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• Historical references to support an idea that may or may not be true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.”