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WHAT IS GOOD JOURNALISM?
Copyright 2019 Christina M. Guerrero
DEDICATION
For all journalists.
STORY BEHIND THE STORY
Frustration with some of the coverage I read, see, and hear.
ABOUT THE DRAFTS
Fourth draft:
Nothing, yet.
Journalism, like other fields of work, can be rated from poor to exceptional. Here is how we can continue to enjoy exceptional journalism, in my opinion.
Support journalists and genres of journalism that you appreciate. Provide constructive criticism to those you find lacking. If you feel a need to express your opinion about poor conduct or presentation, speak up to an editor (the person or department in charge of editorial content), or publisher (the person, department or team in charge of most privately-owned media businesses and some media corporations), or shareholders (who may have partial or complete influence on decisions).
Journalism is about labeling facts as facts, and opinions as opinions. Facts should be presented as such. Anything not personally known to the writer should be supported by sources, whether credited or anonymous. Opinions should be clearly labeled, and should not be boldly or brazenly included in an ostensibly objective news story. We also have to be careful about the “slant” of a story, and to do our best to be fair and balanced. Those words have been overused during the 2000s, but they remain the best way to summarize a properly-written news story.
As for citing anonymous sources: in journalism school, when I learned about these types of sources, I decided I was not too keen about ever speaking to someone who would not want to be identified, but I would protect a source if I had to. Yes, it is a badge of honor among journalists to be arrested for protecting a source; it’s like the confidentiality privileges that other professionals have with their clients, but my preference is to have definitive, easily-identified sources for my projects. Journalists are fighting for the truth to be heard and exposed and discussed. Should this process be filled with backstabbing, violence, hard feelings, and jail-time? I wish it would not. But that’s how it can be sometimes, and that includes verifying the information of anonymous sources and protecting their privacy.
We also need to consider what we are not.
Journalists are not politicians. They are observers and writers. If you feel a need to change politics, go into that field. If you are writing about politics, present the facts in factual news stories, and go to town with your joy or frustration in your editorials, which should clearly be labeled “opinion” somewhere on the page or in the article. We need to watch our mouths and our words when reporting on our elected representatives, no matter how angry or righteous we feel. Yes, we’re human. But we are supposed to be observing and reporting. Sometimes the insults and harsh words are directed at journalists, for reasons that are sometimes apparent, and sometimes not apparent. I think often, “Why doesn’t everyone switch sides? The journalists can run for office, get elected, and do a better job or a good job while pleasing everyone (which appears to be impossible), and the politicians can work on being fair, impartial and balanced (and then write a presentable story in the shortest amount of time possible) in a world where justice is often fleeting and stomped on. Time’s a-wasting.”
Journalists are not law enforcement professionals. Yes, we report on law, and we investigate. But we do not enforce the law. We need to research, investigate, analyze, and report, and leave the enforcement to the professionals. If you are moved to do more, go apply to your local police academy or other law enforcement training grounds and go from there.
Journalists are not lawyers. Yes, we report on the legal system. But we are not the judges, the attorneys, or the jury. We need to be fair even if evidence appears to point directly to an alleged suspect. If you feel a need to prosecute, go apply to law school, get accepted, and work hard. I hear it is difficult but satisfying to get that degree and that license, and to fight for justice. As journalists, some of us have great compassion and sympathy for both sides of a conflict; we need to remember that as we report on the justice system.
Adult journalists are not children. During the past few years, I’ve been surprised at the outright name-calling, assumptions, and over-all silly conduct of some coverage. Why not remember how we were trained during those long days and nights in journalism school, and what our instructors and professors advised: accuracy, put the subject at ease, ask hard questions but be respectful. When interviewing our subjects, we need to ask pertinent and interesting questions; we need to call a spade a spade, yet allow our subjects to speak without interrupting and harassing them; we need to be as straightforward as we want our subjects to be; we need to be as ethical and full of integrity as we expect from our representatives. If we choose to be silly and clownish and deceitful and immature and disloyal, don’t be surprised if our subjects do the same. I was surprised to see two adults on the news one day babbling and whining like infants. In the 1960s and 1970s, when I first became aware of journalism, that kind of thing would have been frowned upon, and the bickering would have been a sophisticated discussion filled with sophisticated words and ideas and sophisticated criticism.
Journalism is about presenting the world to our readers, viewers and observers. It is about space, time, history, science, math, education, sports, entertainment, books, socializing, cooking, and so much more. It is about presenting these subjects in a way that can be understood, and if applicable, in an entertaining way. It is about informing.
Journalism is about our fellow men, women, and others who identify differently, and if we will be fair and balanced and straightforward with our journalism, then we will do our jobs properly.
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