Building Public Trust in Journalism from the Inside Outward

Joseph Nurre 

Joenurre@gmail.com

     

 

Chapter 10 of  "The Elements of Journalism" depicts a cold truth about how the industry is evolving into the modern age. Exercising conscience and intellectual diversity are two driving points the chapter highlighted in explaining the growing pains in the past decades between journalists and their audience. 

 

Internal Struggles 

 

Journalism makes the largest impact when it serves as the ace in the hole for keeping the three major branches of the government in check with pressing coverage that uncovers the hidden and potentially even corrupts workings of the United States political system. Bob Woodward, one of the reporters responsible for chasing the Watergate scandal, hones in on this point stating, “The best journalism is often done in defiance of management.”

 

His words raise a concerning point that before journalists can tackle their watchdog responsibilities, they first have to fight to uphold their moral code within their news organization. Chapter 10 of "The Elements of Journalism" is riddled with examples of various journalists having to jump through ethical hurdles in dealing with management with conflicting thoughts on achieving success in this competitive industry.

 

The pursuit of creating captivating content can infringe upon the ethical responsibility to capture information in its rawest, most true form.

 

Financial Squeeze

 

Nicole A. Childers in this NiemanLab article notes that journalists of color and diverse backgrounds are gradually being pushed aside due to the financial constraints of many news sources. Childers highlights the 2008-2009 financial crisis as a connecting point with that “over the past decade newsroom employment in the United States has dropped by a staggering 23%.”

 

 

 

These recently downsized newsrooms have even a higher probability of having few diverse opinions and voices, causing content with one-sided perspectives. This is damaging to the quality and trust from the eyes of the audience, furthering the divide between journalists and the public.

 

Silver Lining Solutions

A stepping stone to a more ethically responsible future for journalism is to use diverse voices and opinions as a strength rather than a hurdle in the newsroom. A focus point that is relevant and ever-expanding is the accuracy and responsibilities of representing the LGBTQ+ community in articles.

A logical first step for news organizations would be to hire more diverse voices into the writing room and bring in representation from the community, but the industry’s growing financial concerns have many sources hesitant to commit to putting this step into effect. Daniel Green the author of A guide to reporting on the LGBTQ+ community, offers a clever temporary solution,  suggesting “commissioning LGBTQ+ people to write stories affecting them will not only ensure greater diversity but also bring a greater understanding of the issue.”