Dear friends and colleagues,
We are wishing you a Happy Christmas and hope that you have great time enjoying your holiday!!!
Let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you've always wanted to do but couldn't find the time. Drop all old grudges and replace them with some pleasant memories.
Wishing you lots of joy, success and love!
Student Parliament
Charisma, Wits, and Long Hair: Or How the U.S. Government Conveys its Policies
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
comments (1)
This Monday, on the last day of November, we here at the Pravets campus of City University had the pleasure of welcoming Vincent Campos as a guest lecturer at our auditorium. Mr. Campos is the press attaché, or spokesperson, for the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, and essentially, his work here in Bulgaria is to inform our media about the United States’ policies and positions on whatever issues are relevant at a given moment.
Aside from being a charismatic and knowledgeable orator, Mr. Campos gave the students a very memorable lesson in journalism, the rules and guidelines that accompany it, and the core difference between journalists and the press office. He explained that journalists of the free private media work first and foremost for the public, and to ensure that a truthful, factual, and unbiased message reaches the masses. On the contrary, representatives of the press office like Campos, report only on their government’s policies, and attempt to convey them in the clearest way to the media.
Whereas the press office’s work can be seen as government propaganda, it is crucial to informing the public of foreign intentions, and explaining that government’s actions. When asked what a press attaché does when he or she doesn’t agree with the policy they are conveying, Mr. Campos replied that hiding your personal bias is key as a spokesperson, and that ultimately if you feel strongly enough about an issue that it gets in the way of your job, there is always the option of resignation.
Campos’ lecture sparked a discussion among the students on whether the free press should have the same types of restrictions as he has at his work, and how much rules is too much? It was then established that a journalists are essentially free to say whatever they feel is necessary to convey their message, so long as they stay within the guidelines of their media, and follow the four simple rules of journalism: to always tell the truth, to act independently, to attempt to minimize harm (sometimes by not revealing the whole truth), and to ultimately be accountable for their actions.
We here at CityU are very honored by Mr. Campos’ first visit to our site, and are thankful for his enlightening lecture. Those who failed to attend, missed out on a great learning experience, and on behalf of our Student Parliament, I can only say that we hope for future appearances by him.
Krum Nikolov /Student Parliament Journalist/
