoxed (Brave New Films) exposes this flagrant propaganda your
reaction should not be to grow a tougher skin and ride it out. Like every other organism, we must
adapt to survive but not without learning and teaching support for one another.

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These measures may be seen to implement limits on first amendment rights but I we must decide
if the ultimate purpose of assisting individuals in filtering the bombarding overload of inadequate
information traveling through media networks is worth that alternative. If we seek true
congruence, we will not continue abandoning our most valued servants into obscurity. A PR
once told me that there will always be reasons not to... but it is in the way that you use (the
power you have) that makes the difference.
While it may be true that changes like this have the potential to give those in power an
opportunity to hide embarrassing or crucial information from decision makers, change must be
stronger than our fears. My philosophy course related a story of a tribe that always treated each
other with hostility. They lived their lives marrying people they hated and always thought their
neighbor was going to poison their food so they never left their food pots unattended. This tribe
had a very difficult time surviving because they never tended their gardens. They believed that if
your garden prospers with a more bountiful harvest than your neighbors it was evidence of theft.
(Benedict)
The changes we make should not inhibit, disguise or mislead the cataclysmic actions of those in
power but more fully allows us to encourage the support for good research and whistleblowers
that are able to gain access to and share vital information in unlimited ways. The telling of
accurate, pertinent, contextualized stories of the magnitude and diversity of the human
experience (SPJ) not only gives your audience perspective but power to contribute to the
change.
We live in a world of uncertainty where a single perspective in the hands of an unbridled power
can illicit controversy, intrigue and devastation. Yet I come before you today, the Society of
Professional Journalism, one of the most powerful journalism organizations, asking for your

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support in stopping these horrific acts of cruelty and hate that current media is allowing to
consistently infiltrate and thwart our defenses.
We are seeking the return of responsibility and ethical journalism. This is why it is imperative
that you implement journalism guidelines that are socially inclusive to individual privacy rights
unless it can be related to uncommon or abusive professional conduct or practices within their
specific, relevant and applicable social environments. Together we can do this by first accepting
that our autonomy is intricately connected to our interdependence. Second, not merely
recognizing the harm we are causing but endeavoring to prevent it. And lastly, by integrating
these policies into current codes and standard practices for the benefit that journalism brings to
the human experience.
Do not let another day go unchallenged. Show us that you stand behind what you teach.

Citations
US Supreme Court. Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. (2014) Web.
Retrieved Oct. 1, 2015 (http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/13-354_olp1.pdf)
Society of Professional Journalism. (SPJ). Society of Professional Journalism Code of Ethics.
SPJ National Convention (1996) Web. Retrieved Oct.1, 2015
(https://www.spj.org/pdf/ethicscode.pdf)
Hawthorne, N. The Scarlet Letter. (1892) Print
Bellezza, S., Gino, F., Keinan, A. The Surprising Benefits of Nonconformity. MIT Sloan
Management Review. (2014) Web. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2015
(http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-surprising-benefits-of-nonconformity/)
Brave New Films. Outfoxed- Rupert Murdocks War on Journalism- Full documentary film
exposes Fox News Youtube. (2014) Web Retrieved Sept. 30, 2014
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P74oHhU5MDk)
Benedict, Ruth. Anthropology & the Abnormal, in an Anthropologist at Work. Margaret Mead
(ed.) New York. Atherton Press. (1966) Print. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2015.