Real v. Fake NewsPrinciples of Journalism

Professor Neil Foote

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Public Journalism - Revisited

Joseph Faina: “Public Journalism is a joke: The case for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert”

Davis Merrit (Public Journalism and Public Life: 1998) More than just telling the news More than Objectivity Traditional news today: Ineffective for engaging

the public

Journalism a key player in democracy

Information dissemination

Representation

Deliberation

Conflict resolution

Accountability

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Public Journalism: ‘Neo-Modern Paradigm’

Public Journalis

m

SolvingProblems

Resolve Competing

Values

Fostering Public

Debate

Journalism

Investigates

Creates conversation

Generates social

empathy

Encourages accountability

Informs

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‘Public Journalism’

Acknowledge public’s ability to act

Acknowledge the role of self-governance

Role of journalism in promoting ‘foment and agitation’

Today, cable discussions turn into shouting matches

Public turned off by the ‘winners’ v. ‘losers’

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So what should journalists do?

1. Focus on consequencesa) Beyond just who to vote for, which

‘side’ of issue to support

2. Focus on real problem of issuea) More than the ‘horse race’ or

‘political gamesmanship’b) Uncover the overarching themes

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So what should journalists do?

3. Frame issues on whom they affect the most – implications on the community

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Stewart v. Colbert

Comedians or Journalists?

Satirists v. Pundits

Facts v. Opinion

Context v. Regurgitation

Analysis v. Chronicling

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Most Trusted Person in Journalism?

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Humor, Parody, Satire

Humor: ‘Analytical, critical, and rational’

Parody: Mimicry and imitation

Satire: ‘Most overtly political genre’ – scrutinize public behavior

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How ‘Political Satire’ Impacts Us

How we talk about these series issues

Viewers of The Daily Show and Colbert Report better engaged

Bridging the gap between news, politics and journalists

Humor unites – or divides groups

If you don’t like the joke, go elsewhere to find the facts

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Ted Koppel

“They don’t pretend to be journalists…They are doing a better job than the real journalists.”

---Ted Koppel, created ABC’s Nightline/veteran journalist

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On the other side:

“Journalists have a really inconvenient thing they’ve got to go through: a process of trying to [the story] right. … I don’t think journalists should try to get more hip. Journalists have to learn the one lesson which is important, which is to try to get it right.”

- Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.

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What about these sites?

Fark: http://fark.com

TheOnion: http://theonion.com

FactCheck.org: http://factcheck.org

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The Risks

False information

Confusing

Out of Context

Misleading

Opinionated

Mean-spirited

“Trivialization”

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Journalists must:

Be obligated to the truth

Be obligated to accuracy

Be balanced

Be transparent

Be independent

Hold a forum for public discussion

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Discuss within your groups

Do the Daily Show and The Colbert Report help/hurt journalism?

Explain drawing off the core elements of journalism we’ve discussed to date.