what is journalism? - mopu6803.files.wordpress.com · i often say that journalism is a process, not...
TRANSCRIPT
What is Journalism?And what is it for?
A journalist is someone who is willing to disappoint himself with the truth.
Sebastian JungerAuthor of The Perfect Storm
and Director of Restrepo
On a complicated, fast-forward planet enveloped in information, journalists who thrive will be
those who offer news consumers the same sense of trust that a skilled mountain guide provides to climbers after an avalanche. A sure trail cannot
be guaranteed, but an honest effort can.
Andrew Revkin, environmental journalist and professor who writes the Dot Earth blog for The New York Times’ op-ed page.
I often say that journalism is a process, not a product. That process is to collect, filter, and distribute
information. In a world where more information is produced in a day than anyone could consume in a
lifetime, value has shifted from unearthing information to verifying, curating, contextualizing, interpreting, and
manipulating it.
David Cohn is founding editor of Circa, a startup that is creating “the first born-on-mobile news experience.”
We say, idealistically, that journalism is a check against power and corruption. And this is true. But I wonder if that is what journalists are really “for,” or if that is just a positive consequence of something else. If journalism is only for these noble goals, then what is the purpose of journalism that doesn’t check power and expose corruption? The journalistic process still applies, but
stories about new businesses, cultural events, even real estate can help a community talk to itself.
David Cohn is founding editor of Circa, a startup that is creating “the first born-on-mobile news experience.”
“The press is the immune system of democracy.”
Craig Newmark is the founder of Craigslist
Is it? Read this to get another perspective.
One example of the journalism I do.
The Wordpress blogs you are creating gives you the technological power to be publisher, editor, writer,
marketer, etc...
I can do this in my bathroom. (And I have.)
One definition of “journalist” From Elements
A person who can “run swiftly over the next hill, accurately gather information, and engagingly retell it.”
“People have an intrinsic need — an instinct — to know what is occurring beyond their direct experience.”
Journalism helps provide that knowledge.
What do we do as journalists?
• We report things people can’t see or learn for themselves. This, for example.
• We use different media strategies — and lately it’s getting interesting
• We cover things that are happening right now — literally.
• We touch peoples’ emotions and have an impact on their lives
• We report on things people are interested in
• We cover history in the making — the “first draft of history.”
Let’s take a step back...
Journalism & Democracy: Different philosophies
Walter Lippman: Democracy should manage public affairs effectively.
But he said democracy is fundamentally flawed.
• The public, upon whom democracy depends, is ignorant. (Examples anyone?)
• Uninterested (Ditto?)• Passive (Ditto x 2?)• Biased (x 3?)• Views the world through stereotypes (x 4?)
In other words, democracy is something other people do for us because we’re too stupid to do it for ourselves.
All we have to do is vote. If that.
Walter Lippmann (quoted in Elements):
“...citizens are like theatergoers who ‘arrive in the middle of the third act and leave before the first curtain, staying just long enough to decide who is the hero and who is the villain.”
John Dewey: Had a very different view.
Dewey thought Lippmann had diagnosed serious weaknesses about the press, the public and democracy.
But Dewey believed Lippmann was mistaken about the goal of democracy. It wasn’t just to “manage public affairs effectively.”
The real purpose is human freedom. Don’t give up on democracy; try to improve the press, and through it the education of the public. This way, democracy will improve.
Dewey: The goal of democracy is to allow people to develop to their fullest potential.
A kind of “deficit model”:
The public has a deficit of knowledge
Through the press, that deficit can be reduced
And when it is, citizens and voters will make better decisions
Thereby improving democracy
Thereby encouraging human freedom and fulfillment
Back to the present...
• Involved public
• Interested public
• Uninterested public
From Elements:
Theory of interlocking public
“The three groups work as a check on one another so that no debate becomes merely a fevered exchange between active interest groups.”
“Looked at this way, the public is far more able than Lippman dreamed, and the press does not have as daunting a job of delivering ‘truth’ to a passive public as he imagined.”
With all of that as context, back to the questions at hand:
What is journalism?What is it for?
Journalism: different definitions
• “Writing designed for or characteristic of newspapers”
• “The business of writing for, editing or publishing periodicals (such as newspapers).”
Is that why you’re interested in journalism?
No, I didn’t think so...
Journalism: different definitions
• “Writing designed for or characteristic of newspapers”
• “The business of writing for, editing or publishing periodicals (such as newspapers).”
