Post on 21-Oct-2014
description
Independence and Journalism
The Debate on the Proposed Mosque at Ground Zero
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4kRQ_1YOC0&feature=fvst
“Journalists must maintain an independence from those they cover” (Kovach & Rosenstiel
118)
• “The journalist’s role is predicated on a special kind of engagement—being dedicated to informing the public, but not to playing a direct role as an activist” (Kovach & Rosenstiel 135)
• Engaged Independence
• Opinion Journalist vs. Partisan Propagandist
Propaganda & Activism"Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate
cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of
the propagandist.“-Garth Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion, 4th
ed. Sage Publications, p. 7
http://akhilak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/consumer-activism.jpg
“Activism consists of intentional action to bring about social, political, economic, or
environmental change”-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We_Can_Do_It!.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Is_this_tomorrow.jpg
http://www.humanevents.com/offers/offer.php?id=MSQ100&time=201102022255
• False reference to the Islamic Community Center, 2 blocks from Ground Zero, as the “Ground Zero Mosque”
• False dramatization of the
Mosque’s intentions
• Historical references to support an idea that may or may not be true
Is Neutrality a Journalism Principle?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/President_Bush_presents_William_Safire_the_2006_President_Medal_of_Freedom.jpg
• Hard Facts • Truthful Conclusions• Put readers first
William SafirePresidential Speechwriter
and Conservative New York Times Columnist
Hard Facts
Truthful Conclusions
Put Readers First
"...[O]pinion must be based on something more substantial than personal beliefs if it is to be of
journalistic use. It is not about believing in people or groups of people. It is a craft based on reporting,
learning, understanding, and educating. Creating barriers to this process of discovery is, in the end, being disloyal to the public" (Kovach & Rosenstiel
137).
Writing as a Participant
• Hard to think from other perspectives• Hard to win trust of sources, combatants• Hard to persuade audience you put them
ahead of “your” team (Kovach & Rosenstiel 119)
Independence in PracticeWhat can and cannot be done?
Some were actually banned from participating in certain actions
Different Degrees of Wrong Actions
1. Involved2. In charge3. Living it
“Her marching jeopardized the appearance of her reporting and reprimanded her.”“Fired two editors after they founded an anti-abortion organization.”“Pulled two women reporters off a gay marriage story after they were married at City Hall.”
So, what should be done?…If anything
Opinion Journalists Delivering News
• Clear and open in intent• Open in its allegiance to a set of intellectual
principles– Holds above faction or party
• Committed to principles of journalism• Not about reporting the news, but making
sense of it
Partisans Delivering News
• Success of Fox and Rush Limbaugh (for example) has had impact on press– Political operatives and
celebrities
• Bloggers– Speak to like-minded
people– Proselytize the
undecided
Discussion
• Can anyone reasonably be expected to cover those who they have personal, even intimate, loyalties to? – Are journalists obligated to be loyal first and
foremost to citizens?
Class and Economic Status
• Journalists are more highly trained, better educated, and better paid (in some places)
• Americans feel a class divide between those who produce news and those who receive it
• Cognitive elite– Worldviews, mind sets, and biases from their
peers– News shaped to tastes and needs of upper class
Commercialization of the News
• News coverage is a distortion of the way life is lived in the US
• Strategic targeting of elite demographics– 1% of population owns 35% of stock• Is everyone watching the stock prices on CNBC? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UhKOs3dYk4
Class Divide
• People see press as an establishment they are alienated from
• Not a public surrogate on their behalf• Solution:– Newsrooms should recruit people from a diversity
of classes, backgrounds, and interests– How? • Pull people from other careers?
Independence from
• Race• Ethnicity• Religion• Gender
What is Diversity?
• Race• Ethnicity• Religion• Gender • More?
“There are problems with the concept of diversity if it is narrowed simply to mean ethnic, gender, or other numerical targets.”
--Kovach and Rosenstiel
www.greenberg-art.com
Diversity of Background and Ideas
• Class, education, region, family, personal psychology, personal experience and religion all shape our personal ideas and beliefs.
• Observable traits serve as proxy but there is a lot more to it. – There is no such thing as the “black” or “white”
viewpoint etc.
• The Office clip– We should not be “colorblind”– Personal characteristics are what color journalism• How can we fulfill our role as journalists while not
completely ignoring our personal traits/ideas?
• Can ethnicity and gender be equated to identity or expertise?– A good reporter should be able to cover everyone
and everything
• “The ultimate goal of newsroom diversity is to create an intellectually mixed environment where everyone holds firm to the idea of journalistic independence.”