Journalism, Politics & a Shifting Landscape

By Jaci Clement, jaci@fairmediacouncil.org

If you didn’t get a chance—or purposely tuned out—of the news this week, here’s what you missed: It’s still a lousy time to be in the news business, but a totally spectacular time to be an attorney. Everybody is either being sued or is about to be sued.

As far as whether or not now is a great time to be a living American, well, that depends on which news outlet you gravitate toward. The narratives vary widely. The lesson here is simple: You can choose to only pay attention to news that tells you what you want to hear, or you can pledge no loyalty to any one outlet and adopt a wandering approach—surfing the web for different sources daily.

Regardless of which method you choose, watch out for this red flag: who is to blame for whatever chaos is unfolding. This is where it starts to get dangerous—where journalism not only becomes politics but hides behind it. It’s commonplace in today’s media landscape, ever since newsrooms realized the public possesses a seemingly insatiable appetite for politics. Pretty soon, newsrooms morphed from having a political desk into multiple “something-and-politics” desks: health and politics, science and politics, business and politics, you get the idea.

But now, instead of journalism covering politics, we have politics masquerading as journalism. The old guard knows the difference. Unfortunately, they’re no longer at the helm—they were either forced out or simply walked out, never looking back.

Ironically, the same tactics newsrooms once used to lure in readers and viewers have turned into the very reason people are tuning out. And that sets the stage for what news is becoming.

A new study reported by Publisher’s Daily finds that when printed newspapers turn digital, the outlets focus less on investigative or “heavy” reporting and more on features and feel-good stories. They also provide about five percent less local news than they did as traditional print papers—apparently, a necessary sacrifice to keep paying subscribers interested.

This week, more bad news for local journalism arrived: The Times-Virginian, which served Appomattox County, Virginia, since 1892, announced it is shutting down due to adverse market conditions. This news follows on the heels of the The Star-Ledger, which covered Newark since 1796, shuttering its print edition.

So where does that leave us? Vary your news sources—dip into different outlets, even the ones you rarely read, and be on the lookout for that red flag: the quick leap to assign blame. Focus on the raw facts—those simple truths that are still out there if you look. Let them tell the story, rather than a political narrative.

– Jaci Clement, CEO/Executive Director, jaci@fairmediacouncil.org