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Maintaining the boundaries between reporting the news and social activism
CLAUDE ROBINSON
Sunday, October 05, 2008
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - On my way to the Norman Manley airport a few days ago, I listened to prominent radio journalist Emily Crooks expressing deep and sincere regret that she might have unwittingly contributed to the pain and suffering of the parents of 11-year-old Ananda Dean whose abduction, and possible murder, has touched every caring Jamaican.
CLAUDE ROBINSON
At the time, I was not aware of the context of the anguish. Some of the blanks were filled in by the editorial in the Thursday Observer.
Shaken by the abduction which reportedly took place September 17, "personnel in different sections of the media hastened to mobilise the public to assist in finding the little girl. Her parents' phone numbers were publicised and the public invited to call with any information they might have on the whereabouts of the poor thing", the paper commented.
"Instead of having the desired effect, the publication of the phone numbers resulted in wicked people among us using the opportunity to try to extort money from the grieving parents. What manner of brute beasts are these?"
We don't know. And, as the nation searches for answers for her abduction and the brutal assaults on children that have become all too common, it is only appropriate that we in the media take the advice of the Observer editors and reflect on how we report and comment on these apparently senseless occurrences as well as our larger responsibility as journalists.
The first issue has to do with maintaining boundaries between telling stories honestly, fairly and accurately and our desire, as citizens and human beings, to do something - to be active partners in the search for answers.
Given the depths of depravity and indifference to human life that we have seen, especially in relation to children and the elderly, it is understandable that some in the media will want to use the power of their microphone or word processor to mobilise the country to take action.
But, in the instant case - and certainly with the benefit of hindsight - it was wrong to give out private phone numbers for members of the public to call if they had any information.
Abduction is a criminal offence and a police matter. The media should be encouraging people to call the police who have the people and the experience to handle such calls and, where necessary, to trace their origin. The media are not the police and we should not do anything that gives the appearance that we are seeking to take on that role.
Another big challenge for media practitioners is to have the mindset and skill "to separate our emotions and biases from our daily tasks of informing the public, of which we are a part, about the daily developments in our nation. As the media gets younger at the top, experience and instinct are becoming rare commodities. This must be a concern of our profession". Indeed.
SHORTCOMINGS OF JOURNALISM IN THE CARIBBEAN
Perhaps it was more than a coincidence that the story in Jamaica was developing at the same time as journalism educators and media practitioners from across the region were meeting here in the Barbados capital to discuss the state of Caribbean journalism and what training institutions can do improve professional standards.
The event was a regional consultation (October 1-3) organised by the Barbados Community College (BCC) and the UWI's Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) with support from UNESCO, the Paris-based UN agency responsible for promoting freedom of expression and access to information and knowledge.
The consultation, also attended by media educators from the University of Guyana, the College of the Bahamas, Northern Caribbean University and the Media Technology Institute of CPTC in Jamaica, was organised to examine the relevance for our region of a UNESCO model journalism curriculum.
At the present time, none of the regional training institutions offer a degree in journalism. They offer broader degrees in media and communication with a few courses in journalism. CARIMAC is considering starting a degree in journalism, possibly by September 2009.
For some time now, educators and the media industry across the Caribbean region have been concerned about the shortcomings in journalism, including training. At issue is what to do about it.
My own research, some of it presented at the consultation, shows that a majority of media bosses are not satisfied with the quality of graduates coming out of our training institutions.
They complain that graduates do not have a sufficiently sound general education including proficiency in use of standard English, comprehension and analytical skills; sufficient training in journalism to make them 'newsroom ready'; do not have adequate competencies in news gathering, news writing, production and presentation; and do not know enough about Caribbean society, politics and economy.
The institutions acknowledge that they have to improve media education, but note that there was also fault on the side of the media owners and managers.
The number of news organisations has grown tremendously in recent years. There is high staff turnover in newsrooms. Some new graduates are given responsibilities beyond their experience and training. Media are getting "younger at the top".
In addition, the increasing popularity of the competitive talk show phenomenon and the era of 'instant' journalism have changed the 'gatekeeper' role in the old journalism when what was aired or published was tightly controlled by senior editors and media managers. Any decision to break into a programme and take a story live on air would be made in the same way.
A lot of that changed with the rise in the number and prominence of opinionated radio talk show hosts breaking news on air and taking on some of the role of the editor and the newsroom. Strong, articulate, attractive personalities can make great hosts even if they are unfamiliar with journalism. They only need to have a lot to say and be controversial.
In the reality of the current media environment we will not get back to the days of tight editorial control, nor am I even saying that the good old days were actually that good. Stories were ignored because they did not accord with the views or interests of the powerful - whether those powers were political or commercial or even spiritual.
The new structures have unleashed a lot more energy, creativity and by and large, I believe the public has been served well.
So the newer structures must be encouraged. But media organisations and managers must ensure that editorial responsibility is not diluted to the point where it cannot be found.
This is not just a local or regional issue. As reported in this space earlier, the 2005 State of the NewsMedia in the United States (www.stateofthemedia.org) identified one of the critical trends re-shaping journalism in the United States as the shift in the profession more and more towards a model of journalism based on the concepts of "faster, looser, and cheaper.
"The traditional press model - the journalism of verification - is one in which journalists are concerned first with trying to substantiate facts. It has ceded ground for years on talk shows and cable to a new journalism of assertion, where information is offered with little time and little attempt to independently verify its veracity."
