The Landry News

Through Cara’s backstory and the events of the novel, The Landry News explores the obligations of a journalist to report information in an accurate, truthful, and objective way. News is meant to inform through an unbiased lens and offer consumers the ability to draw their own conclusions based on facts. The recognized function of journalism is to propagate the free exchange of information thoroughly and fairly, and journalists have a responsibility to report with integrity, even on topics they don’t agree with. The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) gives four main principles for responsible journalism: “seek truth and report it,” “minimize harm,” “act independently,” and “be accountable and transparent,” (“SPJ Code of Ethics.” Society of Professional Journalists. 2014.) Each of these concepts informs key parts of the ethical and emotional journey of The Landry News. Prior to the opening of the novel, Cara only minimally adheres to the first of these principles—seeking and reporting truth. Her stories are arguably factual but they are gossipy and not impartial. Her own emotional turmoil means she has little care for minimizing harm, remaining neutral, or taking responsibility for the effect her words have on others. It’s not until after seeing the effects of the first edition of The Landry News that Cara starts to learn and adopt the latter three principles.