Advocacy journalism

Last updated

Advocacy journalism is a genre of journalism that adopts a non-objective viewpoint, usually for some social or political purpose.

Contents

Some advocacy journalists reject the idea that the traditional ideal of objectivity is possible or practical, in part due to the perceived influence of corporate sponsors in advertising. Proponents of advocacy journalism feel that the public interest is better served by a diversity of media outlets with varying points of view, or that advocacy journalism serves a similar role to that of muckraking.

Perspectives from advocacy journalists

In an April 2000 address to the Canadian Association of Journalists, Sue Careless gave the following commentary and advice to advocacy journalists, which seeks to establish a common view of what journalistic standards the genre should follow. [1]

Sue Careless also criticized the mainstream media for unbalanced and politically biased coverage, for economic conflicts of interest, and for neglecting certain public causes. [1] She said that alternative publications have advantages in independence, focus, and access, which make them more effective public-interest advocates than the mainstream media. [1]

History

An image of The Crisis publication, an example of alternative and advocacy media The crisis nov1910.jpg
An image of The Crisis publication, an example of alternative and advocacy media

United States

Nineteenth-century American newspapers were often partisan, publishing content that conveyed the opinions of journalists and editors alike. [2] These papers were often used to promote political ideologies and were partisan to certain parties or groups.

The Crisis , the official magazine of the NAACP, was founded in 1910. It described itself as inheriting the tradition of advocacy journalism from Freedom's Journal , [3] which began in 1827 as "the first African-American owned and operated newspaper published in the United States". [4]

The Suffragist newspaper, founded in 1913 by the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage, promoted the agenda of the National Woman's Party and was considered the only female political newspaper at the time. [5]

Muckrakers are often claimed as the professional ancestors of modern advocacy journalists; for example: Ida M. Tarbell, Ida B. Wells, Nellie Bly, Lincoln Steffens, Upton Sinclair, George Seldes, and I.F. Stone.

20th and 21st century advocacy journalists include:

Objectivity

Advocacy journalists may reject the principle of objectivity in their work for several different reasons.

Studies have shown that despite efforts to remain completely impartial, journalism is unable to escape some degree of implicit bias, whether political, personal, or metaphysical, whether intentional or subconscious.[ citation needed ] This does not necessarily indicate an outright rejection of the existence of an objective reality, but rather recognition of the inability to report on it in a value-free fashion and the controversial nature of objectivity in journalism. Many journalists and scholars accept the philosophical idea of pure "objectivity" as being impossible to achieve, [9] [ page needed ] but still strive to minimize bias in their work. It is also argued that as objectivity is an impossible standard to satisfy, all types of journalism have some degree of advocacy, whether intentional or not. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation, the methods of gathering information, and the organizing literary styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muckraker</span> Progressive Era reform-minded investigative journalists

The muckrakers were reform-minded journalists, writers, and photographers in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s–1920s) who claimed to expose corruption and wrongdoing in established institutions, often through sensationalist publications. The modern term generally references investigative journalism or watchdog journalism; investigative journalists in the US are occasionally called "muckrakers" informally.

Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Practitioners sometimes use the terms "watchdog reporting" or "accountability reporting".

The hostile media effect, originally deemed the hostile media phenomenon and sometimes called hostile media perception, is a perceptual theory of mass communication that refers to the tendency for individuals with a strong preexisting attitude on an issue to perceive media coverage as biased against their side and in favor of their antagonists' point of view. Partisans from opposite sides of an issue will tend to find the same coverage to be biased against them. The phenomenon was first proposed and studied experimentally by Robert Vallone, Lee Ross and Mark Lepper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornel West</span> American philosopher and political activist (born 1953)

Cornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, theologian, political activist, social critic, actor, and public intellectual. The grandson of a Baptist minister, West's primary philosophy focuses on the roles of race, gender, and class struggle in American society. A socialist, West draws intellectual contributions from multiple traditions, including Christianity, the black church, democratic socialism, left-wing populism, neopragmatism, and transcendentalism. Among his most influential books are Race Matters (1993) and Democracy Matters (2004).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tavis Smiley</span> Talk show host and author

Tavis Smiley is an American talk show host and author. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in Bunker Hill, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles.

Journalistic objectivity is a considerable notion within the discussion of journalistic professionalism. Journalistic objectivity may refer to fairness, disinterestedness, factuality, and nonpartisanship, but most often encompasses all of these qualities. First evolving as a practice in the 18th century, a number of critiques and alternatives to the notion have emerged since, fuelling ongoing and dynamic discourse surrounding the ideal of objectivity in journalism.