That's a trend we should not follow.
kcr@cwjamaica.com
CLAUDE ROBINSON
Sunday, October 05, 2008
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - On my way to the Norman Manley airport a few days ago, I listened to prominent radio journalist Emily Crooks expressing deep and sincere regret that she might have unwittingly contributed to the pain and suffering of the parents of 11-year-old Ananda Dean whose abduction, and possible murder, has touched every caring Jamaican.
CLAUDE ROBINSON At the time, I was not aware of the context of the anguish. Some of the blanks were filled in by the editorial in the Thursday Observer.
Shaken by the abduction which reportedly took place September 17, "personnel in different sections of the media hastened to mobilise the public to assist in finding the little girl. Her parents' phone numbers were publicised and the public invited to call with any information they might have on the whereabouts of the poor thing", the paper commented.
"Instead of having the desired effect, the publication of the phone numbers resulted in wicked people among us using the opportunity to try to extort money from the grieving parents. What manner of brute beasts are these?"
We don't know. And, as the nation searches for answers for her abduction and the brutal assaults on children that have become all too common, it is only appropriate that we in the media take the advice of the Observer editors and reflect on how we report and comment on these apparently senseless occurrences as well as our larger responsibility as journalists.
The first issue has to do with maintaining boundaries between telling stories honestly, fairly and accurately and our desire, as citizens and human beings, to do something - to be active partners in the search for answers.
Given the depths of depravity and indifference to human life that we have seen, especially in relation to children and the elderly, it is understandable that some in the media will want to use the power of their microphone or word processor to mobilise the country to take action.
But, in the instant case - and certainly with the benefit of hindsight - it was wrong to give out private phone numbers for members of the public to call if they had any information.
Abduction is a criminal offence and a police matter. The media should be encouraging people to call the police who have the people and the experience to handle such calls and, where necessary, to trace their origin. The media are not the police and we should not do anything that gives the appearance that we are seeking to take on that role.
Another big challenge for media practitioners is to have the mindset and skill "to separate our emotions and biases from our daily tasks of informing the public, of which we are a part, about the daily developments in our nation. As the media gets younger at the top, experience and instinct are becoming rare commodities. This must be a concern of our profession". Indeed.
SHORTCOMINGS OF JOURNALISM IN THE CARIBBEAN
Perhaps it was more than a coincidence that the story in Jamaica was developing at the same time as journalism educators and media practitioners from across the region were meeting here in the Barbados capital to discuss the state of Caribbean journalism and what training institutions can do improve professional standards.
The event was a regional consultation (October 1-3) organised by the Barbados Community College (BCC) and the UWI's Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) with support from UNESCO, the Paris-based UN agency responsible for promoting freedom of expression and access to information and knowledge.
The consultation, also attended by media educators from the University of Guyana, the College of the Bahamas, Northern Caribbean University and the Media Technology Institute of CPTC in Jamaica, was organised to examine the relevance for our region of a UNESCO model journalism curriculum.
At the present time, none of the regional training institutions offer a degree in journalism. They offer broader degrees in media and communication with a few courses in journalism. CARIMAC is considering starting a degree in journalism, possibly by September 2009.
For some time now, educators and the media industry across the Caribbean region have been concerned about the shortcomings in journalism, including training. At issue is what to do about it.
My own research, some of it presented at the consultation, shows that a majority of media bosses are not satisfied with the quality of graduates coming out of our training institutions.
They complain that graduates do not have a sufficiently sound general education including proficiency in use of standard English, comprehension and analytical skills; sufficient training in journalism to make them 'newsroom ready'; do not have adequate competencies in news gathering, news writing, production and presentation; and do not know enough about Caribbean society, politics and economy.
The institutions acknowledge that they have to improve media education, but note that there was also fault on the side of the media owners and managers.
The number of news organisations has grown tremendously in recent years. There is high staff turnover in newsrooms. Some new graduates are given responsibilities beyond their experience and training. Media are getting "younger at the top".
In addition, the increasing popularity of the competitive talk show phenomenon and the era of 'instant' journalism have changed the 'gatekeeper' role in the old journalism when what was aired or published was tightly controlled by senior editors and media managers. Any decision to break into a programme and take a story live on air would be made in the same way.
A lot of that changed with the rise in the number and prominence of opinionated radio talk show hosts breaking news on air and taking on some of the role of the editor and the newsroom. Strong, articulate, attractive personalities can make great hosts even if they are unfamiliar with journalism. They only need to have a lot to say and be controversial.
In the reality of the current media environment we will not get back to the days of tight editorial control, nor am I even saying that the good old days were actually that good. Stories were ignored because they did not accord with the views or interests of the powerful - whether those powers were political or commercial or even spiritual.
The new structures have unleashed a lot more energy, creativity and by and large, I believe the public has been served well.
So the newer structures must be encouraged. But media organisations and managers must ensure that editorial responsibility is not diluted to the point where it cannot be found.
This is not just a local or regional issue. As reported in this space earlier, the 2005 State of the NewsMedia in the United States (www.stateofthemedia.org) identified one of the critical trends re-shaping journalism in the United States as the shift in the profession more and more towards a model of journalism based on the concepts of "faster, looser, and cheaper.
"The traditional press model - the journalism of verification - is one in which journalists are concerned first with trying to substantiate facts. It has ceded ground for years on talk shows and cable to a new journalism of assertion, where information is offered with little time and little attempt to independently verify its veracity."
That's a trend we should not follow.
kcr@cwjamaica.com