• “The periodical collection and publication of current news; the business of managing, editing, or writing for, journals or newspapers; as political journalism.” (brainyquote.com, as quoted in Principles...)
Maybe this is why you’re interested in journalism?
No, I didn’t think so...
Journalism: different definitions
• What’s wrong with these definitions?
✴ Elements: “...the purpose of journalism is not defined by technology, or by journalists or the techniques they employ.”
Journalism: different definitions
• Not much better: the collection and editing of news for presentation through the media
• Check this out: Dictionary.com (please see definition #4...)
• Oh really?
• Or how about this?
The Supreme Court decision in the Pentagon Papers case:
“...the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.”
“The primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing.”
Elements:
“Journalism is a set of transparent, independent procedures aimed at gathering, verifying and reporting truthful information of consequence to citizens in a democracy.”
Principles:
Elements: a definition that emphasizes purpose of journalism
Principles: a definition that emphasizes the approach of journalism
We need both to answer, “What is journalism?”
If our job is vital to democracy...
If it is to provide information of consequence to citizens...
Then who do we work for?
“Secretive power loathes journalists who do their job, who push back screens, peer behind façades, lift rocks. Opprobrium from on high is their badge of honour.”
Australian journalist John Pilger:
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Pilger
Blah blah blah blah blah.
“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: Everything else is public relations.”
British journalist (and novelist, and essayist) George Orwell:
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell
Blah blah blah blah blah. Why should we care what these Aussie and British blokes
have to say?
Definitely not journalism
• Reality TV
• All fiction, untruthful reporting, and sponsored reporting
• Advertising – or Craigslist
• E-commerce – or eBay
• Propaganda – or govt. issued broadcasts
• Aggregators – or Google News (Why not?)
• Entertainment (but what about John Stewart?)
Why is journalism important? Sorry for the laundry list...
• It helps citizens govern themselves and make choices
• It keeps tabs on government
• It lets you see and think about the views of others
• It allows you to become knowledgeable about unfamiliar places, people and things
• Democracy wouldn’t be possible without it
• It helps provide for public safety
• It can change the course of events
• It helps us stay informed
Some key concepts from Elements
• “Independent, reliable, accurate and comprehensive information that citizens require to be free.”
• “...journalism simply means carrying on and amplifying the conversation of people themselves.”
• Now more than ever
• “Societies that want to suppress freedom must first suppress the press.”
Okay, enough of that stuff. On to the bottom line...
The Elements of Journalism
• Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth
• Its first loyalty is to citizens
• Its essence is a discipline of verification
• Its practitioners must be independent from those they cover
• It serves as an independent monitor of power
• It provides a forum for public criticism and compromise
The Elements of Journalism
• It strives to make the significant interesting and relevant
• It keeps the news comprehensive and proportional
• Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience
Is this journalism? Why or why not?
• Sean Hannity on Fox
• From the NSIDC
• How about this story in the Mail?
• Or this from Bloomberg News.
Why Would Timothy Hunt Say That?
• He’s married to a famous female scientist himself
• They met in his lab (so it seems unlikely that he’s really a fan of segregated labs)
• Many of his supporters are women who worked with him in his labs
• He has a long history of supporting women in science
“It’s strange that a chauvinist monster like me has been asked to speak to women scientists. Let me tell you about my trouble with girls. Three things happen when they are in the lab: You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticize them, they cry. Perhaps we should
make separate labs for boys and girls…
I’m impressed by the economic development of Korea. And women scientists played, without doubt, an important role in it. Science needs women, and you should do science
despite the obstacles and despite monsters like me!”
“Now seriously
• Accurate
• Reliable
• Loyalty to citizens
• Verification
• Forum for public criticism
• But also compromise
• Truth
Keywords:
Ok, admit it. You knew that sooner or later the professor would bring up...
THE NAZIS!
If free, independent, vigorous journalism dies, democracy dies.
Think about it...
Parting shot on the dangers of the corporatization of journalism:
James Carey, quoted in Elements: “‘We look at the 1930s and we see steel and chemical industries starting to buy up the journalism of Europe.’ That altered how the press of Europe saw the rise of fascism. Militarism was good business.”
What is journalism?
• Blogs like this one?
• But what about this one?
✴ “. . . the bar owners . . . hosted spirited conversations about information from travelers who often recorded what they had seen and heard in log books kept at the end of the bar.”
• Okay, how about the Onion?
What is journalism?
• How about Bill O’Reilly?
• Or this local television reporter covering the chemical spill in West Virginia?
