Thoughts on Two Schools of Journalism
Jul. 26th, 2009 03:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redneckgaijinWalter Cronkite was mentored by Ed Murrow Jr., who himself was one of the leading lights of muckraker journalism. Muckraker journalism arose from the gutters of the yellow press, when every newspaper shaded the facts according to the wishes of the ownership (mostly conservative). It defied that ownership, seeking the truth wherever it hid, led by Upton Sinclair and his fellow crusaders. Muckraker journalism gave rise to the ideal of the unbiased press- reporters who were incorruptible, who placed the truth above all other loyalties.
Unfortunately, most of today's journalists follow the examples of neither Murrow nor Cronkite... but Woodward and Bernstein. Beginning with the book and movie All the President's Men, a new school of journalism arose- which I'll call source journalism. The key to source journalism is to cultivate sources in positions of knowledge and power within organizations- to win their loyalty. These sources, in turn, will reveal the truth to you- thus saving you all that tedious research, fruitless questioning of uncooperative officials, etc.
Source journalism is now the norm, with muckraking the exception- almost to the point of extinction.
The flaw with source journalism is this: no question can be asked of the source which would alienate the source and thus cut off access. The source journalist is thus wholly dependent upon what the source feels like telling him or her. What the source reveals, of course, is only what brings advantage to the source- and may not be truth at all. Unfortunately, the source journalist has placed a greater priority on access that on truth, in the theory that access will eventually bring truth.
This theory is bankrupt, and has been since the start. It turns the press into a pawn in politics, both internal and national. Dissatisfied underlings leak to the press material designed to bring down their bosses. Conspiring officials leak material to build public support for their programs. This material usually leads to only partial truth, or complete untruth- which the reporters fail to recognize for years, if ever.
Furthermore, reporters muzzle themselves to protect their access to their sources. They avoid hard questions. They avoid reporting on stories which would embarrass or discredit their sources. They steer clear of conclusions which would make their sources cease cooperating with them. In order to gain access to the truth, they close their eyes to any truth that their sources disapprove of.
This laziness is one major reason why journalism has declined in the United States, and why the bulk of revelations of corruption and abuse of power in government have come not from the press, but from bloggers and online journalists. It's also why yellow press, in the guise of FOX News/Newscorp, Daily Kos and Huffington and Drudge and MSNBC, is rising from the grave. The truth has been lost- not merely forgotten by the public, but actively disregarded as unimportant or unreliable. Modern journalists have allowed truth, as a concept, to fall into contempt.
That, more than anything else, is why Walter Cronkite should be mourned.
Unfortunately, most of today's journalists follow the examples of neither Murrow nor Cronkite... but Woodward and Bernstein. Beginning with the book and movie All the President's Men, a new school of journalism arose- which I'll call source journalism. The key to source journalism is to cultivate sources in positions of knowledge and power within organizations- to win their loyalty. These sources, in turn, will reveal the truth to you- thus saving you all that tedious research, fruitless questioning of uncooperative officials, etc.
Source journalism is now the norm, with muckraking the exception- almost to the point of extinction.
The flaw with source journalism is this: no question can be asked of the source which would alienate the source and thus cut off access. The source journalist is thus wholly dependent upon what the source feels like telling him or her. What the source reveals, of course, is only what brings advantage to the source- and may not be truth at all. Unfortunately, the source journalist has placed a greater priority on access that on truth, in the theory that access will eventually bring truth.
This theory is bankrupt, and has been since the start. It turns the press into a pawn in politics, both internal and national. Dissatisfied underlings leak to the press material designed to bring down their bosses. Conspiring officials leak material to build public support for their programs. This material usually leads to only partial truth, or complete untruth- which the reporters fail to recognize for years, if ever.
Furthermore, reporters muzzle themselves to protect their access to their sources. They avoid hard questions. They avoid reporting on stories which would embarrass or discredit their sources. They steer clear of conclusions which would make their sources cease cooperating with them. In order to gain access to the truth, they close their eyes to any truth that their sources disapprove of.
This laziness is one major reason why journalism has declined in the United States, and why the bulk of revelations of corruption and abuse of power in government have come not from the press, but from bloggers and online journalists. It's also why yellow press, in the guise of FOX News/Newscorp, Daily Kos and Huffington and Drudge and MSNBC, is rising from the grave. The truth has been lost- not merely forgotten by the public, but actively disregarded as unimportant or unreliable. Modern journalists have allowed truth, as a concept, to fall into contempt.
That, more than anything else, is why Walter Cronkite should be mourned.
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-26 10:49 pm (UTC)Syndication was an equally strong ingredient in the mix - you could sell unslanted stories to more papers and magazines.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-26 11:29 pm (UTC)(It also bears notice that- at least to my knowledge- the Associated Press is the only wire service of any size remaining, the others having gone bankrupt long since...)
Yeah, the Press...
Date: 2009-07-27 03:16 am (UTC)Hmmm...sounds so-o-o modern, don't it?
Today, we really don't have an unbiased press. We have a Liberal press and we have a Conservative press, and the truth be damned; we have an editorial disguised as news to sell! Sell is the word, too.
Back in the 50's, most Radio and TV stations didn't try to use their news programs to make a profit. Now, it's sometimes hard to tell when something is a news story and when it's a commercial.
I like the X-files motto: "The truth is out there." It is. It just isn't on the six-o-clock news anymore.
Oddly, the newspapers are frequently more reliable than broadcast news;if you get say, three papers and cross-check what they say.
And the so-called "Free Internet"? Bloggers are the most biased of them all.
I've taken to using the BBC TV news and short wave broadcasts. When you get through comparing notes, there is a good chance you may have a faint idea of what's really going on.