Journalistic ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and good practice applicable to journalists. This subset of media ethics is known as journalism's professional "code of ethics" and the "canons of journalism". The basic codes and canons commonly appear in statements by professional journalism associations and individual print, broadcast, and online news organizations.

Claims of media bias generally focus on the idea of media outlets reporting news in a way that seems partisan. Other claims argue that outlets sometimes sacrifice objectivity in pursuit of growth or profits.

Civic journalism is the idea of integrating journalism into the democratic process. The media not only informs the public, but it also works towards engaging citizens and creating public debate. The civic journalism movement is an attempt to abandon the notion that journalists and their audiences are spectators in political and social processes. In its place, the civic journalism movement seeks to treat readers and community members as participants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of American journalism</span>

Journalism in the United States began humbly and became a political force in the campaign for American independence. Following independence, the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed freedom of the press and freedom of speech. The American press grew rapidly following the American Revolution. The press became a key support element to the country's political parties, but also for organized religious institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">News media in the United States</span> American reporting on current events

Mass media are the means through which information is transmitted to a large audience. This includes newspapers, television, radio, and more recently the Internet. Organizations that provide news through mass media in the United States are collectively known as the news media in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political journalism</span> Political reporter

Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science, although the term usually refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power.

The term "journalism genres" refers to various journalism styles, fields or separate genres, in writing accounts of events.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to journalism:

Torey Malatia is an American journalist, radio producer, and public media manager. In 2016 he was named president, CEO, and general manager of Rhode Island Public Radio. Until resigning on July 26, 2013, he served as chief executive officer and president of the board of directors of Chicago Public Media and general manager of radio station WBEZ. He is also a member of the board of the Public Radio Exchange, a program distributor, and the Station Resource Group, a public radio program development and fundraising group.

Mass media and American politics covers the role of newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and social media from the colonial era to the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ad Fontes Media</span> Media watchdog organization

Ad Fontes Media, Inc. is a Colorado-based, media watchdog, public benefit corporation primarily known for its Media Bias Chart, which rates media sources in terms of political bias and reliability. The organization was founded in 2018 by patent attorney Vanessa Otero with the goal of combating political polarization and media bias. Ad Fontes Media uses a panel of analysts across the political spectrum to evaluate articles for the Chart.

Adversarial journalism refers to a kind of journalism or a journalistic role where the journalist adopts an oppositional and combative style of reporting and interviewing. The goal of adversarial journalism is to reveal supposed wrongdoings of actors under investigation. Instead of being completely impartial, adversarial journalists take sides in what they believe to be true. They deliberately combine information with commentary or opinion in their writing. In particular, adversarial journalists remain relentlessly hostile and highly skeptical regarding government, big business companies, and political events, questions, institutions and personalities. Adversarial journalism is thought to be traditional in liberal democracies where journalism is regarded as a "Fourth Estate". It is also considered an extreme form of participant journalism or advocacy journalism. It has been contrasted with public or civic journalism.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Advocacy journalism" by Sue Careless. The Interim, May 2000. "Advocacy Journalism-Interim,May 2000". Archived from the original on 2005-04-29. Retrieved 2005-04-13. Rules and advice for advocacy journalists.
  2. "The Fall and Rise of Partisan Journalism". Center for Journalism Ethics, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2011-04-20. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  3. Lewis, David Levering (July 1997). "Du Bois and the Challenge of the Black Press". www.thecrisismagazine.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2005. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  4. "Freedom's Journal, the First U.S. African-American Owned Newspaper | Wisconsin Historical Society". www.wisconsinhistory.org. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  5. "Suffragist Newspapers | National Woman's Party". nationalwomansparty.org. Archived from the original on 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  6. Advocacy Journalism and Precision Journalism
  7. Mathew Ingram (June 15, 2018). "Advocates are becoming journalists. Is that a good thing?". Columbia Journalism Review.
  8. Advocacy Journalism Part II: Who are we and what are we doing?
  9. Calcutt, Andrew; Hammond, Philip (2011-01-31). Journalism Studies: A Critical Introduction. Routledge. ISBN   9781136831478.
  10. Fisher, Caroline (2016-08-01). "The advocacy continuum: Towards a theory of advocacy in journalism". Journalism. 17 (6): 711–726. doi:10.1177/1464884915582311. ISSN   1464-8849. S2CID   148210771.

Further reading